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Please Don't Tell My Parents #5
Please Don't Tell My Parents You Believe Her
Middle school supervillain Penny Akk has defeated every challenge thrown against her. She has bested heroes, villains, weirdos who can’t make up their minds, robots, aliens, friends, rivals, enemies, natural disasters, secret admirers, and her own shyness. Now she has only one opponent left. Her own super power. …and the other Penny who stole it.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 9, 2018
127 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Richard Roberts
24 books419 followersI've been writing for a long, long time. A long, long, long time. Do you remember when dirt was invented? I was using it to scratch out stories. Getting published was harder, but now I'm hooked up with Curiosity Quills and I have real books in paper, and you should buy some!
As a writer my fascination has always been children's literature, especially children's lit that is also adult lit. For some reason, this means that instead I write gothic light romance for fun, and very dark and tragic young adult books for passion. I love seeing the world through the eyes of strange people, and I believe that happy endings must be earned the hard way. There's a reason my friends started calling me Frankensteinbeck.
I could talk about how great my writing is until I turn blue, but I should let an expert do that for me. Check out the Kirkus Review for Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth!
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-rev...
As a writer my fascination has always been children's literature, especially children's lit that is also adult lit. For some reason, this means that instead I write gothic light romance for fun, and very dark and tragic young adult books for passion. I love seeing the world through the eyes of strange people, and I believe that happy endings must be earned the hard way. There's a reason my friends started calling me Frankensteinbeck.
I could talk about how great my writing is until I turn blue, but I should let an expert do that for me. Check out the Kirkus Review for Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth!
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-rev...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
April 11, 2018
Disappointing but predictable end to the series
The first half of the book has the main character Penny interacting almost exclusively with side characters or new characters that come across as jokes more than people. It picks up immediately after the events of the previous book, reinforcing my view that they should have just been one novel. Overall, most of the first half seems like filler.
The author abandons some things I loved about the series and ignored some things I'd hoped were on the way. Gone is the gleeful mad science of previous entries in favour of more heist scenes. And if you were looking forward to Penny finally letting her parents in on her secret life, forget it; that happens off screen.
I found the final resolution of everything a little trite and contrived. I certainly didn't find the ending very satisfying. But at least it works to wrap most things up for the Inscrutable Machine, which seems to have been the point.
This is not a bad novel. However, I loved the first two books in this series. Since book three the series has been in decline and this final instalment does nothing to stop the slide. A shame.
The first half of the book has the main character Penny interacting almost exclusively with side characters or new characters that come across as jokes more than people. It picks up immediately after the events of the previous book, reinforcing my view that they should have just been one novel. Overall, most of the first half seems like filler.
The author abandons some things I loved about the series and ignored some things I'd hoped were on the way. Gone is the gleeful mad science of previous entries in favour of more heist scenes. And if you were looking forward to Penny finally letting her parents in on her secret life, forget it; that happens off screen.
I found the final resolution of everything a little trite and contrived. I certainly didn't find the ending very satisfying. But at least it works to wrap most things up for the Inscrutable Machine, which seems to have been the point.
This is not a bad novel. However, I loved the first two books in this series. Since book three the series has been in decline and this final instalment does nothing to stop the slide. A shame.
June 2, 2018
[I received a copy of this book from the publisher.]
The final instalment in this series, or at least for Penny’s arc. The story picks up right after the previous volume’s cliffhanger, with Penny having to contend with her family and friends not believing ‘the evil robot’. One can only imagine the pain and sadness this is for a kid. She didn’t spend time moping, which I definitely liked, and she kept acting and taking the matter into hands, finding people to help her, getting to know her other friends better (like Marcia and Cassie), and revealing both to the readers and to herself that she’s made of tough stuff… But when she started writing letters to her parents, pretending she was at ‘supervillain camp’, that’s when I knew where the hurt had gone.
Also, Gerty. That character was pretty fun.
While I enjoyed it as a light read, though, I must admit I was disappointed about several things, such as:
- The way Penny comes clear to her parents. That was so anticlimactic and infuriating, since this was, after all, quite a stake for Penny.
