Some of the kids in town are special, but Randy isn’t one of them.
Eli finds his friend’s abrupt departure slightly suspicious, and when he probes into what happened, he finds a secret note in which Randy cautions him that something is very wrong in Serenity. Afterward, Randy is sent out of town to live with his grandparents. However, Malik and Hector would both like to move away when they’re old enough.Īfter Eli’s friend Randy convinces him to cross the town line on a bike ride, Eli gets deathly ill and is flown to the hospital. Eli and Amber don’t question this state of affairs. Serenity, New Mexico, is an unusual community because it has no crime or poverty, and none of the teens has ever traveled anywhere else. Each one offers a different perspective of the town where they live.
Subsequent chapters introduce four other main characters, who are Eli’s classmates: Amber Laska, Malik Bruder, Hector Amani, and Tori Pritel. The first chapter is told from the perspective of middle school student Eli Frieden. This study guide and all its page citations are based on the Kindle edition of the novel. Masterminds falls under the categories of Children’s Fantasy & Supernatural Mystery Books and Children’s Mystery & Detective Adventure. The trilogy is intended for readers aged 10-12 in third through seventh grade. The other two titles in the series are Masterminds: Criminal Destiny (2016) and Masterminds: Payback (2017). Some of Korman’s works have been made into television shows, and the Masterminds trilogy has been optioned for movies or TV but isn’t yet in production. Korman has received multiple reader’s choice and best book awards from various organizations during his long career. His works have sold 35 million copies worldwide, and some of his titles have reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Korman began writing as a teenager and, in a career that spans four decades, has penned more than 90 middle-grade and teen novels. As Eli and four classmates try to penetrate the mystery of their town, the novel explores the themes of Nature Versus Nurture, Clone Identities, and Personal Autonomy. A secret message from his friend convinces Eli that something is deeply wrong with Serenity. He ends up in the hospital, and Randy is forced to leave town under mysterious circumstances.
One day, Eli’s friend Randy convinces him to venture past the town line on their bicycles, but Eli falls ill when he reaches the perimeter. The town has no crime or poverty, and everyone accepts “the three Essential Qualities of Serenity citizens-honesty, harmony, and contentment” (9). As the story opens, a boy named Eli Frieden talks about life in his peaceful community of Serenity.
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