2018 School Spending Survey Report
The Vindico
Bk. 1. 298p. CIP. Putnam. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25654-7; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-101-57238-2. LC 2011033410.
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The nefarious Vindico are hell-bent on destroying the League of Heroes. Their plan? Kidnap five kids and train them to be the next generation of supervillains. With the Vindico characters' backstories, King grays the line between good and evil. At book's end, King does retreat from some of this thought-provoking ambiguity, but he never loses his knack for humorous--and teen-friendly--dialogue.
A fun twist on more traditional plots that pit good vs. evil. Here, the “good” and “bad” sides are never clear cut, and the abductees have no initial interest in gaining superpowers. Readers will surely relate to someone among the Breakfast Club-esque mix of well-developed characters. These include a wimpy boy with a grudge; a smart, attractive—but sheltered—girl; an overconfident, parentless slacker; a shy girl who’s a computer genius; and a boy who dreams of being a superhero. Action-packed fight sequences make for a thrilling read. For example, when James, who has gained superhuman strength, faces one of the Heroes, “another blast of water rocketed toward him. . . . James ducked under the jet, and in the same motion he scooped up a big piece of drywall from the floor. Cocking his arm, he threw the chunk at her. It struck her in the right shoulder, exploding into dust, and she gasped and fell to her knees.” Wesley King raises thought-provoking questions about loyalty and moral ambiguity. Though kidnapped, held captive, and occasionally humiliated, the adolescents forgive the Villains when offered superpowers. They even support the Villains when they learn about the League of Heroes’ bad deeds. Kids will have fun imagining what powers they would like to develop, or how they would use the abilities granted to the protagonists.
The nefarious Vindico are hell-bent on destroying the League of Heroes. Their plan? Kidnap five kids and train them to be the next generation of supervillains. Nabbed in quick succession in the book's first five chapters, the teen (and tween) protégés-to-be aren't exactly thrilled at their fate. Their responses range from terror to bemusement: "What if we don't want to fight the League? They are superheroes, you know; good and just and all that." As it turns out, the kids don't get much of a say in the matter (surprise, surprise). Each is assigned a mentor who oversees his or her superpower training. And this is where things get interesting. One of the teenagers forms a strong bond with her trainer. Another recruit, after learning about the League's history and its mandates concerning natural versus artificial superpowers, begins to question whether the good guys are really so good after all. With the Vindico characters' backstories, King grays the line between good and evil even further. At book's end, King does retreat from some of this thought-provoking ambiguity (spoiler: the protégés ultimately align with the League), but he never loses his knack for humorous -- and teen-friendly -- dialogue, e.g., "If you turn a bunch of kids into supervillains, you can't expect them to follow the rules." tanya d. auger
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