- Ray and Claire are even more out of the way than in the previous volume. Sure, Penny gets other sidekicks, and doesn’t have to do everything alone, but… That was really a let-down. I like the original Inscrutable Machine trio, and seeing it in that state was heart-breaking.
- Half of the book felt like a filler, which disappointed me even more that if not for that, there would’ve been room and time for meaningful character development.
- No one seemed to stop and consider the Machine’s role for more than a second. When it was obvious that it held the key to who the original Penny was.
- The ending was… predictable. It wraps things up nicely, however I can’t tell it held any surprise for me.
Overall, this is a series I’d still recommend, but I wish it had ended on the same quality as the first book.
The final instalment in this series, or at least for Penny’s arc. The story picks up right after the previous volume’s cliffhanger, with Penny having to contend with her family and friends not believing ‘the evil robot’. One can only imagine the pain and sadness this is for a kid. She didn’t spend time moping, which I definitely liked, and she kept acting and taking the matter into hands, finding people to help her, getting to know her other friends better (like Marcia and Cassie), and revealing both to the readers and to herself that she’s made of tough stuff… But when she started writing letters to her parents, pretending she was at ‘supervillain camp’, that’s when I knew where the hurt had gone.
Also, Gerty. That character was pretty fun.
While I enjoyed it as a light read, though, I must admit I was disappointed about several things, such as:
- The way Penny comes clear to her parents. That was so anticlimactic and infuriating, since this was, after all, quite a stake for Penny.
- Ray and Claire are even more out of the way than in the previous volume. Sure, Penny gets other sidekicks, and doesn’t have to do everything alone, but… That was really a let-down. I like the original Inscrutable Machine trio, and seeing it in that state was heart-breaking.
- Half of the book felt like a filler, which disappointed me even more that if not for that, there would’ve been room and time for meaningful character development.
- No one seemed to stop and consider the Machine’s role for more than a second. When it was obvious that it held the key to who the original Penny was.
- The ending was… predictable. It wraps things up nicely, however I can’t tell it held any surprise for me.
Overall, this is a series I’d still recommend, but I wish it had ended on the same quality as the first book.
March 7, 2020
This book is really frustrating.
Instead of the epic conclusion promised in the previous book, it was mostly just really dull and boring. It lacks pretty much all of the supporting characters than have made this series so fun up to this point, and doesn’t really fulfill the promises made by the previous book. In fact, it completely backtracks a few things that the end of the previous book established, which had me saying, “okay, no,” throughout most of the book. It’s more just disappointing than terrible. I’m sure people will say it was a perfectly adequate ending. I just felt really let down that the author stepped back from the end of the previous book, and basically retconned a lot of what he’d established there, rather than going all in on it. The book also leaves more loose ends than tied up ends, which is not a great way to leave things off. Not every loose end needs to be addressed, but, I mean, there should maybe be fewer than, like, ALL OF THEM by the end. I’m not mad. Mostly I’m just bored and frustrated with it. If this wasn’t the ending of the series, I’d probably have stopped reading it after this book anyway.
Instead of the epic conclusion promised in the previous book, it was mostly just really dull and boring. It lacks pretty much all of the supporting characters than have made this series so fun up to this point, and doesn’t really fulfill the promises made by the previous book. In fact, it completely backtracks a few things that the end of the previous book established, which had me saying, “okay, no,” throughout most of the book. It’s more just disappointing than terrible. I’m sure people will say it was a perfectly adequate ending. I just felt really let down that the author stepped back from the end of the previous book, and basically retconned a lot of what he’d established there, rather than going all in on it. The book also leaves more loose ends than tied up ends, which is not a great way to leave things off. Not every loose end needs to be addressed, but, I mean, there should maybe be fewer than, like, ALL OF THEM by the end. I’m not mad. Mostly I’m just bored and frustrated with it. If this wasn’t the ending of the series, I’d probably have stopped reading it after this book anyway.
