I picked up this book, like many of the previous books I’ve read, because my students couldn’t stop talking about it! They were arguing over books #2 and 3 in the series and raving about how they couldn’t put them down. In addition, it’s on the Iowa Children’s Choice List for 2018-2019 and I’m trying to check some of those off my list.
To be honest, I told myself I’d read the first one and call it good. We all know by now how much I enjoy Gordon Korman, so I knew I’d enjoy it – I could check it off my ICCA list and be on my happy way to read another book off my Spring Break reading list. You guys. I finished the first one and immediately needed the second one. I had to know what happened. It ended with quite the cliff-hanger and none of the libraries around me had the second book. Thankfully, our school librarian owns her own copy and allowed me to borrow hers!
I really enjoyed both the first and second books of this series. I would like to read the 3rd book just to see how it ends, but I have so many other books I want to read on my break that I’m going to take a little hiatus from the kids in Masterminds and start another one on my list. Overall, I’d highly recommend you pick this up!
Chloe Cho grows up believing she is Asian. Because of this fact, she is different than everyone in her school. She is fascinated by her heritage and frustrated that her parents refuse to discuss their Asian history with her. Her best friend Shelley “gets” her. Chloe doesn’t feel different around her. Thanks to a school assignment, Chloe finds a reason to dig into her family’s history and what she finds is NOTHING like what she expected.
This was a curious combination of fantasy (talking fish who grant wishes), fun realistic elements (ice fishing & Irish dancing), along with very real reality (heroin addiction). As I write that, it seems even more strange than I first thought.