Genius Squad

Title: Genius Squad
Author: Catherine Jinks

What it's about: This is the sequel to Evil Genius. In it, Cadel, a child genius and son of evil genius Prosper English, is in foster care while the authorities try to process his case. His life is pretty crappy, and so when an organization calling itself the "Genius Squad" offers him and his friend Sonja the chance to join their ranks, Cadel takes the opportunity. Genius Squad is working on a secret project to investigate Dr. Darkkon's project GenoME, and Cadel wants to help them uncover the truth.

What I thought: I think the pacing of the story improved in this book, and I have to say that it wasn't as depressing as the first one, either. Cadel gets a conscience, and you have to like how he has to struggle to do the right thing when it's his first instinct to act only for himself. The members of the Genius Squad are varied and interesting and they're not in the background as much as the character in the Axis Institute in the first book, which means more wacky interactions. I quite liked the parts with Saul and Fiona, and I was happy when my predictions about the ending worked out.

Overall: An improvement from the already good first novel, and a good story.