July 2, 2021
And so ends the saga of Penny Akk a.k.a Bad Penny. I'm saddened by this event because I have been a huge fan of this YA series since it began with PLEASE DON'T TELL MY PARENTS I'M A SUPERVILLAIN. The fact the series is not going to be continuing with the Inscrutable Machine but spin offs like I DID NOT GIVE THAT SPIDER SUPERHUMAN INTELLIGENCE is disappointing despite how much I enjoyed it.
The premise for this book is Penny Akk has had her body stolen by a parasitic version of her powers (which is more complicated than it sounds). She has been put in a robot body and is now being hunted by the majority of superheroes in the city. Penny must gather up a bunch of allies, including a Chucky Cheese-esque animatronic animal called Gerty Goat then take the fight to her worst enemy: herself!
As a finale to the series, I think the book is a bit wanting but a decent individual adventure. Ray Viles and E-Claire are absent for too much of the book with their dynamic sorely missed. I also regretted we didn't find out about Penny's parents reaction to the discovery of her supervillain career--it happened off screen. Instead, we got a lot of encounters with new characters as well as a lesson on tolerance from superhumans to robots (who are treated as subhuman).
Honestly, I was also a bit disappointed by the handling of Parasite Penny. I was really looking forward to seeing our heroine deal with a genuinely evil opponent for the first time. I feel like it was a missed opportunity to deal with a Penny who didn't have the same qualities as Penny but was able to fake it. Instead, the book seems to retcon the origins of the Parasite and her attitude from the previous book's cliffhanger ending.
Much of the book deals with the issues of prejudices faced by artificial people in Los Angeles with robots treated as disposable individuals by superheroes as well as villains both. It's surprising since we've met cyborgs, people made out of candy, and other enormous spiders that get all the rights of regular people. I was pleased Penny's parents also tried to handle the issue of "Robot Penny" in a well-meaning but stupid way as befitting how they normally handle things.
The Inscrutable Machine are some of the best characters in superhero prose and someone I have really come to bond with over all the books we've read with them. I'm a huge fan of Penny, Claire, and Ray. I love all the weirdos they've befriended and appreciate the encounter we had with Claudia a.k.a. Generic Girl. She remains my favorite of the author's creations. It's a quirky and fun world that contrasts strongly against all the ones headed by supervillains or ruthless antiheroes. I also love Gerty Goat and how ridiculous she is as a 7ft tall animatronic pizzeria entertainer.
So special thanks to Richard Roberts for making such an entertaining book series. I certainly hope we'll get more of his quirky oddball superheroes in Los Angeles.
The premise for this book is Penny Akk has had her body stolen by a parasitic version of her powers (which is more complicated than it sounds). She has been put in a robot body and is now being hunted by the majority of superheroes in the city. Penny must gather up a bunch of allies, including a Chucky Cheese-esque animatronic animal called Gerty Goat then take the fight to her worst enemy: herself!
As a finale to the series, I think the book is a bit wanting but a decent individual adventure. Ray Viles and E-Claire are absent for too much of the book with their dynamic sorely missed. I also regretted we didn't find out about Penny's parents reaction to the discovery of her supervillain career--it happened off screen. Instead, we got a lot of encounters with new characters as well as a lesson on tolerance from superhumans to robots (who are treated as subhuman).
Honestly, I was also a bit disappointed by the handling of Parasite Penny. I was really looking forward to seeing our heroine deal with a genuinely evil opponent for the first time. I feel like it was a missed opportunity to deal with a Penny who didn't have the same qualities as Penny but was able to fake it. Instead, the book seems to retcon the origins of the Parasite and her attitude from the previous book's cliffhanger ending.
Much of the book deals with the issues of prejudices faced by artificial people in Los Angeles with robots treated as disposable individuals by superheroes as well as villains both. It's surprising since we've met cyborgs, people made out of candy, and other enormous spiders that get all the rights of regular people. I was pleased Penny's parents also tried to handle the issue of "Robot Penny" in a well-meaning but stupid way as befitting how they normally handle things.
