Genius Squad

by Catherine Jinks

Book Overview

Now that the Axis Institute for World Domination has been blown up; the founder, Dr. Phineas Darkkon, has died; and Prosper English (who enrolled Cadel in the first place) is in jail for myriad offenses, Cadel Piggott has round-the-clock surveillance so he'll be safe until he testifies against Prosper English. But nobody seems to want Cadel. Not Fiona, his social worker; not Saul Greeniaus, the detective assigned to protect him. When he is approached...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152066500
• ISBN13: 9780152066505
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 513 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.4" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 12 to 15 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 10

Customer Reviews

genius squad

Fast shipping, good condition, and a fantastic book. I will read this many times over.

loved it

i was very happy with this second book.it was every thing i hope it to be and more. i just can't wait until the next book. Book Lover

Action-packed and exciting

Cadel Piggott returns in this action-filled sequel to EVIL GENIUS, but he's not the same teen. The Cadel readers knew in the first book loved to create havoc just for the fun of it. However, after his life-threatening experiences at the Axis Institute with his father, Prosper English, he just wants to be a good person --- and even happy. He is helped in this change of conscience by his best friend, the paraplegic math genius, Sonja. In GENIUS SQUAD, other allies help fight Prosper and his evil, but he also finds more layers of enemies and surprises. Cadel has an earnest social worker named Fiona who tries to protect him in a new foster home. He can go nowhere without police protection, though, as authorities are aware that Prosper once tried to kill him. He is now a key witness to the evils that went on at the Axis Institute and to Prosper's many illegal activities. Prosper is behind bars, though Cadel knows that barrier is nothing to another genius like himself and has seen the lengths to which Prosper will go. But he still feels that he's safe; after all, Prosper did not kill him when he had the chance before. Prosper is always good at making trouble, and he is now denying that he's Cadel's father. This means that Cadel has no father on record, and with a dead mother, no citizenship in any country. So he cannot leave Australia, though the country will not recognize him. He is not allowed to take classes of any kind and is desperately bored. The foster home is run by well-meaning parents, but they are also the caretakers for a couple of other children, including the bully Mace. While Cadel tries hard to stay on the path of good, Mace pushes his buttons too far, and he develops a strategy to hurt him while still looking innocent. Mace promises revenge. In the meantime, the very smart and stubborn Detective Saul Greeniaus has been assigned to Cadel's case and stops by frequently to give him updates on Prosper's situation and how it may affect him. When visiting Sonja one day, Cadel is approached by some adults who run the new Clearview House, a cover for Genius Squad, a group of gifted teens who will work to bring down GenonMe, a company linked to the deceased P. Drakkon and his minions, which included Prosper. They offer Sonja and Cadel $50,000 each and a home while they work on the computer hacking and coding with the other teens to find out what happens at GenonMe and who is behind it. The money and offer of living with Sonja are too good to pass up; the cash would buy Sonja good care well into the future. The problem is that they cannot tell Fiona or the detective. So Cadel begins a secret life again, but this time he seems to be working for good. As the team works to bring down GenonMe, Prosper gets more active, even from prison. Cadel has to stay on his guard and trust his new allies to keep himself and Sonja safe. GENIUS SQUAD is even more fun than EVIL GENIUS as Cadel Piggott is more likable when he is working for good. His new allie

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Cadel, the scrawny, nerdy boy from EVIL GENIUS, is back in GENIUS SQUAD, a bit more grown up, a lot more responsible, and trapped in a foster home with a bully and without a computer. He's miserable as he tries to bide his time until the slow-moving authorities can find out who he is and where he belongs. It is as he is waiting that the Genius Squad approaches him. Devoted to bringing down one of Dr. Darkkon's operations, GenoME, the Genius Squad wants Cadel to help them. But Cadel is naturally suspicious and paranoid. Can he really trust the Genius Squad, or is his hesitance to trust them warranted? This book has even more action and quick thinking than the first! Each page builds up suspense that culminates into a surprise scenario that will leave you scrambling to catch up. Though it contains more computer and hacking references than its prequel, that doesn't deduct from its appeal. This is one series that is sure to entrance even the most reluctant reader, especially with an ending that is wide open to accommodate another sequel, THE GENIUS WARS. Reviewed by: The Compulsive Reader

The Compulsive Reader's Reviews

Cadel Piggott is back...only he doesn't know who he is. His adoptive parents were really just secret agents who were pretending to be his parents, and with Dr. Darkkon now dead and English Prosper refusing to acknowledge him, Cadel is being jumbled into the system, stuck in a dismal foster home. Though his social worker and detective mean well, they're overbearing and can't seem to understand his need for a computer of his own. So when he is approached by the Genius Squad on the sly, offering both him and his only friend Sonja an opportunity to take down GenoME, one of Darkkon's ironclad projects, he leaps at the chance...even though the group may not be as secure as he'd like if Prosper were to escape. Just as harrowing and blazing fast as its prequel, Genius Squad is a winner. You'll have to pay rapt attention as the story unfolds in order to not miss a single detail. Full of computer jargon, wonderfully clever tricks, and sometimes confusing numerous subplots, this is one adventure that is packed full of action from beginning to end. Cadel's character is a bit more grown up, and his actions and feelings reflect his new maturity, which will especially appeal to the older teen. Jinks's Genius series is the Ocean's 11 for teens--and that's high praise!