Ratings4
Average rating3.3
Eli Frieden lives in the most perfect town in the world: Serenity, New Mexico. Honesty and integrity are valued above all else. The thirty kids who live there never lie—they know it’s a short leap from that to the awful problems of other, less fortunate places.
Eli has never left Serenity . . . why would he ever want to? Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything. Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, connecting their ideal crime-free community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known. The kids realize they can trust no one—least of all their own parents.
Reviews with the most likes.
While I recommend Masterminds, I cannot recommend the audiobook. Each chapter shifts perspectives between the kids and the audiobook uses different readers for each. Most are good but one reads dialog for the female characters with a really annoying voice. The other readers read the girls normally so it's inconsistent and annoying.
The book doesn't end in a cliffhanger but it's definitely not a satisfying conclusion. Have book 2 ready.
Another great book for my classroom library. Fun and adventurous, my boys will love it.
If I were going to rank Gordon Korman's books, this would come near the bottom of the list. Its basically all groundwork for the series and terribly bland. The premise is interesting though and the set-up intriguing enough to justify reading the next book.