The Inscrutable Machine are some of the best characters in superhero prose and someone I have really come to bond with over all the books we've read with them. I'm a huge fan of Penny, Claire, and Ray. I love all the weirdos they've befriended and appreciate the encounter we had with Claudia a.k.a. Generic Girl. She remains my favorite of the author's creations. It's a quirky and fun world that contrasts strongly against all the ones headed by supervillains or ruthless antiheroes. I also love Gerty Goat and how ridiculous she is as a 7ft tall animatronic pizzeria entertainer.
So special thanks to Richard Roberts for making such an entertaining book series. I certainly hope we'll get more of his quirky oddball superheroes in Los Angeles.
April 25, 2018
The series has excellent characters, scenarios, and locales. But man does it suffer from pacing and plotting issues.
There's a distinct lack of tension in most of the series, and this book in particular after we get a little ways past the halfway point.
And, unfortunately, due to just how cool his characters and scenes are you often find yourself disinterested in the main character. As soon as it was clear that Penny was never really going to suffer any serious drama in the threat of permanent ostracization or even family drama I once again stopped caring about her. I am far more interested in the struggles of those around her such as Cassie, Marcia, Mirabelle, etc.
For all her accomplishments Penny's friends remain far more interesting than Penny, likely just because I haven't had a chance to feel let down by a lack of catharsis in their stories.
It gets a 3/5 for making me laugh and having a seriously good time for parts of the book (Gerty is a serious gold mine of humor here), but also for leaving me nigh uncaring of Penny's ultimate, and very predictable, fate.
There's a distinct lack of tension in most of the series, and this book in particular after we get a little ways past the halfway point.
And, unfortunately, due to just how cool his characters and scenes are you often find yourself disinterested in the main character. As soon as it was clear that Penny was never really going to suffer any serious drama in the threat of permanent ostracization or even family drama I once again stopped caring about her. I am far more interested in the struggles of those around her such as Cassie, Marcia, Mirabelle, etc.
For all her accomplishments Penny's friends remain far more interesting than Penny, likely just because I haven't had a chance to feel let down by a lack of catharsis in their stories.
It gets a 3/5 for making me laugh and having a seriously good time for parts of the book (Gerty is a serious gold mine of humor here), but also for leaving me nigh uncaring of Penny's ultimate, and very predictable, fate.
April 11, 2018
I Believe
Robert Richards delivers exactly what I was hoping for in Please Don't Tell My Parents You Believe Her. The fourth book in Penny Justice Akk's story follows the girl with a dented heart of gold in her back pocket and a heart of steel in her chest as she journeys to find out if she has what it takes to be a real girl once again. Even tone and excellent pacing make this a marvelous read and every bit as fun as all of Penny's other adventures have been.
Robert Richards delivers exactly what I was hoping for in Please Don't Tell My Parents You Believe Her. The fourth book in Penny Justice Akk's story follows the girl with a dented heart of gold in her back pocket and a heart of steel in her chest as she journeys to find out if she has what it takes to be a real girl once again. Even tone and excellent pacing make this a marvelous read and every bit as fun as all of Penny's other adventures have been.
April 23, 2018
And so ends the saga of Penny Akk a.k.a Bad Penny. I'm saddened by this event because I have been a huge fan of this YA series since it began with PLEASE DON'T TELL MY PARENTS I'M A SUPERVILLAIN. The fact the series is not going to be continuing with the Inscrutable Machine but spin offs like I DID NOT GIVE THAT SPIDER SUPERHUMAN INTELLIGENCE is disappointing despite how much I enjoyed it.
The premise for this book is Penny Akk has had her body stolen by a parasitic version of her powers (which is more complicated than it sounds). She has been put in a robot body and is now being hunted by the majority of superheroes in the city. Penny must gather up a bunch of allies, including a Chucky Cheese-esque animatronic animal called Gerty Goat then take the fight to her worst enemy: herself!
As a finale to the series, I think the book is a bit wanting but a decent individual adventure. Ray Viles and E-Claire are absent for too much of the book with their dynamic sorely missed. I also regretted we didn't find out about Penny's parents reaction to the discovery of her supervillain career--it happened off screen. Instead, we got a lot of encounters with new characters as well as a lesson on tolerance from superhumans to robots (who are treated as subhuman).
