#1 was good enough to keep us interested in what happens to the project Osiris kids now that they've broken away from Serenity. #2 falls short and we won't pursue #3 despite the cliffhanger ending. Basically the kids are on the lam, all over the West, in and out of harrowing situations. They need to somehow prove they are clones, which is going to be harder than they anticipated, because it is such an unbelievable story and they are so naive about the real world and they have no proof. They sneak back to Serenity as one solution -- but it's a ghost town. No one is left and the records are all missing except one scrap of paper which may help. Then they decide to track down the source of their genes, which becomes a whole adventure in itself. One surprise surfaces from Book 1 and presents an interesting twist, but I won't spoil it. If you are loving the series, go for it, otherwise, skip. ( )

Before escaping their hometown of Serenity, Eli, Malik,Tori, Amber had never been outside of their quiet and peaceful town. They have learned they are illegal clones from criminal masterminds and they don't want to be someone's science project. They head to the boarding school were Eli's friend Randy is living. Randy knows the truth about the clones and can help them. They can't stay long because the Purples (the police from Serenity) are tracking them! They cannot run and tell the police because that will get them arrested. Then they track down the billionaire that funded the project but she denies that she'd heard of or funded such a project. They head back to Serenity and the "plastic" works only to find their evidence has gone up in smoke. As a last attempt to prove the project exists, they look for one of the criminal masterminds and break him out of jail. Will their actions put them back in the hands of the scientists who created them or show the world they live up to their criminal DNA?

In my opinion it was a good book and I would recommend it. This book picks up were the last book left off. The book's format tells the story from Eli ,Malik ,Tori, and Amber's points of view. I liked seeing how the characters handle their situations in the outside world. Also in the book they broke a lot of laws to get out of tight spaces. Like the first book it leaves on a cliffhanger so I am really excited to read the next book. I would recommend this book to fifth grade and up if they like plot twists and cliffhangers. I enjoyed this book and I know that other people would like it too. ( )

4.5
Project Osiris was an experiment to find out what happens when criminal masterminds are cloned and raised in ideal, happy, loving situations. When Tori, Amber, Malik, Eli, and Hector found out that they were part of the experiment they refused to be someone's science project any longer. In Masterminds, the first book in the series, the kids busted out of Serenity, New Mexico, the town where they were brought up. All but Hector survived the escape. Having been sheltered for their whole lives, they knew nothing about the outside world and how it works. Luckily they made it to the private school their friend, Randy, was transferred to after he got too close to the secrets of Project Osiris. Randy gave them a place to stay for a while so they could come up with a plan. When the “purples” (the police from Serenity) showed up at the dormitories their planning time was cut short.The kids had to think smart and break free. It wasn't easy, but they made their way to Denver. Amber knew the best thing to do was to find a police officer and explain their story. After all, cloning humans was illegal, and their so-called parents and everyone else in the experiment deserved to be arrested. Unfortunately, telling a police officer only makes them think you're crazy or messing with them, and Amber gets arrested. The kids realize they need evidence to prove they're clones from master criminals. Since they don’t know which criminals, it's even more important they have proof. On the internet they find out the name of a millionaire who was going to fund Project Osiris, and they set out to find her. But she refused to acknowledge that she knew anything about a cloning experiment. It isn’t easy, but they decide that the only thing they can do is go back to Serenity and the traffic cone factory, where they'd first discovered the truth. The kids know there's evidence there- they’d seen it. When they arrive, the factory had a fire. Could any proof still remain? Will someone in Serenity keep them from going back to freedom? How long can four kids survive on their own without money or a real understanding of the outside world? Read this page turner to find out.

I read the first book in the series last summer, and it ended on a cliffhanger. So I was looking forward to reading Masterminds: Criminal Destiny by Gordon Korman. It started right where book one left off. The format was the same, with Eli, Amber, Malik, and Tori each taking different chapters to give us the story through their eyes. One thing I liked was seeing how the characters handled the outside world. They broke a lot of laws, but they were in a tight spot and some of the illegal things they did couldn’t be avoided. After all, they were in an unbelievable situation. The characters grew on me and I liked seeing the way their friendships evolved. Just like the first book in the series- this one ended on a cliffhanger. I found out the third, and last, installment of the series is out- so I hope I can read them in the next couple weeks. I recommend this to kids in fourth grade and up who like mystery and adventure. I know I can’t wait to see what happens to these kids with criminal mastermind DNA.
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I 5stared the first book in the series. This one wasn't quite as good. I'm still definitely going to read the third.

The first third could have used quite a bit more tightening. ( )