The Ability by M.M. Vaughan

330 pages

"Some kids excel in art, others in sports or math. But Christopher Lane's talents lie only in thieving and lying--or so he's always been told. So it comes as a shock to everyone, not least to Chris himself, when he wins a prize at an exclusive academy after a very unusual interview.

It turns out Chris does have a natural gift for one thing--something that every child can do during their twelfth year, though few will ever find out.

He can enter people's minds.

Now Chris must learn to use this power, his Ability, to make the world a safer place. But while Chris is perfecting his talent, twin brothers Ernest and Mortimer are using their Ability to carry out the plan their mother has spent many years perfecting. And she's not interested in saving anyone. All she wants is revenge." -Dust Jacket

I saw this book on Amazon, bought it, my daughter stole it and read it, and then recommended it to me.  I liked the idea of this book, that when a child is 12 they can access their mind's full capacity which gives them powers and abilities that others don't have. Chris is a likable character. His father died in a war several years earlier and his mother has not been able to cope with life since then. Chris is forced to take care of her in their rundown home and try to pay the bills which is often done through stealing, but he has a good heart and a conscience. I especially like how this is evidenced when he keeps his promise to a man who gave him money even though it gets him in trouble. Miss Sonata conducts a strange interview after he's been expelled from school and then informs Chris that he's been awarded a position at the Myers Holt Academy. Only five other children have been chosen. Once he gets to the school (deep underground) he finds out that the academy has recently been reopened because of strange events happening to high profile people who also attended the Academy. Sir Bentley works with the prime minister and MI-6. The new class's first assignment is to find out who is behind the irreversible attacks on former students and stop them from hurting anyone else.

This book fell victim to what I was worried about--that the climax was much less exciting than the buildup. Ernest and Mortimer are identical twins. Mortimer is the more evil of the two but the mother who adopts them is much worse. Her real identity is pretty obvious from the beginning, but why she becomes so evil was a little weak. It might have been good to give the reader more background as to what happened to her after her friends left her. The showdown which you know is coming at the end was awfully brief and not very exciting. The attacks in the rest of the book were much more sinister and fun to read. {Minor spoiler alert} I didn't like how Chris goes home to a house that has been fixed up but a mother who hasn't changed even though he's been led to believe otherwise. The book definitely leaves the door open for a sequel, which I hope will be even better. It's a little hard to believe that Ernest will be an adequate villain so we'll see what the author does with that.