Summary
After the events of Genius: The Game, Tunde, Rex and Painted Wolf are on the run with targets on their backs. They are some of the most wanted individuals in America. That makes travel difficult, especially since they need to get to Nigeria in Africa.
Tunde has created the GPS jammer for General Iyabo, and they hope to use it against him. If they can pull off the con they have planned, Tunde’s village will finally be free of the general and his soldiers.
But in the short time Tunde has been away, the general has turned the village into a mining operation. The villagers are essentially slaves. Now it is even more crucial to get the general out of Akika Village. The kids also have issues to resolve with tech billionaire Kiran from the game that brought the three together. And Painted Wolf’s father is mixed into all of this as well. Rex’s brother Teo, is still missing. The kids have to be on their game if this con is going to work and if they are going to get themselves to a place where they can deal with Kiran and Teo.
Review
I read book one almost a year ago, and the details are fuzzy, though I remember I enjoyed it. I had a harder time liking this one. There was little recap for readers who might have skipped book one or forgotten a lot of the details, like I did.
The action starts right away in that the kids are fleeing, but since I didn’t have a lot of context for their flight, I didn’t find the rhythm right away. Parts two and three were better for me. Some of the technical pieces went right over my head, but I could hang with the rest of the story without issue.
I like the main characters, and I care about what happens to them. I’m not sure that I buy that they are teens with all they are able to pull off. But I tried to push those questions out of my mind so I could enjoy the story.
I definitely recommend reading (or re-reading) book one before diving into this one. I think the momentum will help readers through part one. This is good for teens who love technology and adventure. Great diverse characters and clean teen content.
Thanks to the folks at Netgalley and Feiwel & Friends who provided an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.