Book Review: H.I.V.E. Higher Institute of Villainous Education

Summery: HIGHER INSTITUTE OF VILLAINOUS EDUCATION
 Otto Malpense may only be thirteen years old, but so far he has managed to run the orphanage where he lives, and he has come up with a plan clever enough to trick the most powerful man in the country. He is the perfect candidate to become the world's next supervillain.
 That is why he ends up at H.I.V.E., handpicked to become a member of the incoming class. The students have been kidnapped and brought to a secluded island inside a seemingly active volcano, where the school has resided for decades. All the kids are elite; they are the most athletic, the most technically advanced, and the smartest in the country. Inside the cavernous marble rooms, floodlit hangars, and steel doors, the students are enrolled in Villainy Studies and Stealth and Evasion 101. But what Otto soon comes to realize is that this is a six-year program, and leaving is not an option.
 With the help of his new friends: an athletic martial-arts expert; a world-famous, beautiful diamond thief; and a spunky computer genius -- the only other people who seem to want to leave -- can Otto achieve what has never been done before and break out of H.I.V.E.?

Thoughts: This book was a thing of disagreement. Epic had many other more fascinating books on her plate when she read it and found it rather boring. Not to mention we had been hoping it would be something resembling Artemis Fowl. It wasn't Artemis at all and she found it boring.
 I, on the other hand, was just finishing up Magyk (which had really bored me) and was expecting this one to be little different in terms of enjoyment. I loved it.
 And with that note out of the way (and since I'm the one writing the post) I get to tell all reasons why I love it! 
  Let's start with the writing. It's really great, seamlessly moving from one point of view to the next, and carrying the story through from point to point.
 The plot was really interesting and fairly unique. I've read of stories where the characters going to the school expect or even want to become villains  or where they discover their drive to become a hero. But not here. In H.I.V.E. the kids don't want to be villains, despite their past exploits, and they'renot looking to save the world (yet, this could always come up later). They just want out. 
 And that bring me to the characters. I loved them all! The girls, Laura and Shelby come off a little flat at first but I think this is because they aren't given a lot of page time to develop much. Otto and Wing on the other hand really made my day. They've got stories and mysteries. Reading this book felt like I was just tapping into a , possibly, great opening for some really fantastic characters!

Contnt: Language was the biggest problem. D*** and B****ing were both used, the latter appearing only once but the other popping up a bit more often. There was also some crude humor: a person is made to moon an audience over TV. There's also violence and a possibility of superpowers/magic (though I doubt it will ever be termed as magic. Probably a more scientific explanation will be used). Though this was left open as a continuing mystery so I'm unsure if that will develop into anything or not.This aside, it was a really fun read for even preteens and older though I would hesitate to give it to a younger reader because of the language.