I think of Gordon Korman as being a writer of realistic
middle grade fiction, with humor. His Masterminds is different. It’s a thriller.
Think Wayward Pines without the creepy devolved beings and the futuristic
setting. And the violence. And the adult point of view. Well, okay, it’s only
like Wayward Pines in that it takes place in a community cut off from the
rest of the world to such an extent that residents, or in this case the child
residents, don’t know what’s out there.
The kids believe they’re living in a perfect place.
Eventually, readers realize that indeed they are. They’re living in a perfect place
that’s been created for them. The question then becomes why?
While I was reading Masterminds, I wondered why utopias
always seem to have something about them that’s not so utopian.
This book is written from differing points of view,
switching among a number of the kids. This is something I don’t usually care
for. In fact, I had just finished reading an adult book written with point of
view switches. Masterminds worked better.
This thriller keeps a reader coming back for more. My major
complaint is that it’s the first in a serial. The ending was better than it
could have been. But, still, I would have loved to see a complete story.
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