Such a fun and entertaining book. Great characters, with interesting development. I wouldn't really call this a Young Adult book. It's more of a children's book. Even so, it's awesome.

I mean, I'm an adult, I think. I may have the mental capacity of a stupid 5 year old, but at least I don't poop my pants very often. Even as a retarded 5 year old, I found this book somewhat fascinating. It's the story of our hero Chris Lane, a 12 year old fuck-up, who's been given the opportunity to attend London's most interesting school. It's a school where kids are trained to use abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, and other such superpowers.

But of course our retarded hero, Chris, tells this special school to go fuck itself, because he'd rather take care of his sick mom, and get beat up by fat fucks at school. Because, you know... Plot or something.

So, it's pretty much a Harry Potter book. But, instead of witchcraft, it's more about science fiction. Frankly, I found this book more interesting than Harry Potter. Harry never really gets to be a hero. But Chris is definitely a hero by the end of this book. I mean, his life still sucks, but at least it's worth living. ( )

I really liked this book, and I think middle-schoolers will LOVE it! It is a quick and exciting read. The characters are fun and diverse, the plot is original, and the whole time I was reading it I was thinking about what a fun movie this book would make. Picture Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi or Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill (without all the crudeness) as Ron and John. Awesome!

I really liked the main character and his loyalty and integrity. He is plucked from an incredibly dysfunctional home (I have hopes his mother may eventually improve) and put into an elite school. He was struggling in his old school, although the teacher and headmaster were a little (no a lot) over the top, but Chris excels at his new school, where his particular abilities are appreciated. There are a lot of topics in this book that could encourage good discussions. The Myers Holt Academy is a very skillfully drawn setting (again - great movie material), and it made me want to be a student there myself. There is action and suspense, and a reason at the end to be excited for the sequel, without an annoying cliff-hanger. It's just a really fun book. Read it and see who you picture in a movie version :) . Movie producers - take note.

Areas of concern:
A handful of the *d* word.
Creepy, evil twins.
An abusive home and school environment for the main character at the beginning.
The main character steals money for food, and then technically steals from cab drivers by not paying them. (I know I said he had integrity in my review, but you'll see what I mean when you read it.) ( )

I did not care for this book. It started off okay, if a little derivative, but about 2/3 of the way through I felt that it went off the rails. My biggest issue (other than the melodramatic ending) was that each of the characters only had one trait. The children were barely more than placeholders, and the adults were one-note caricatures. ( )

I really enjoyed this book about "the ability" that you have when you are 12. I can really see kids enjoying this book and hoping that they too will have the ability when they are twelve. ( )

I very much enjoyed this story of 12-year-old Christopher Lane and his five friends learning to use their Ability at a government school in London. Christopher is a well-developed and likable character with weaknesses and strengths. His story is made more poignant by his neglectful family and more responsibility than a boy his age should endure. Supporting characters such as John and Ron, the bodyguards, add humor and wisdom to the tale. The plot is fast-paced with elements of mystery, science fiction, and spy novel. I look forward to the sequel, Mindscape, due out in March 2014. ( )