Honestly, I was also a bit disappointed by the handling of Parasite Penny. I was really looking forward to seeing our heroine deal with a genuinely evil opponent for the first time. I feel like it was a missed opportunity to deal with a Penny who didn't have the same qualities as Penny but was able to fake it. Instead, the book seems to retcon the origins of the Parasite and her attitude from the previous book's cliffhanger ending.
Much of the book deals with the issues of prejudices faced by artificial people in Los Angeles with robots treated as disposable individuals by superheroes as well as villains both. It's surprising since we've met cyborgs, people made out of candy, and other enormous spiders that get all the rights of regular people. I was pleased Penny's parents also tried to handle the issue of "Robot Penny" in a well-meaning but stupid way as befitting how they normally handle things.
The Inscrutable Machine are some of the best characters in superhero prose and someone I have really come to bond with over all the books we've read with them. I'm a huge fan of Penny, Claire, and Ray. I love all the weirdos they've befriended and appreciate the encounter we had with Claudia a.k.a. Generic Girl. She remains my favorite of the author's creations. It's a quirky and fun world that contrasts strongly against all the ones headed by supervillains or ruthless antiheroes. I also love Gerty Goat and how ridiculous she is as a 7ft tall animatronic pizzeria entertainer.
So special thanks to Richard Roberts for making such an entertaining book series. I certainly hope we'll get more of his quirky oddball superheroes in Los Angeles.
8.5/10
The premise for this book is Penny Akk has had her body stolen by a parasitic version of her powers (which is more complicated than it sounds). She has been put in a robot body and is now being hunted by the majority of superheroes in the city. Penny must gather up a bunch of allies, including a Chucky Cheese-esque animatronic animal called Gerty Goat then take the fight to her worst enemy: herself!
As a finale to the series, I think the book is a bit wanting but a decent individual adventure. Ray Viles and E-Claire are absent for too much of the book with their dynamic sorely missed. I also regretted we didn't find out about Penny's parents reaction to the discovery of her supervillain career--it happened off screen. Instead, we got a lot of encounters with new characters as well as a lesson on tolerance from superhumans to robots (who are treated as subhuman).
Honestly, I was also a bit disappointed by the handling of Parasite Penny. I was really looking forward to seeing our heroine deal with a genuinely evil opponent for the first time. I feel like it was a missed opportunity to deal with a Penny who didn't have the same qualities as Penny but was able to fake it. Instead, the book seems to retcon the origins of the Parasite and her attitude from the previous book's cliffhanger ending.
Much of the book deals with the issues of prejudices faced by artificial people in Los Angeles with robots treated as disposable individuals by superheroes as well as villains both. It's surprising since we've met cyborgs, people made out of candy, and other enormous spiders that get all the rights of regular people. I was pleased Penny's parents also tried to handle the issue of "Robot Penny" in a well-meaning but stupid way as befitting how they normally handle things.
The Inscrutable Machine are some of the best characters in superhero prose and someone I have really come to bond with over all the books we've read with them. I'm a huge fan of Penny, Claire, and Ray. I love all the weirdos they've befriended and appreciate the encounter we had with Claudia a.k.a. Generic Girl. She remains my favorite of the author's creations. It's a quirky and fun world that contrasts strongly against all the ones headed by supervillains or ruthless antiheroes. I also love Gerty Goat and how ridiculous she is as a 7ft tall animatronic pizzeria entertainer.
So special thanks to Richard Roberts for making such an entertaining book series. I certainly hope we'll get more of his quirky oddball superheroes in Los Angeles.
8.5/10
September 8, 2018
https://leiturasdelaura.blogspot.com/...
E finalmente cheguei no final da série "please don't tell my parents"!
O quinto livro da série foi uma grande surpresa, por ser o mais profundo de todos eles e o mais bem escrito. "Please don't tell my parents you believe her" tem várias camadas e fases, começando de forma bastante triste e deprê, passando por momentos de pura comédia e mais do que tudo isso, é um livro sobre superação.
