About This Book:
X-Men meets Spy Kids in the third installment of The Forgotten Five middle-grade fantasy/adventure series by the New York Times bestselling author of The Unwanteds.
Estero City is in an uproar following the exposure of President Fuerte as a supernatural, as well as the surprise announcement by Magdalia Palacio—Seven’s mother—that she will oppose Fuerte in the upcoming election. The forgotten five and their allies know the president is corrupt to the core. But no one knows if Magdalia can be trusted.
Meanwhile, Birdie, Seven, Tenner, and Brix are reeling from Cabot’s decision to leave the group and join her parents, who are collaborating with Fuerte and his gang of supernatural criminals. Does that make Cabot their enemy, too?
Still, there’s work to be done. The Librarian, the five’s trusted confidante, has a daring new plan: Lada will go undercover and pretend to work for the president while gathering intelligence for the supernatural resistance. It’s a dangerous assignment, setting the group up for a showdown with their most powerful enemy yet—their own criminal parents.
*Review Contributed By Mark Buxton, Staff Reviewer*
Whose side are you on?
What worked:
The main characters are children with some of them possessing supernatural abilities. Some of their parents have talents too that include x-ray vision, invisibility, and reading minds. However, the adults are performing heists for President Fuertes in other countries which creates conflicts for their kids. The children still love their parents but having them be criminals creates complications. The parents’ feelings for their kids range from love to indifference, to disdain which results in further mental/emotional problems. The children aren’t sure how to feel when they discover a parent they’d presumed dead turns out to still be alive. What will happen when the kids are finally forced to fight their mothers and fathers?
The biggest initial change is that Cabot leaves the team to rejoin her parents. This creates complications for her character and her friends. Cabot’s parents are nice enough but she’s strongly opposed to them working with Fuertes. Also, Cabot realizes she’s beginning to manifest a talent and readers will anxiously wait to learn what she can do with it. Cabot’s friends don’t know if she’ll ever come back to them so they aren’t sure if she’s now become an enemy. Later, Lada goes undercover by joining Fuertes’s supers hoping to discover information about their abilities and plans. Having these two characters live among the antagonists is intriguing and adds an element of tension and uncertainty to the plot.
A highlight of the story is the interpersonal relationships between the Forgotten Five and their friends. Birdie acts as team leader when The Librarian’s not around and her little brother Brix is very sensitive and wants to contribute. Seven and Birdie have been best friends for years so they’re always watching out for each other. Tenner is developing feelings for Lada but it’s not clear if she sees him the same way. Lada suffers from cerebral palsy so she’s forced to use a wheelchair or crutches to move around, although she’s started to perfect her ability to transport. The cerebral palsy causes pain in her legs and Tenner volunteers to stretch the muscles and rub out the soreness. The story has many questionable characters with shifting loyalties but Birdie’s team members are forever supportive and loyal.
What didn’t work as well:
There are a lot of characters to remember. Some of them have supernatural powers and some don’t. The parents, other adults, and kids present a large number of characters and it gets hard to quickly recall all of their backstories and the abilities they possess. Most of the adult supers seem to know each other and it’s strange to see “good guys” and “bad guys” interact civilly in public. It’s confusing when Fuertes’s supers talk about The Librarian with Lada when The Librarian is leading the efforts against the president.
The final verdict:
This book continues the series’ drama and controversy concerning the rights of citizens with supernatural abilities. The motivations of many characters are brought into question this time so readers will become engrossed with the unpredictability of their actions. The new powers emerging in several of the children add enjoyment and intrigue. Overall, I recommend you give this book a shot.
