Masterminders is the funny, sweet, and mischievous story of two young boys navigating adult issues. The strongest aspect of this story is the characters. From the first page, the characters are vividly described, and the reader immediately falls in love with them. While all the characters are well done, the main characters, Bobby and Terry, are the true stars of the story. Both characters are well-developed, complex individuals with compelling arcs. At first, Bobby seems like a fair-weather friend, a little cold toward Terry, using him only for his schemes and benefit, while Terry is a naïve follower needing Bobby's help and approval for everything he does. By the end, Bobby becomes a caring friend who truly loves and appreciates Terry’s friendship, and Terry learns how to do his own thing by creating his own successful scheme without any help from Bobby. Additionally, the parallels between Bobby’s dad being sick and Terry’s dad abandoning him and his mom give both characters motivation and camaraderie. The other characters, such as Madge, George, Tony, Tiny Tim, Mr. Singh, Mother Superior, and Maria, were also well-developed, and each had their own distinct arc. The choice to have the boys dealing with traditionally adult issues like women’s rights, culture, death, etc., was a good choice. While neither boy fully understood the issues they were trying to fight for, it was entertaining and inspiring to see these issues through the eyes of children, for example, how they thought global warming was a good thing because it would make it warmer after they were outside freezing. There were also a few funny and interesting plot twists throughout that help to keep readers engaged, like the implication that Maria is a pole dancer. The writing choices the author made throughout were excellent and helped pull the whole book together. Additionally, the worldbuilding was really well done, as the reader could truly imagine this small island the kids were on. The ending was a little rushed, but that can be forgiven, as that was the best ending possible for everyone involved. Masterminders is an incredible book about the wonders and hardships of childhood. The work the author put into the story is clearly shown through its flawless editing and imperfect yet lovable characters.

Masterminders, written by Tara Basi, was a very cool read. At the moment, I don’t have the words to describe how my reading experience was. I can’t find the right words, but I can talk about its themes and how cool they are. For example, this book brings things like satirical romance, because the story is about Terry and Bobby, two boys who see the world in a totally distorted and very funny way. The story uses their relationship and the confusions of everyday life to address very cool topics, such as politics and global warming, but it always does so through a childish filter without turning the reading into something very heavy. If I needed to summarize this book based on what I read, it’s about nonsense humor and a youthful perspective, so for me its proposal is not to tell a common story, but to play with serious subjects in an irreverent way. I have many things to say about this book, both good and bad, but I’ll start with the best, the good parts, and one of the things I liked the most is when Bobby turns huge themes into ridiculous plans, like at the beginning, when he creates crazy theories to “solve” global warming. This kind of example shows that the book gets the structure of humor and satire right, because he doesn’t throw absurd ideas around just to be funny: he builds his own logic inside the children’s minds and uses it to give personality to the story, and this works very well because it makes the reading feel alive and simply original.

Eccentric is the word I would use to define Masterminders, written by Tara Basi. This was simply one of the best reads I had this week. This book managed to surprise me, but before delving into it, I want to start with its themes and story, and this book, for me, is about romance and humor, following Terry, a boy who ends up in a Catholic school on a small, cold island, where he forms a bond with Bobby, a boy who is honestly clueless. In each chapter, the two face major themes, politics, culture, human rights, in the most chaotic way possible, always transforming childish ideas into grand “plans”. So, without spoilers, I can say that it is a very beautiful read about friendship and childhood, but filtered through a very irreverent lens. With this story, I formed a very clear opinion about the author; for me, it felt like she wanted to build a very distinct narrative voice, and she really sustained it. Right at the beginning, when Bobby invents the absurd theory about the nuns, global warming, and a gerbil, you can already see that the book does not try to feel realistic in the way many people might expect, but rather to work through the crooked logic of these children. This made the book feel like it had personality early on, because the author does not write in a generic way: she relies on an observant, ironic narrator, and on humor that comes both from the dialogue and from the exaggerated way of describing people. Another thing I liked a lot is precisely how the structure of the chapters manages to take big subjects and turn them into memorable scenes. For example, at first, Bobby comes up with the idea of “infecting” a gerbil to cause global warming and then jumps to a plan involving beans, fake websites, and even nuclear waste, and all this seems to grow more and more ridiculous, but still coherently within his internal logic. This worked for me because the book is not just a loose joke: it creates a very distinct dynamic between Terry and Bobby, and it is this dynamic that sustains the mood. In fact, this book surprised me, but certainly what impresses me the most is the fact that, no matter how hard I tried, I could not find anything negative to point out about it. For me, this was a really good read, and I would be completely dishonest if I invented something, so this was a perfect read. The author surprised me, but what impresses me the most is the fact that it does not have writing errors; where many usually make mistakes, this one was written with care, so I give five out of five stars to this book. Besides, I really like seeing different opinions, and those who like absurd humor will probably think highly of it too.

