How to Grow Up & Rule the World

Vordak The Incomprehensible: How to Grow Up and Rule the World by Vordak T. Incomprehensible 

(transcribed by Scott Seegert)

New York: EgmontUSA, 2010

ISBN: 9781606840139

208 pages

4 out of 5

Are you someone who likes "doing the right thing"?  Do you enjoy "sharing" and "caring" and "treating others the way you would like to be treated"?

If so, you are a pathetic goober and a complete waste of my time.  Put this book down immediately!

But if your feeble little mind dreams of a bigger, better, more EVIL future, then I, Vordak the Incomprehensible, will teach you everything you need to know about Supervillainy. From selecting a supremely evil name, to molding a menacing multitude of minons, my magnificiant manual will make dominating the planet so simple that even a sniveling little pipsqueak such as yourself can one day GROW UP AND RULE THE WORLD! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!

Vordak the Incomprehensible is exactly what it says: a manual for evil-doing.  The style of this book reminds me of Edgar and Ellen's Mischief Manual but Vordak is all about villainy (as opposed to pranks) and the eventual success of his "diabolically clever yet extremely slow-acting death trap."  Even though Vordak occasionally uses deprecating language when he chats with the reader, the tone of the book is light and humorous.

The only pitfall are the references to popular culture.  The Simpsons, which at this point is pretty iconic, is mentioned once, but there were other mentions that already felt dated and irrelevant to this age group.  They are easily skimmed over and do not detract from the villainy and enjoyment of the text.

The text is broken up by activities (such as the Evil Aptitude Exam), Vordak's commandments, and illustrations.  The illustrations only add to the humor of the book often acting as punchlines.  Overall, this book is pretty great. I found myself laughing out loud at least once a chapter and I am looking forward to the next one. 

I even made my very own minion at Vordak's website.

In My Mailbox (8)

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a meme hosted by Kristi at the The Story Siren.

From the Library:

Teenage Waistland by Lynn Biederman and Lisa Pazer

Havoc by Chris Wooding

Dirty Little Secrets by C. J. Omololu

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (audio book)

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (ebook)

From the  bookstore:

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Rx by Tracy Lynn

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

When the Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer

I Lives!

Ok, I admit it.  That break was a tad bit longer than I expected.  But I can catch you up superfast:

• The Art Show was awesome with many submissions by some ridiculously talented teens. 
• I participated in Nanowrimo for the first time and won, which is pretty sweet.  Now I just have to see if I can make it coherent.
• Classes are officially over, which means I get to read real books again until January.  Hurray!
• And as a reward for winning Nanowrimo, my bestest friend took me to see Harry Potter, and now I'm re-reading it.  I read it incredibly fast the first time so work people wouldn't spoil the ending for me (and they would have, too!) and now I don't really remember what happened.

Now that we are all caught up, reviews will resume shortly.

MIA

I'm a bit swamped this week with our Teen Art Show happening Saturday and major assignments due.  I'll return next week with new content and perhaps some photos of award winning art! 

X Isle

X Isle by Steve Augarde 

New York, David Fickling Books, 2009

ISBN: 9780385751933

478 pages

3.5 out of 5

In the fight for survival, anything goes.

The floods have come.  Some are lucky to be alive.  Though they might not count themselves lucky.  In the aftermath of global devastation, those left barely survive, living in fear and near starvation.  They have lost everything, including their future.

But there is one way out: a boat to X-Isle.

And Baz is about to take it.

A hard-hitting novel set in a world where there are no boundaries, and normality is just a word.

This is one of many in the genre of dystopian apocalyptic young adult fiction titles out there. I like the title.  I like the story.  I love the cover.

After storms of biblical proportions, the world Baz knew (the world we all know) is drowned, leaving millions dead and drastically shrinking available land and resources.  Boys on the mainland want nothing more than to catch passage to X-Isle, where food is guaranteed in return for a hard work.  Grocery stores are submerged and luckily for the survivors, Preacher John and his sons had their diving equipment during an inland trip before the storms.  Survival is the name of the game on the mainland and it's no different on X-Isle.  The group of boys work six days a week at the hands of the nasty capos to keep Preacher John's operation running. 

There are eight boys working for Preacher John. Usually when there's such a large cast of characters maybe four or five take center stage and the others remain underdeveloped extras.  But these boys each have a distinct personality, belief system, and voice. 

One hurdle I will mention is the language.  This is an American debut of a British novel and much of the language is still very British.  "Tins" of food are traded for other items and it took me a while to equate tin with the canned goods I'm familiar with instead of something like a sardine can.  Even so, the language definitely makes the setting and helps to set  a tone.

This is a lengthy title, coming close to 500 pages.  For a time I thought this book might never end.  That's not to imply that I was tired of it or not enjoying it, just that the build-up is measured and precise.  I simultaneously felt it was worth it and let down.  Even after 478 pages, I wanted just a bit more.