Dreadnought

April 1, 2011
Those young villains-in-training are back, facing their biggest challenge ever, in this, the fourth in a series that is showing signs of tiring. H.I.V.E. (the Higher Institute of Villainous Education) is doing what all schools do, sending their students on a field trip—but they never anticipate that the kids'll be kidnapped by a rival faction of villains intent on taking over the world their way. Otto Malpense and his friends must swing into action, outwitting electronic surveillance and out-thinking grown-ups who are well financed, well prepared and totally ready to kill the president and plunge the planet into an entirely new brand of modern warfare. The students' mentors are also back: Assassin Raven swashbuckles her way past an old enemy, while Doctor Nero and Commander Diabolus Darkdoom must discover and conquer a saboteur, as well as a mysterious new society of criminals known only as "The Disciples." This time around, readers will find that it's still fun to root for the bad guys ...but perhaps not as much as it used to be. Readers will hope the next outing focuses more on answering questions about how the characters are developing and less on action, action, action—and the more sophisticated among them will be happy to move on to more complex antihero antics when they discover Catherine Jinks' Evil Genius. (Thriller. 8-12)

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April 15, 2011
Grades 5-8 The fourth book in the H.I.V.E. (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) series continues to entertain with its high-energy, tongue-in-cheek take on a league of supervillains and their secret school. When rogue villain Drake hijacks the Dreadnought, the leagues airborne defense platform, Otto and his friends strive to undo his diabolical plan to blow up Yellowstones supervolcano and pin it on them. Although all of the characters are villains, degrees of evil matter: the students and their mentors embody heroic qualities (loyalty, selflessness, empathy, kindness), while their antagonists are bloodthirsty megalomaniacs. The foreboding cliff-hanger means this series isnt slowing down.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)