Archvillain #1 (1)

Archvillain #1 (1)

Kyle Camden knows exactly where he was the night Mighty Mike arrived: sneaking around the fallow field behind Bouring Middle School (motto: "The U Makes It Exciting!"), running the electrical cabling that would allow him to dump the contents of the old water tower on the visiting football team during the next day's game. Which is why he couldn't tell anyone where he was. Or what he saw. Those lights everyone witnessed in the sky weren't tiny meteors burning up in the atmosphere. They were some kind of strange super cooled plasma that bathed the entire field-including Kyle-in alien energies, energies that boosted Kyle's intellect and gave him superpowers. Unfortunately, the energies also brought Mighty Mike to earth. Kyle is the only one who knows that Mighty Mike is a space alien. Everyone else thinks that Mike is just some kid who stumbled into the field, got beefed up on meteor juice, lost his memory, and decided to start resucing kittens from trees. But Kyle knows the truth. And he'll do anything in his power to stop Mighty Mike-even if it means being an archvillain! Gr 5-7–Sixth-grader Kyle is smart, popular, and the planner of high-quality pranks. Then an encounter with a mysterious “space plasma” leaves him with cosmic intellect, super-strength, and the ability to fly. Kyle loves his new skills, but decides it's safest to keep them under wraps. However, the plasma has brought something else as well–a strange boy whom Kyle strongly suspects is an alien. Mighty Mike has superpowers too–but he isn't shy about exercising them in public. Mike quickly becomes a sensation with adults as well as kids, even though his good deeds don't always go smoothly. Kyle resents Mike taking over his top-dog status and suspects that the newcomer may have more sinister schemes in mind. He plans a super prank to expose him, but things get disastrously out of hand. There is a subtle underlying message about perception vs. reality. Kyle is not a particularly admirable character. He is self-centered and frequently uses his newfound powers to manipulate people. Much of his vaunted popularity seems to rest on his ability to humiliate others, especially in setting up grudge pranks on request. His crowd is quick to switch allegiance when a new sensation comes along. The author takes some sly digs at popular culture as well. The question of Mike's true identity is left unresolved. Is he an earnest, if somewhat naïve superhero or are Kyle's rather cynical suspicions on track? Who is the good guy and who is really the archvillain? Tune in next time.... Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL © Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. When Kyle Camden comes to after something fishy happens during a night plasma storm, he feels stronger, faster, smarter. As he already considers himself quite the supergenius (devoted to showing folks how dumb they are), he now feels even better about how great he is. That’s until Mighty Mike, a kid who mysteriously appeared right around the same time as that plasma storm, shows up and annoyingly starts flying around, saving every day of the week. Kyle’s convinced Mike is an alien, and he sets out to defrock the caped imposter by donning a costume of his own and embarrassing him in public. Motivated almost entirely by jealousy and petty spite, Kyle is a far cry from a sympathetic character—in fact, many kids will see nothing more of his swelled head than a most swirly-worthy target. But he plays the antihero part with comic aplomb, and Lyga displays a nice grasp of superhero tropes (especially the gadgetry, with radiation-dampening antennas and the ilk) that middle-grade boys will flock to. Grades 4-7. --Ian Chipman Praise for Archvillain "Good, snide fun." - Kirkus Reviews "Who is the good guy and who is really the archvillain? Tune in next time." - School Library Journal "Lyga laces his story with ample humor . . . Readers will find plenty to ponder, from guessing Mike's true motivations to debating whether Kyle is a hero-or a villain in the making." - Publishers Weekly "Lyga displays a nice grasp of superhero tropes . . . that middle-grade boys should flock to with much enthusiasm." - Booklist Barry Lyga is the author of ARCHVILLAIN and THE MAD MASK, the first two novels of Kyle Camden’s adventures. He’s also the author of several critically acclaimed YA novels including THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL, as well as its follow-up, GOTH GIRL RISING; BOY TOY; and HERO-TYPE. Barry lives in Brooklyn, New York. When he’s not writing he uses his superpowers to fight crime. Used Book in Good Condition