A Royal Conundrum (The Misfit’s #1)

What worked:
Olive lacks confidence and wonders if she should be part of the top-secret NOCK team (No One Can Know). Her teammates each have unique talents like technology, knowledge, and combat but Olive wonders what ability she has to offer. Olive’s parents have dumped her into RASCH, a school for reforming arts, and she feels her parents don’t care about her. She badly misses her grandmother but still remembers motivational things Mimi used to say. Olive realizes the skills she learned from Mimi’s acrobatic lessons come in handy and make her unafraid of heights. However, she’s never learned to swim and the idea of getting into water terrifies her.
RASCH is uniquely set at a former prison located on an island across the bay from San Francisco. That description sounds a lot like Alcatraz Prison but the building in this story is nothing like it. It’s more like a castle with a moat and offers many twisting hallways and secret passages. The NOCK team meets in a hidden room that’s equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and other resources. Olive’s best friend Phil is a technology whiz and she comes up with numerous clever inventions that might easily fit into futuristic stories or innovative spy novels.
The rash of brazen jewel heists presents an obvious conflict for the characters. The thief is nicknamed the Bling King as he takes gems worth millions and leaves a calling card behind. The school really needs financial support or it will be forced to shut down. The headmistress is hosting a fundraising event at the school and the largest benefactor will be the featured guest. Dame Gloria will be wearing the priceless Royal Rumpus necklace so everyone, including readers, will assume the Bling King will try to steal it. Protecting the dame’s jewels will be NOCK’s most important assignment and failure will surely mean the closing of RASCH.
What didn’t work as well:
There’s a strong dependency on Phil’s inventions as she seems to whip up new ones at every turn. Her creations stretch the limits of believability when she develops oral communication devices, and various self-defense gadgets, and retrofits the school’s van into a mobile control center. The other NOCK members contribute to the team but Phil’s efforts are disproportionate and improbable.
The final verdict:
The basic premise of the story isn’t overly innovative but it still feels fresh. The plot has a nice pace and the blend of characters presents the ups of downs of developing friendships. Overall, the adventure and mystery are very entertaining and I recommend you give the book a shot!