I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Riotous Rocket Ship Robbery
on May 22, 2012 and has 97 pages.
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First in the St. Viper’s School for Super Villains fantasy series for children. It revolves around a righteous group of four newbies to the school, determined to succeed yet clashing with the desire to help each other.
I received this eARC from the author.
My Take
It was fun to read the other side’s viewpoint! A school for super villains where everyone is encouraged to be as bad as possible. No punishments! Instead you get points for naughtiness. And yet, the four who gang together help each other out. It’s an interesting contrast between the need to be bad and the desire to help.
I did enjoy the descriptions of the various students and Donovan had a lot of fun with their interaction — imagine being encouraged to misbehave! Teachers and students make messes, attack each other, and cause mayhem. And they’re rewarded!
Great sound effects! It certainly suited the tone of the book.
Donovan was consistent throughout in keeping them bad too. A very tricky task.
Enjoy the story and laugh with it first. Then use it to get the kids to recognize where the characters are being bad and what they should be doing. The four friends joining up together is a good example of teamwork and support. Although I did love the bit about “Miss Competition”! Certainly the way the teachers acted could be lessons in what is not acceptable in real life.
I loved how the kids got back at the bullies!
What I could see of the graphics was great and certainly fit the action. However the black-and-white just doesn’t do it justice in a Kindle. It needs to be simpler with greater contrast and somewhat lighter overall to stand out.
A few things didn’t make sense. I don’t understand the kids showing up at Chill’s room with the cake and no other plan. Unless that was Donovan’s plan, to have this oops function as a lesson much like Vera Vile and the Simulator.
I’m confused…if the kids are returning the Hermes 01 for the reward and Mr. Awesome shows up asking “friend or foe”, why are they trying to get away?
I would have liked more of an emphasis on the moral lessons in this. The one in which Demon encouraged Shrink — good leadership there. The only obvious one I remember is what Demon used from his test against the R0K robots.
The Story
It’s Demon Kid’s first year at St. Viper’s, and he’s determined to make his parents proud.
It’s Chill and his gang who really get Demon to ramp it up and I’m sure he’ll make his parents very happy.
The Characters
Demon Kid is determined to make his parents proud of how evil he is. Stacey Stretch has quite a reach. Wolfgang is a young werewolf and Shrink scales up and down depending upon his confidence and mission.
Chill, Levitate, Thunderskull, and Dark Owl are the senior class evil bullies whom Demon and his friends take down in their own bid for badness.
Mr. Madness is the head of St. Vipers School for Super Villains. Dr. Super Evil teaches World Domination and answers to his mother as to whether he has on clean undies. Vera Vile is in charge of the Super Simulator. Professor Plutonium teaches Sinister Science.
Loved the Mr. Awesome superhero and his obsession with his hair and his teeth! General Honeychurch is about to be fooled. How bad is that?!
The Cover and Title
The cover captures the story perfectly — gleefully evil with its collage of the story’s events and your first introduction to our young anti-heroes. The bright green of the background is a definite indicator of the busy excitement within.
The title makes a good introduction to the kids’ boarding school, St. Vipers School for Super Villains, where the plans for The Riotous Rocket Ship Robbery are plotted.
