Evil Genius

Evil Genius
Catherine Jinks
Harcourt Children’s Books
ISBN: 0152059881
Fiction, YA
Reviewed by Joel A. Nichols

Catherine Jinks’s thick juvenile novel is as dangerous as its title. It follows a sad, alienated genius named Cadel (his name means battle in Welsh) whose pre-teen acts of domestic terrorism (hacking the utility company, etc.) force his adoptive parents to seek the professional help of a child psychologist. Of course, the good doctor is more interested in Cadel’s nefarious interests than in “curing” him. After their first session, the doctor warns him that he can keep causing trouble with public services, as along as he never gets caught. And thus begins the mystery of this book, which is peeled back layer by excruciating layer to reveal a world of secret identities, international intrigue and, for you ALIAS and 24 fans, a healthy dose of “spy-fi” action and technology.
Jinks’s writing is funny and sad. She crafts an entire school of tragicomic antisocials, giving Cadel a Hogwarts experience not in magic, but in the subtle arts of poisoning, disguise, computer hacking and world domination. The comparison to the Harry Potter books wasn’t far out of my mind for much of this novel: Cadel is an alienated orphan desperate to connect with his extraordinary abilities and therefore his dead parents, encumbered by mysterious forces. Part of the wicked fun in here is that the reader wants the embattled Cadel’s evil plans to succeed, whether it’s mucking up the city’s public transportation or running an internet dating scheme to fund his operations. But like in Rowling’s series, good trumps bad in the final act, which is full of feverish action sequences and double cross after double cross. Jinks’s funny and dangerously wry novel makes her a worthy successor to Rowling. You and your kids will laugh, cheer and shudder.