Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2012 - (Page 36)

off the shelf H.I.V.E.: Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden Review by Hossain Md. Jihad Turjo Hidden inside a volcano that only looks active, H.I.V.E. (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) was founded by Dr. Nero, with the purpose of gathering students from all over the world and nurturing the seeds of evil in their minds. This pool of students, however, is no result of random selection. only those who have shown that they can use evil to become leaders are chosen to be a part of H.I.V.E. only the truly extraordinary, who do not feel bound by rules of normal society, are given the chance to nourish their abilities at H.I.V.E. otto Malpense, in order to halt the British prime minister’s policy that would close down the orphanage he has lived in and virtually controlled since his birth, literally annihilates the PM’s career by tricking him into public embarrassment. laura Brand, a Scottish girl, hacks into her local military base network in order to use surveillance aircraft for eavesdropping on school enemies. Shelby Trinity, an American girl, has become one of the most notorious anonymous jewel thieves alive by the time she reaches 13. These are the kind of youthful instigators who are discreetly captured and brought to H.I.V.E. Joining—or leaving the school for that matter—is no voluntary option, as otto, Shelby, laura and Wing, an Asian boy, soon find out the hard way. Dr. Nero, the headmaster, reports to a shady figure called Number one, leader of G.l.o.V.E. (Global league of Villainous Enterprises), whose identity and past are unknown. The argument Dr. Nero presents to the students for their six‐year‐long studies at H.I.V.E. is that villains are always the better, more powerful ones. There are moments when everyone finds themselves secretly wishing that the villain wins. Why would that be if not for the fact that the villain is actually the better man? But despite Nero’s assurances, otto and his friends feel that they are in effect prisoners. Hence, they plot their escape together, without realizing that they are merely playing into Nero’s hands. There are things otto doesn’t know, including why he is so special to Number one that Nero has been ordered to keep an eye on him and make sure nothing happens to him. Immediately after they realize that their ingenious escape plan was known to Nero all along, the school comes under threat of a mutated plant—nurtured by genius biotechnology student Nigel Darkdoom—gone out of control. The book ends with a description of the fight against the plant, and leaves an enormous number of loose ends to tie up. overall, this book, the first in its series, provides a great adventure in a very “special ops” environment. For those who wish to take a break from standard views of right/wrong and good/bad, this book is a must read. or, it could simply be read for the pure pleasure of delving into a sci-filike adventure novel. Hossain Md. Jihad Turjo is an 11th grade student at Mastermind School, Dhaka, Bangladesh, preparing for the Edexcel GCE A-Level (Advanced Level) examinations. Turjo completed the Honors Chemistry and Honors Biology courses through CTYOnline and is currently continuing CTY’s AP Calculus BC course. He also attended CTY’s Investigations in Engineering program last summer at Johns Hopkins University. In his free time, Turjo enjoys reading novels and playing on the computer. Also recommended The Ear, The Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer This book is part science fiction, part mythology, and part adventure story. Set in Zimbabwe in the year 2194, it tells the story of 13-year-old Tendai and his two younger siblings, Rita and Kuda, who are children of a powerful general. When they leave home one day for an adventure but don’t return, the general hires three detectives with special talents (hearing, vision, mind-reading) to bring them back. I liked the way this book wove together ancient legends and futuristic concepts, and the characters were great, too. —Aidan Bowen, 14, NJ Dovey Coe by Frances O’Roark Dowell Set in the 1920s, Dovey Coe is about a young girl who is accused of murdering her older sister’s boyfriend, Parnell, when she is found in the same room as his dead body. Twelveyear-old Dovey never liked Parnell, but she also would never kill him. Dovey goes on trial and is found innocent, but then who did kill Parnell? That is the mystery of this book. — Gillian Schullery, 11, CT 36 imagine Jan/Feb 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2012

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2012
Contents
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Reading Tea Leaves
iGEM: Synthetic Biology, Brick by Brick
Young Biologists, Big Discoveries
My Journey to the International Biology Olympiad
Lab Notes
Macro Menagerie
My Summer at SIMR
Selected Opportunities & Resources
The World on Stage
Lessons from Chess
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2012