The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook

The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis 978-1-59990-142-8

This was a fun book to read. The main character, Julian, is a classic nerd--when his family moves to a new area, he's so desperate to fit in that he reads books to understand the behavior of his "peers". What he finds, though is that the classic jock and bad girl are more than they seem when they invite him to their secret clubhouse to join them in scientific tinkering. Together, the three of them form the eponymous alliance, dedicated mostly to bringing the ideas in their Invention Notebook to life, but also to getting (gentle) revenge on the bullies at school (like putting blue dye in the chocolate milk Julian knew a bully would predictably steal). The Copycat Crook, in contrast, is an adult scientist with a bad attitude and a severe lack of imagination. How the Alliance defeats him is brilliant--and not something I want to spoil.

I loved all the little details in the illustration. For example, scenes set in the clubhouse are often accompanied by little labels like "peanut butter" "corn chips" and "motor oil" which are all sitting on a counter to be tested by a machine. There are cutaway views of many of the inventions, with the kind of details anyone who's ever enjoyed cutaway illustrations, or DK-style books, from nonfiction would love.

I hope Ms. Davis is planning to write more about these characters. I really want to know what else they get into (and if Ben ever overcomes his testing problem). I also loved the hardcover format--it looks like it will hold up for many circulations, which is good, since I plan on handing it to anyone who seems remotely interested (maybe those too young for Artemis Fowl, but interested in something similar).