Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos

What I liked: A Criminal Organization intended to get a particular brand of cookies. Who doesn't like cookies and doesn't have a specific brand they think is the top of the line? Things go sideways when Keeper and another soon-to-be member end up with a box of money, not cookies. When I think of villains, I imagine people who are out to do terrible things, and this is true for the members of E.V.I.L., but they draw the line at hurting pets or people, though you can harm people if they harm pets.
What Worked:
There is an excellent backstory waiting to emerge about Keeper; he lives with his grandmother, who he refers to throughout the book as a hobgoblin, and she is horrible and repeatedly says that he is just like his father. Grandma knows more than we are told in this first book. Second, Keeper has talent but doesn't know exactly what it is, but he likes to invent things, and Chaos, a leader in the E.V.I.L. organization, has been watching Keeper his whole life. I am curious why the author chose to do this with older school children rather than younger middle-grade children. Still, maybe cars are driven, and eventually, they will move on to being adults, so there will be bridging from young adults to older teens, depending on how long the series will be.
Final Verdict:
Keeper Chance and the Condrum of Chaos is the first solid book, and with this being written by the daughter of a well-known author with an excellent talent for quirky characters, I am sure this will be an intense series with lots of books to come

What worked:
The most interesting part of the book is watching Keeper join a criminal organization called E.V.I.L. even though he’s not really an evil person. It turns out Chaos has been monitoring his development since birth due to Keeper’s family heritage. Keeper lives with his grandmother and she cannot be described as a sweet, old lady. She verbally abuses him so Keeper feels some justification for hiding a stinky fish carcass under the mat inside her car. He’s an inventive boy with a kind heart and it’s surprising when he’s drawn to the thieves in Chapter 626 of E.V.I.L. Well, he likes everyone there except Tsunami.
Each villain has a special talent although they may not be what readers expect. Keeper’s fellow recruit named Toby has super sensitive smelling and hearing but one of the villain’s talents is talking people into selling their products at lower prices. Keeper is unaware of his own specialty but Chaos thinks it’s worth the effort to keep an eye on him. Could luck or finding things be Keeper’s special talent or might it be something he can actually control? Could it be the Force like in Star Wars? A young girl named Y is also watching Keeper and she’s the dissatisfied daughter of a sensei. Her father happens to be the nemesis of E.V.I.L. so Y’s actions and interest in Keeper add intrigue to the plot.
Readers may find themselves questioning the identity of the protagonists and antagonists. The members of E.V.I.L. will not be what readers expect when they hear Chaos talk about their rules and missions. The first rule is that members will not harm people or animals. The villains become very upset and angry when Cookie Maven stops making their favorite treats. On the other hand, the sensei uses questionable tactics as he tries to convince Keeper to join his dojo. Y doesn’t think it’s in Keeper’s best interests to do that and she thinks he’ll be better off with E.V.I.L. This will make readers wonder, who are the good guys and who are the bad?
What didn’t work as well:
The story could easily work with younger characters so it’s unclear why high school students are used in a middle-grade novel. The kids are around sixteen years old which unnecessarily makes them different from younger readers. It’s not like they behave more maturely and there’s no violence or sexuality that might be inappropriate. It’s not wrong to have sixteen-year-old main characters but it doesn’t work as well as it might.
The final verdict:
This humorous adventure will amuse young readers as they follow Keeper’s journey to find his place in the world. The colorful characters and unusual plot create hilarious situations that will challenge what readers are used to. I recommend you give this book a shot!