Great tongue in cheek humour with a political and religious twist. Well worth reading good entertainment value. A great book.

This book really surprised me. I wasn't sure to start with, but the further I got into the book, the more I found it engaging and at times, laugh out loud funny, and at others, managing to be poignant too. The characters grew on me as the book progressed and I found myself wishing I could read a little more when it ended. A book about kids, but for clever grown-ups. Loved it.

Kristy Khemraj Written from the perspective of kids, this book was wildly humorous! Apart from the kids, the adult characters in the book were peculiar, different, and most of all, hilarious. I laughed out loud for many of the antics and events. But, it's not all comedy! The comedy just takes the edge off of more serious dilemmas faced by the characters. I applaud the author for her ability to merge comedy and seriousness. Masterminders is a masterpiece!

An absolute riot! Sharp, often dry humor written for smart people. I rarely actually laugh while reading a book but quite a few times I just couldn't help it with this one. It gave me the sense of real characters in a real place that were only exaggerated because of the way a funny person tells a story. If some things seem over-the-top or cliché it must be because they are in this place, what I'm guessing is the smallest and therefore looniest of the British Isles. I can't believe the author only has two books on Amazon. This is such a dramatic departure from Blocks but the writing is so solid and entertaining in both cases that I was eager to buy another book or two.

Dry humor teams up with a series of atrocious characters in Tara Basi’s satirical novel, Masterminders. Set on a small island off Britain’s mainland, the storyline revolves around Terry and Bobby, two schoolboys who intelligently try to tackle a range of issues that affect them. Dubbed the 'Masterminders', the duo embarks on a succession of dodgy plans cooked up by quick-thinking Bobby as they comically try to solve women’s problems, contend with bullies on the playground, and even try to thwart the snowy weather by attempting to instigate global warming. The boys also rope in some of the island’s other residents to aid in their hilarious schemes such as the business-savvy Mr. Singh who is the owner of the Post Office cum Sweet and Chips Emporium. Apart from the boys’ funny shenanigans, they both face crippling family problems as Bobby’s dad is terminally ill and Terry’s mom is fighting a custody battle while working three jobs. The story is written from Terry’s often flummoxed and naive perspective, but this gives readers a genuine insight into life’s intangible truths like friendships, infatuation, poverty, death, and the challenges of growing up. Very few books have ever made me laugh aloud, but this one certainly did. The deadpan humor was startling and childish in some cases, but it was still extremely enjoyable. For instance, the boys’ homemade women’s perfume (consisting of ewe’s colon, and a tin of curry powder) was a disgusting outrage to females everywhere, but the concoction was strangely powerful enough to dissolve layers of seagull poop from the butcher’s car! Another time, the boys pretended to be exceedingly religious so they could attract the girls they fancied, one of whom was a novice nun. I kept wondering about what funny scheme the boys’ would embark on next. I was not disappointed as each chapter provided me with more than enough literary amusement to keep me interested. Aside from the comedic descriptions of the boys’ escapades, the characters in this book were shining gems of entertainment. Each one had distinct personalities and attributes which made them a joy to read about. The Indian culture in the book was attributed to Mr. Singh and his relatives. Bhangra music, Indian food, head waggling, saris, and volatile Indian women like Mummy-ji and Dimple added a touch of oriental spice to the book. One character, Mr. Dicklightly, was disturbingly funny. He seemed to be mildly paedophilic, but his antics were hilarious, such as when he read sensual scenes aloud (while naked) for public amusement and charity. Terry’s character was also admirable. His naivety, good-heartedness, and his naturally baffled nature were charming. However, the thing which I really admired was the author’s ability to incorporate serious issues into the plot. Although the book was predominantly humorous, snippets of the boys’ backstories were present throughout it. I felt sad when I learned of Bobby’s sick father and the poverty that Terry’s mother was facing. At first, these were not made known directly, but their struggles were described in fleeting conversations, body language, and brief descriptions. These issues gave the book depth. It also made the plot more realistic and emotionally-moving. There was nothing I disliked about this novel. It deserves 5 out of 5 stars for its witty humor, its memorable characters, and the characters' touching backstories. Furthermore, I think the book was edited fully because I had to try very hard to spot any errors. This book will appeal to a wide age group from older teens to elderly fans of humor and satire. It may not be suitable for younger audiences because it contains sexual innuendos.