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2017 Nominee
Voted 2 out of 20

Masterminds

Written by Gordon Korman.
Published in 2015 by HarperCollins.

Eli Frieden lives in the most boring town in the world: Serenity, New Mexico. Only thirty kids live in the idyllic town, where every lawn is perfectly manicured and everyone has a pool and a basketball hoop. Honesty and kindness are the backbone of the community. There is no crime in this utopia.

Eli has never left town…. Why would he ever want to? But everything changes the day he and his friend Randy bike to the edge of the city limits. Eli is suddenly struck with a paralyzing headache and collapses. Almost instantly, a crew of security—or “Purple People Eaters,” as the kids call them—descend via helicopter. Eli awakens in the hospital, and the next day, Randy and his family are gone.

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18 thoughts on “Masterminds

  1. Roxana.Albu

    This book was my favorite one I read so far.It was full of mystery, excitement, humor, adventure and shock.As for Gordon.Korman,he is also the author of the series of Island.I loved those books as well.So when I saw that the book Masterminds was written by the same Author, I was thinking that it was going to be really good, and it was really good so I suggest that you read this book.

  2. General Stewart

    This is Tavis Dueck here. This book could possibly be the best book I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot of books. The start might be boring but if you like criminal masterminds or crazy spy missions this is the book for you!

  3. CBE

    There are a bunch of kids that live in a perfect town and have perfect lives. Then one character was on his iPad when there was a thunderstorm and the wifi glitched and turned onto the regular wifi. Then 4 kids got suspicious and found out that they were clones of criminal masterminds. Then they escaped on the day the people celebrated their town.
    I think the main point the author is trying to get across is that everyone is flawed. Some examples of that are the main characters are clones of criminal masterminds. The reason this is surprising is that their parents kept it from them and the number one rule in that town was no lying and no secrets. At the beginning, they thought they were regular people in the world. They’re not entirely good and they’re not entirely bad. Their “parents” are “evil” scientists. The reason the words parents and evil are in quotation marks is that they are not really the kid’s parents and the only bad thing they did was create clones, which was illegal at the time.
    Plus the book would be insanely boring if they were normal people. This is true because if they were normal people then they would not have had an adventure. This is a good book and I recommend it to other readers.

  4. Westglen

    Master Minds by Gordon Korman
    This book is like a mystery and adventure story. I like how the author wrote the book because you kind of see through the eyes of the characters. My opinion the book is okay cause the first chapter is boring, not until chapter six chapter then the book started to get interesting. Out of 5 stars I would give it 3 out 5 because the first chapter is so boring you wouldn’t read the book ever again but it gets more interesting around chapter 6.
    I would recommend this to a grade 5 or 6 because grade 4’s will just stop reading this after 2 chapters and younger kids won’t understand the book at all. That is what I think about Master Minds.

    S.J.M

  5. Westglen

    Master Minds by Gordon Korman
    This book is like a mystery and adventure story. I like how the author wrote the book because you kind of see through the eyes of the characters. My opinion the book is okay cause the first chapter is boring, not until chapter six chapter then the book started to get interesting. Out of 5 stars I would give it 3 out of 5 because the first chapter is so boring you wouldn’t read the book ever again but it gets more interesting around chapter 6.
    I would recommend this to a grade 5 or 6 because grade 4’s will just stop reading this after 2 chapters and younger kids won’t understand the book at all. That is what I think about Master Minds.

    S.M

  6. Springbank Middle School

    We loved the adventure! We especially like the part in the book where they sneak into the cone factory through the vents. We liked the setting and the characters and are creating our own Purple People Eater cards!

  7. Springbank Middle School

    I loved this book because it was interesting, and had a plot twist that changed what I thought the ending was. It was amazing.

  8. Springbank Middle School

    This was my favourite book and I gave it a 5 / 5. I loved the detail. I was able to “see” the story happening in my head. It is a fantastic science fiction – action – adventure story and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

  9. westglen school

    1)these kids are in some kind of project.They have to escape there town because it is full of secret cameras and stuff watching them.it dosen’t really make that much sense.
    2)The story takes place in a town called serenity.the challenge the main characters have to overcome is sneaking into a secret building of them in it.
    The characters remind me of when I thought that i was being spied on by people.This book reminds me of slavery because they are keeping children in a secret town like a bunch of pets.
    The characters seem belivable because they do things everyday that most kids would do.I don’t think this is the best person to tell the story because it dosen’t really make that much sense.

  10. Westglen

    masterminds Gordon Korman. Eli Friedan believes that Serenity is a perfect place and that they value honesty above everything else.Until one night when he and his friend go outside of the city limits and something strange happens. he and his friends make an outstanding discovery, they can not trust anyone–definitely not their parents.

    I recommend it to those action lovers

  11. Springbank Middle School

    A good mix of fantasy, sci-fi and mystery put into a good idea. I rate this book a 5/5 !

  12. Springbank Middle School

    It was one of the best books I’ve ever read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I rated it 5/5.

  13. malliag school

    It was a very good book has a lot of emotion and some decent action. Its awesome how they made the town in the middle of nowhere and that all of them are clones of criminal masterminds and there in the perfect little town.

  14. Agnes Davidson

    I thought this book was awesome and i really enjoyed this book. I also liked the second book to and this is probably one of my favorite book to reed to my family and this is telling you to read more of it. I hope this series keeps on going and never stops but if it ends I will just go back and read it all over again. That is all I want to say about this amazing book PS when will the 3rd book be published?

  15. St. Jerome

    This book is amazing, I really enjoyed reading it. It’s full of action, adventure and mystery. I would recommend it to anyone who reads other Gordon Korman books or just likes action.

  16. St. Jerome

    This was the first RMBA nominee I read. I liked it so much I went to my local library and got the second book. It reminds me of the urban outlaws books written by Peter Jay Black .

  17. St. Jerome

    I really loved the book but I don’t agree with the grade recommendation because I am in grade 4 and finished the book and enjoyed the whole book


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