A personagem principal, Penny, precisa se virar numa situação totalmente absurda e sem os seus amigos para ajudar, saindo completamente da sua zona de conforto e tendo que lutar contra o pior inimigo que poderia surgir: ela mesma.
Não poderia haver melhor desfecho para essa história tão fofa e divertida. É preciso tirar o chapéu para Richard Roberts, ele acertou em cheio!
O livro poderia ser melhor? Sim, o autor tem ideias incríveis mas não é nenhum escritor brilhante. Mas o resultado é muito legal e vale a pena cada página de cada livro.
Eu ainda queria muito que eles fossem traduzidos para o português. Se eu fosse criança eu amaria demais ler esses livros, e eu acho que precisamos de mais livros infanto-juvenis de super-heróis onde a personagem principal é uma menina tão incrível. Penny entrou para o meu hall da fama.
E finalmente cheguei no final da série "please don't tell my parents"!
O quinto livro da série foi uma grande surpresa, por ser o mais profundo de todos eles e o mais bem escrito. "Please don't tell my parents you believe her" tem várias camadas e fases, começando de forma bastante triste e deprê, passando por momentos de pura comédia e mais do que tudo isso, é um livro sobre superação.
A personagem principal, Penny, precisa se virar numa situação totalmente absurda e sem os seus amigos para ajudar, saindo completamente da sua zona de conforto e tendo que lutar contra o pior inimigo que poderia surgir: ela mesma.
Não poderia haver melhor desfecho para essa história tão fofa e divertida. É preciso tirar o chapéu para Richard Roberts, ele acertou em cheio!
O livro poderia ser melhor? Sim, o autor tem ideias incríveis mas não é nenhum escritor brilhante. Mas o resultado é muito legal e vale a pena cada página de cada livro.
Eu ainda queria muito que eles fossem traduzidos para o português. Se eu fosse criança eu amaria demais ler esses livros, e eu acho que precisamos de mais livros infanto-juvenis de super-heróis onde a personagem principal é uma menina tão incrível. Penny entrou para o meu hall da fama.
April 15, 2018
Mostly good.
This series has always been silly, but I think the animatronic goat sequences may have pushed it past fun-silly to having-a-hard-time-believing-this-silly. Also, the giant black goat head logos in the chapter headers seemed like an odd aesthetic choice.
I also was uncertain about some plot points.
This series has always been silly, but I think the animatronic goat sequences may have pushed it past fun-silly to having-a-hard-time-believing-this-silly. Also, the giant black goat head logos in the chapter headers seemed like an odd aesthetic choice.
I also was uncertain about some plot points.
April 16, 2018
Deeper than expected
While the whimsical, borderline manic, tone remains, there are some deeper concepts at work. Gerty Goat is an awesome sidekick and Ampexia provides much needed balance to the team.
It dragged a bit at times. Mainly because of the existential stuff that, while necessary, made for tough reading.
Spoiler*****
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I also kept wondering why everyone didn’t realize the Machine was an excellent judge of who was real. That may have been covered in the previous book, but it should have been addressed here as well.
While the whimsical, borderline manic, tone remains, there are some deeper concepts at work. Gerty Goat is an awesome sidekick and Ampexia provides much needed balance to the team.
It dragged a bit at times. Mainly because of the existential stuff that, while necessary, made for tough reading.
Spoiler*****
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I also kept wondering why everyone didn’t realize the Machine was an excellent judge of who was real. That may have been covered in the previous book, but it should have been addressed here as well.
April 12, 2018
A fitting end to the series
What can I say without spoiling the twists and turns of this book? It's good. Really good. Penny faces not only physical challenges and hazards, but psychological and philosophical ones. She has to literally fight her inner demons and decide who she is. Hero, villain, daughter, friend, girlfriend, icon, force of change... and if she's not careful, winning will lose everything.
Getting into slight spoilers, in this book, Penny is deprived of powers, family, and friends, forced to rely solely on her wits, a handful of allies, a robotic body of incredibly advanced technology, and an animatronic goat. Twists and turns, and a metric ton of callbacks, results in a satisfying finale to the series.
