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 Big Bank Burglary
on January 4, 2013 and has 160 pages.
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Second in the St. Viper’s School for Super Villains fantasy series for kids.
My Take
It’s cute, but it’s missing some of the joie de vivre of the first book, The Riotous Rocket Ship Robbery, in this series. I did like the graphics in this story; they were simpler and their greater contrast rendered better on a Kindle.
This one is a lesson in not getting too full of yourself, and poor Demon…it’s a hard lesson to undergo. He isn’t helping matters either with his bragging and cockiness. It just makes it easier to make a fool of Demon until he starts to pay attention to other people. Then there’s that last revelation at the end…hoo, boy.
Donovan continues the praise for the kids being evil — I do love this angle. It’s such a head spinner! I guess that’s why it’s difficult to reconcile my wanting Demon to be nicer to his friends and teammates. Speaking of which, when evil and betrayal are the order of the day, shouldn’t it be part of all the student relationships? Even within Demon’s team. Well, hmmm, actually Demon is being mean to his teammates… It must be so very lonely without friends who have your back!
Listening to Copycat’s speech about his life reminded me of a Monty Python sketch with the men in white dinner jackets, sitting about moaning about how much more awful their childhoods had been, LOL.
Nah, that bit where Copycat proclaims what’ll happen with the spaceship reward money and Demon’s friends’ reaction just doesn’t ring true for me. It doesn’t even make sense, and I kept waiting for his friends to acknowledge that they were just playing up to Copycat.
I do love Donovan’s evil deeds, LOL. The cock-a-doodle-doo trick…oh, man. And her descriptions of the kids’ stuff from the ticking time bomb clock to the grenade holders in the armchairs to the disgustingly awful, truly fantastical food fight! Too, too funny.
The Story
It’s that new kid! He’s threatening Demon’s position as the most popular student, and that just ain’t gonna fly with Demon.
The Characters
Demon is the most popular boy in school since his (and his team’s) triumph in The Riotous Rocket Ship Robbery. Wolfgang, Shrink, and Stretch are his teammates and friends.
Copycat is the threatening new boy in school.
Other students in the school include Bad Bat; Zoom Doom; Bada Boom; Stinger Pain; Missy Menace, who sounds just too creepy; Bella Black Widow; and, Hammerhead.
Mr. Madness is the head teacher; Doctor Super Evil teaches World Domination (he’s also the leader of the Syndicate); Doctor Dynamite is a school governor; Vera Vile is the Super Simulator teacher; and, Baron Bone is in charge of the Sinister Speechmaking.
Other evil villains in the Syndicate of Supreme Evil include the Flying Phantom and Mind Meddlini and his sidekick, Takecare.
The superheroes include Captain Cool, who’s won the Hunkiest Hero award for the past seven years; Monsieur Magnifique with his magnificent mustache; Muscle Man is Demon’s dad’s arch nemesis — I love the postcards!!; Mr. Awesome; and, the New York Knight.
The Cover
The cover is a colorful explosion with money flying every which way.
The title is basic and refers to the dastardly plan, The Big Bank Burglary.
