Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos (Evil Villains International League #1)

Sixteen-year-old Keeper Chance, who has a knack for intuitive tinkering and lives with his grandmother, is doing his best to adopt a slacker persona and fly under the radar at school. Then he’s recruited by Chaos, head of Chapter 626 of Evil Villains International League, an organization described as “necessary evil”: “We’re the sock that goes missing in the dryer. We’re the kid who won’t stop screaming on the plane.” Keeper joins fellow recruit Toby, a talented hacker with exceptional hearing and smell, in pulling off a daring cookie heist (essential for initiation), only to stumble across a truly villainous kidnapping scheme. Together with Y, daughter of the mysterious do-gooder Sensei Love, Keeper must thwart this abduction ploy and claim his place among his new community. Evanovich’s debut, a tongue-in-cheek take on comic book tropes, features a quirky cast with mundane, oddball powers such as talking down prices or sucking the fun out of any situation. The villains barely tip the scales past petty nuisances, making this a pleasantly goofy story and a satisfying beginning to Keeper’s adventures, with plenty of room for further exploration. The protagonists read as white. Ages 10–up. Agent: Celeste Fine, Park & Fine Literary. (Oct.)