Delve into the extraordinary abilities of the twelve-year-old mind in this thrilling start to a middle-grade series that expands the possibilities of power. No one has any confidence in twelve-year-old Christopher Lane. His teachers discount him as a liar and a thief, and his mom doesn’t have the energy to deal with him. But a mysterious visit from the Ministry of Education indicates that Chris might have some potential after all: He is invited to attend the prestigious Myers Holt Academy. When Christopher begins at his new school, he is astounded at what he can do. It seems that age twelve is a special time for the human brain, which is capable of remarkable feats—as also evidenced by Chris’s peers Ernest and Mortimer Genver, who, at the direction of their vengeful and manipulative mother, are testing the boundaries of the human mind. But all this experimentation has consequences, and Chris soon finds himself forced to face them—or his new life will be over before it can begin. Gr 5-8-Twelve-year-old Christopher Lane's life is grim. His father is dead, his mother is severely depressed, and Chris has been expelled from school. Enter Miss Sonata of the Myers Holt Academy, a top-secret school under the auspices of Britain's MI5. Here Chris joins five other children, all of whom have been chosen for their unique ability to access and control people's minds. And of course, someone needs to be controlled. The only problem is that no one is quite sure who it is. Whoever is responsible for wreaking havoc on former students must be stopped, and Chris and his fellow classmates are the world's only hope. The Ability is another in a string of middle-grade tales replete with dysfunctional families, villains, heroes, and gruesome deaths. However, what could be a thoroughly engrossing, fast-paced adventure is marred by run-on sentences and awkward writing. This is unfortunate as Chris is an engaging hero; readers will want to sympathize with him, root for him, and celebrate with him as he finds his place in the world. Plus, there's the added bonus of not one, but three despicable villains, one of whom dies and sets up what is sure to be a sequel.-Mary Beth Rassulo, Ridgefield Library, CTα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. After the minister of education is rendered mentally incompetent as he speaks at Perrington School (apparently due to a child’s magical spell), British government leaders, including Sir Bentley Jones, director general of MI5, quickly decide to reopen Myers Holt Academy, which was boarded up 30 years ago following an incident. They select and begin training six 12-year-olds to sharpen their innate telekinetic Ability to help foil the efforts of the mysterious person(s) behind the minister’s “accident.” Christopher Lane has an especially strong Ability to enter people’s minds, but must harness his anger to be most effective. When the second “accident” happens, Sir Bentley and his assistants must escalate the training, trying to cram a year’s education into two months—they predict an attack at the Antarctic Ball on December 21. Mystery intertwined with fantasy, and chapters arranged by date, give urgency to the fantasy-mystery-action hybrid. The ending is satisfactory but, of course, leaves room for a sequel. Grades 5-8. --J. B. Petty "Readers will enjoy the candy-shop wish fulfillment in this fast-paced, superhero-tinged spy novel. With its comics-style origin stories and vows of revenge, this first book in a planned series has an intriguing concept that could hit a middle-grade sweet spot." - Publishers Weekly "A brilliantly crafted tale, from the quality of the writing to the twistiness of the plot and the complexity of the real-life issues the characters are dealing with...A thrilling, touching and thought-provoking read. " ( Common Sense Media ) "Reminiscent of early Harry Potter novels with its neglected hero, oddball teachers, eccentric assortment of classmates, and secret school where students learn to harness their powers, The Ability still manages ultimately to feel fresh and original, and the narrative strikes a delicate and effective balance between light-hearted wish-fulfillment, fun, dark moments of heartbreak, and genuine suspense...Those looking for a read-alike to Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society will be delighted with Christopher's adventure." ( The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books ) “Mystery intertwined with fantasy, and chapters arranged by date, give urgency to the fantasy-mystery-action hybrid.” ( Booklist ) The daughter of South American parents, M.M.VAUGHAN (Monica Meira Vaughan) lived in Spain before moving to London at the age of five, where she learned to speak English by watching Sesame Street and reading every Roald Dahl book she could get her hands on. On leaving school, Monica trained as a teacher, working mostly with children with emotional and behaviora