The Genius Wars finishes up the Genius Trilogy by Catherine Jinks. Judging by her website, it’s also the last in the series, which I think is a shame. It may not be a great, groundbreaking novel, but it would be fun to watch Cadel and Sonja team up and solve crimes, under the tutelage of Saul and Fiona Greeniaus. Also–it ended very abruptly which kind of annoyed me. There’s so much more ground to cover!
“You don’t believe it because you don’t understand,” he said hoarsely. “Prosper was different. He wasn’t like other
people. He might have hated me, but he loved me too. In his own way. He couldn’t help it; not after raising me for all those years.”
The book was pretty good, though. After the dismemberment of the slightly corrupt Genius Squad, Cadel is living under lock and key with his new adoptive parents. He focuses his intense brain on helping his friend Sonja, who has cerebral palsy, by making adjustments to her electronic wheelchair. Then suddenly, her wheelchair throws her down the stairs, the police are seeing evil Prosper English everywhere, and Cadel is pulled back into danger.
These books are fun, silly in some ways and dead serious in others. It’s definitely aimed at teenagers, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The plot twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing, which I always love. I’ve gotten kind of attached to these characters — hopefully Catherine Jinks will change her mind and write another one!