The Boy Who Knew Everything

Gr 5–8—The long-awaited follow-up to The Girl Who Could Fly (Feiwel & Friends, 2008) finds Piper ("the girl who could fly") and Conrad ("the boy who knew everything") living in relative calm on Piper's family farm. Some time has passed since they and their fellow exceptional children escaped Dr. Hellion's prison of a school, yet the calm lasts only briefly as a few disparate events quickly unfold and turn everything upside down. In quick succession, the near death of Piper's beloved father, his father's election to the presidency, and a successful experiment in time-bending spurs Conrad to finally step up as leader of their band of misfit children. Under Conrad's tutelage, the kids carry out anonymous goodwill missions in response to fishy "natural" disasters. Yet their mission proves far from straightforward. Who is behind these disasters? Is there indeed a secret place where exceptional kids are free to be themselves? As in its predecessor, this installment straddles the real and the imagined. At times, this blend coalesces beautifully, but often it proves a bit clunky. The folksy colloquialisms uttered by Piper and her parents still feel out of place, leaving readers a little unsettled as to the setting. Its greatest strength emerges when the tale balances quiet moments of self-realization, identity, and friendship with an action-packed plot.