Escape Velocity by Mark Walden

Walden, Mark Escape Velocity, 354 p. Simon (APRIL 2011), $16.  Content: G (like The Incredibles)

Something is very wrong at H.I.V.E. (Higher Institute of Villainous Education).  The headmaster, Nero, has been captured and Raven, his chief assassin and protector, is missing.  Even worse, G.L.O.V.E. and Number One have appointed the Contessa to be the new headmistress.  Wait – didn’t she try to control and kill everybody less than a year ago?  Otto and his group are not willing to take this lying down.  With a little help from the sympathetic teachers and a nudge from the H.I.V.E.mind, the school’s self-aware computer, they will do everything that they have to in order to regain control of their school, rescue Nero and take down H.I.V.E.’s enemies.  While it is kind of ironic for villains to act as heroes and still see themselves as villains, the energy and action are just too good to resist in this series.  And it irks me that more books in the series that have been released in the UK, but not in America!  MS – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher.