Evil Genius
Evil Genius
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Paperback ©2005--
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Harcourt
Annotation: Child prodigy Cadel Piggot, an antisocial computer hacker, discovers his true identity when he enrolls as a first-year student at an advanced crime academy.
Genre: [Science fiction]
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #4796340
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harcourt
Copyright Date: 2005
Edition Date: 2007 Release Date: 10/04/11
Pages: 486 pages
ISBN: 0-15-206185-1
ISBN 13: 978-0-15-206185-2
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2006014476
Dimensions: 21 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Seventeen-year-old Alice Tully is finally starting to feel comfortable. She has a boyfriend, a job, a place to live with a kindly woman, and plans to attend college. But things haven't always been so peaceful for her-in fact, Alice hasn't always been Alice. Six years before, her name was Jennifer Jones, and she lived an itinerant lifestyle with her beautiful, flighty mother, a sometimes model. Dumped for months at a time with her dour Gran, Jennifer idolized the woman who left her emotionally deserted. With men constantly coming and going from their home, the girl also suspected that the unpleasant rumors about Mum might be true. She struggled with a rage that she could neither control nor understand, until the day that rage exploded, leaving a young playmate dead. Now released from prison with a new identity, Alice is ready to start over, but painful reminders of the past, and constant media attention rehashing JJ's crime and raising concerns about her whereabouts, refuse to disappear. Cassidy's novel is a page-turning thriller with a fine ear for the emotional lives of its characters. Alice, in particular, is a complex and well-drawn figure, whose childhood pain and desire to remake herself in a new life invite sympathy even as she struggles to understand the motives behind her horrific crime. Crisply plotted and smoothly written, this gripping book is sure to hold teens' attention.-Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Voice of Youth Advocates

Imagine Harry Potter's Hogwarts in reverse-a school that teaches youth how to do as many evil acts as they can manage in order to contribute to World Domination-specialties accepted. That thought is the premise for this novel, originally published in Australia. Cadel Piggott is only seven when the story opens, but readers already know that his life is not going to be typical. After all, he is the only child of Dr. Phineas Darkkon, the most evil man in the world, and he is a genius. What better combination? By the time he is fourteen, Cadel is so enmeshed in a world of manipulation and deception that to get out, he must perform some of the very acts of evil that he wants to leave behind. In the end, he must even hurt people whom he wants to protect. Along the way, he will learn how to hack into any computer system in the world, become a master of deception and disguises, beat any legal system he encounters, and be confused on at least three occasions about who his parents really are. All that is easy compared to trying to figure out how to bring the evil empire of his father(s) tumbling down and escape with his life. This book will appeal to younger teens who can see the possibilities for adventure through the eyes of the bad guys. Although Cadel himself will in the end deny evil, he learns that no one remains untouched by it.-Elaine J. O'Quinn.

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School Library Journal
Voice of Youth Advocates
Word Count: 140,866
Reading Level: 4.9
Interest Level: 5-9
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.9 / points: 21.0 / quiz: 114307 / grade: Middle Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:5.1 / points:32.0 / quiz:Q41290
Lexile: 720L
Guided Reading Level: Z
Fountas & Pinnell: Z
OneCadel Piggott was just seven years old when he first met Thaddeus Roth. Dr. Roth worked in a row house near Sydney Harbor. The house was three stories high, its garden shrouded by a great many damp, dark trees. There was moss growing on its sandstone window ledges. Curtains drawn across all its windows gave it a secretive air. Its front fence was made of iron, with a spike on top of each post; beside the creaking gate was a brass sign bearing Dr. Roths name and qualifications. Thats it, said Mrs. Piggott. Number twenty-nine. Well, we cant stop here, her husband replied. No parking. I told you to park back there. It doesnt matter. Well try down this street. Stuart, thats a one-way street. Dammit! I knew wed never find a space. Not around this area. Just shut up for a minute, will you? Mr. and Mrs. Piggott were not Cadels real parents. They had adopted him when he was not quite two years old. Mrs. Piggott was thin and blond, Mr. Piggott fat and gray. They almost never agreed about anything, but that didnt matter because they almost never met. Their busy schedules kept them away from home, and one another, a good deal of the time. At the suggestion of the police, however, they had both agreed to attend this interview. Were going to be late, Mrs. Piggott warned her husband after they had circled the block four times in Mr. Piggotts big, gleaming Mercedes-Benz. Just let us out, for gods sake. Ill park here. Stuart, youll never fit in there! Watch me. Cadel said nothing. He sat on the backseat, dressed in his good brown cords and a lambs-wool sweater, staring out the window at Dr. Roths house. He didnt like the look of it. He thought it had a murky, ominous appearance. I dont want to go, he said flatly when Mrs. Piggott got out and opened the door beside him. I know, honey, but we have to. No we dont, Cadel retorted.ily: 'Times New Roman'" Yes we do. There were no formal charges, Cadel pointed out, in his high, clear voice. It was just a suggestion. Thats right, said Mr. Piggott, yanking Cadel out of the back of the car. And when the police make a suggestion, you always follow it. Rule number one. Be careful, Stuart, youll wreck his clothes. Cadel was so smalleven for a seven-year-oldthat he didnt stand a chance against Mr. Piggott. Though he dragged his feet and hung off his adoptive parents hands like a sack of melons, he was forced across the street and through the front gate of number twenty-nine. The path beyond the gate was mushy with wet leaves. There was a rich smell of decay. The door knocker was a ring in the mouth of a snarling lions head, painted black, like the rest of the ironwork. Cadel noted with interest the switchboard near the door. It was obviously ancient, full of porcelain fuses and dial meters. The Piggotts own house was only three years old, with a state-of-the-art electrical system, so Cadel was fascinated by this dusty old relic. But he was not permitted to gaze at it for

Excerpted from Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks, Catherine Jinks
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Cadel Piggott has a genius IQ and a fascination with systems of all kinds. At seven, he was illegally hacking into computers. Now he’s fourteen and studying for his World Domination degree, taking classes like embezzlement, forgery, and infiltration at the institute founded by criminal mastermind Dr. Phineas Darkkon. Although Cadel may be advanced beyond his years, at heart he’s a lonely kid. When he falls for the mysterious and brilliant Kay-Lee, he begins to question the moral implications of his studies. But is it too late to stop Dr. Darkkon from carrying out his evil plot?

An engrossing thriller with darkness and humor, freaks and geeks, Evil Genius explores the fine line between good and evil in a strange world of manipulations and subterfuge where nothing is as it seems.


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