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| Here be villains... |
21st May 2018, Zuntold, 198 pages, Paperback, Review copy
Summary from Zuntold
Milly and her new friend Charlie have just started at Blaggard’s.
But what’s it like to be in a school that teaches lying, kidnapping and stealing instead of Maths and English? Their parents and teachers are master criminals and want them to follow in their footsteps...but are Milly and Charlie just too...dependable?
In this funny and exciting adventure, smart Milly and super-hacker Charlie face some of the worst villains around, including the cold-hearted Pecunia Badpenny and her sidekick: Wolf the evil electronic dog.
Can Milly and Charlie beat Badpenny and her demonic plans? And are they criminal enough to keep their place in a school they’ve come to love?
But what’s it like to be in a school that teaches lying, kidnapping and stealing instead of Maths and English? Their parents and teachers are master criminals and want them to follow in their footsteps...but are Milly and Charlie just too...dependable?
In this funny and exciting adventure, smart Milly and super-hacker Charlie face some of the worst villains around, including the cold-hearted Pecunia Badpenny and her sidekick: Wolf the evil electronic dog.
Can Milly and Charlie beat Badpenny and her demonic plans? And are they criminal enough to keep their place in a school they’ve come to love?
Nayu's thoughts
The idea of villains being the hero of the book isn't a new one to me (see suggested reads), and loving a good boarding school story this one sounded my cup of hot chocolate (why say tea when I can say my favourite drink?) It's a fun as it sounds! There are too many clever concepts of the story to list, and I don't want to spoil it for you, but I absolutely loved the way the doors represented clearly which class was being taught inside them - it's something that provided a few laughs. Millie and Charlie are likeable from the start, each with a slightly different nature that ends up helping them in their adventure. The friends they make have individual talents too - I know they are all villains but they are able to rely on a few of their classmates, which I think counts as being friends.
The teachers and philosophy of the school has to be read to be believed, but it works well and I felt sorry for Millie and Charlie because they wanted to do well at school but weren't cold-hearted villains which students at the school become. The threat of going to the worst school, Crumbly's, which would have been terrifying for the not exactly villains duo, heightened the sense of danger because I absolutely didn't want Millie and Charlie undergo that awful regime which was worse than Blaggard's. Although if they didn't succeed in stopping an evil adversary then the world really was doomed to global domination involving SPOILER. Their uniform was rather cool! I loved how Charlie had to hide his pet, and how Millie (& Charlie) did her best to decorate her room in a way that gained school approval.
There's plenty of humour spread among the perils that Millie and Charlie face, which have me wanting more books about their adventures and looking forward to rereading it because it felt like I already knew the characters and world, even though I didn't until I started page one. The world was doomed a little, but it isn't at all dystopian-y, and I had every faith that despite the obstacles Millie and Charlie would succeed. I was a bit creeped out by Wolf, but his personality did shine through to me and that's all I can say without spoilers.
Find out more on Ruth's website.
Suggested read
Similar themed books for slightly younger readers include Alice Dent and The Incredible Germs by Gwen Lowe (Children's, 7 years +, 10E/10E)
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