The Vindico
The Vindicoby Wesley King
X-Men meets The Breakfast Club in this darkly humorous adventureThe Vindico are a group of supervillains who have been fighting the League of Heroes for as long as anyone can remember. Realizing they're not as young as they used to be, they devise a plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over for them when they retire--after all, how hard can it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens train with their mentors and receive superpowers beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens have to trust each other to plot their escape. But they quickly learn that the differences between good and evil are not as black and white as they seem, and they are left wondering whose side they should be fighting on after all . . . (goodreads.com)
The Vindico is one of those novels that spans the Middle Grade/Young Adult range. The back of my ARC reads "For ages 12 and up" and I think that's right on the nose. I think even a 10 or 11-year old would be able to read this book. There is violence and there is the subject of death, but really, it's such a fun story that all ages should love it.I knew I was in for a fun ride when I was laughing from the first chapter. When I finally finished the book I said to my husband "I am so sick and tired of every book being a series, but I hope to God that this is going to be one! I want to read more about these super villain/hero teens!"I was obsessed with X-Men when I was a kid. I watched the early 90's cartoon, I bought secondhand comics for $0.50. I loved the idea of superheros and their costumes. I even drew my own superheros when I was younger. (I made sure my females were properly covered up though!) They had names and secret identities and everything!
This is what I was doing in 1994 when other 18-year olds were likely out partying.
Needless to say when Penguin Canada sent me a list of book they had copies of for review, I had to request The Vindico. A book about super powered teens! Woohoo! A book that's not paranormal and doesn't have vampires or other creatures. Just a bunch of people with powers and heroes and villains. LOVE THAT IDEA!
This book is fully of sarcasm and wit and good versus evil. I love me some snark. I love me some witty dialogue and characters. I love incompetent super heroes and/or villains. I especially loved the blurred line between whether or not the good guys were good and the bad guys were bad.
The Vindico is a great summer read. I'd take it to the beach, if I had a beach to go to and if I liked going to beaches. I'd take it on holiday with me. I did take it onto my deck, in the back yard on a nice summer evening and enjoyed it with a bottle of beer. (If you know me, you know how rare it is that I drink anything. I actually had 3 beer in 2 days. I'm considering having my friends stage an intervention...)
Beer & middle grade fiction. You all wish you were as classy as I am.
If this was made into a TV show, I'd watch it. The book is just... original. I mean, it's not a totally original story idea, but in a sea of Things That Go Bump In The Night and Often Get Caught Up In Love Triangles, this is a story that breaks out of that box completely. The captured kids learn things about themselves and each other. It's nice to know you can have character growth but not always be overly obvious about it.
Good news for you guys - The Vindico came out on June 14th, so you can head on over to your local bookstore and pick this one up. It'll be great for boys and girls and I think many ages will enjoy this.
I do hope there will be another book though. I want to read more about all of these characters because they were so much fun!