Archvillain (Archvillian, Book 1)
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4.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Critically acclaimed author Barry Lyga's middle-grade debut ARCHVILLAIN now in paperback!Kyle Camden knows exactly where he was the night Mighty Mike arrived: sneaking around the fallow field behind Bouring Middle School, preparing one of his most ingenious pranks yet.Which is why he couldn't tell anyone where he was. Or what he saw.Those lights everyone saw in the sky weren't tiny meteors burning up in the atmosphere. They were some kind of strange, supercooled plasma that bathed the entire field -- including Kyle -- in alien energies.Unfortunately, the energies also brought Mighty Mike to Earth. Kyle is the only one who knows that Mighty Mike is an alien. Everyone else thinks that Mike is just some kid who stumbled into the field, got beefed up on meteor juice, lost his memory, and decided to start rescuing kittens from trees. But Kyle knows the truth. And he'll do anything in his power to stop Mighty Mike, even if it means being an Archvillain!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Comic book fans in particular will appreciate this clever origin story, first in a new series. Twelve-year-old prankster Kyle is making mischief at the middle school football field the night a plasma storm falls to earth. After being "bathed in the energy of the storm," he gains amazing superpowers, like heightened intelligence and the ability to fly. He later learns that a boy was found after the storm. Everyone in town assumes this stranger is "a normal kid with superpowers and amnesia," anointing "Mighty Mike" a hero after he uses his powers to extinguish a fire and save kids' lives. But as his memories of the plasma storm return, jealous Kyle is suspicious of the do-gooder's motives, believing it his duty "to expose him for what he is and drive him away." Lyga (Goth Girl Rising) laces his story with ample humor, from the persnickety AI sidekick Kyle makes from his iPod to his failed Pants Laser prank. Readers will find plenty to ponder, from guessing Mike's true motivations to debating whether Kyle is a hero or a villain in the making. Ages 9 12.