What can I say without spoiling the twists and turns of this book? It's good. Really good. Penny faces not only physical challenges and hazards, but psychological and philosophical ones. She has to literally fight her inner demons and decide who she is. Hero, villain, daughter, friend, girlfriend, icon, force of change... and if she's not careful, winning will lose everything.
Getting into slight spoilers, in this book, Penny is deprived of powers, family, and friends, forced to rely solely on her wits, a handful of allies, a robotic body of incredibly advanced technology, and an animatronic goat. Twists and turns, and a metric ton of callbacks, results in a satisfying finale to the series.
April 20, 2018
As much fun as the first one again.
The solution to the situation was obvious by half way through but how it resolved was to be resolved was always the hook.
The solution to the situation was obvious by half way through but how it resolved was to be resolved was always the hook.
April 11, 2018
The velociraptors. That's when I stopped worrying and knew that this would be the perfect end to the Penny Akk series, as good as if not better than any of the other books. The whole story is told from Penny's viewpoint, trapped in a robot body. There is randomness and enough odd moments that it feels like there truly is a whole odd world out there that this story just touches. There's some deep thinking on the nature of people. There's also FABULOUS chickens. Something for everyone. Highly recommended!
April 12, 2018
A fitting conclusion
An excellent finish to something that was certainly hard to end. He managed to avoid the pitfall of most stories with position subversion plots which is the feeling of hopelessness at a loss of control by using his unique world to allow penny to maintain control over herself and continue to act.
An excellent finish to something that was certainly hard to end. He managed to avoid the pitfall of most stories with position subversion plots which is the feeling of hopelessness at a loss of control by using his unique world to allow penny to maintain control over herself and continue to act.
April 11, 2018
Overall, a good conclusion to the series, with twists I did not expect.
I didn't find it as funny and engaging as the first 4 books in the series, mostly because I didn't "get" a lot of the humor. There were a lot of jokes, but many of them fell flat for me. I think I may be the wrong age and gender for this book. Which is odd, because the first 4 were great.
I didn't find it as funny and engaging as the first 4 books in the series, mostly because I didn't "get" a lot of the humor. There were a lot of jokes, but many of them fell flat for me. I think I may be the wrong age and gender for this book. Which is odd, because the first 4 were great.
May 1, 2018
Who's a Gerty Girl?!?! (or boy).
This title is the second half of the story which began in Please Don't Tell My Parents I Have A Nemesis.
The book is more zany fun from Richard Roberts, with oodles of characters, lots of bizarre mayhem, villainous ranting and mass destruction. If you've read the rest of the series, you know what you're in for, and this book definitely delivers. Gerty definitely does steal the show though.
Anyway, fun book, highly recommended.
This title is the second half of the story which began in Please Don't Tell My Parents I Have A Nemesis.
The book is more zany fun from Richard Roberts, with oodles of characters, lots of bizarre mayhem, villainous ranting and mass destruction. If you've read the rest of the series, you know what you're in for, and this book definitely delivers. Gerty definitely does steal the show though.
Anyway, fun book, highly recommended.
May 18, 2018
I am way too biased to write a review for this book, the only thing I'll say is...
I wanted my confession.
I had been wondering, speculating, and envisioning what would happen in that fateful moment, but nada.
Everything else is great, very interesting and although not my favourite book in this series, definitely added some good things to the wonderful world.
I wanted my confession.
I had been wondering, speculating, and envisioning what would happen in that fateful moment, but nada.
Everything else is great, very interesting and although not my favourite book in this series, definitely added some good things to the wonderful world.
February 25, 2021
Recommended.
Mad science, superheroes, supervillains -- a coming of age pentalogy.
SEVEN STARS
Mad science, superheroes, supervillains -- a coming of age pentalogy.
SEVEN STARS
September 30, 2020
NOoooooo the end...
June 13, 2019
As part of the Inscrutable Machine Penny Akk, Bad Penny, has faced heroes and villains and threats from the very moons of Jupiter. She’s faced enemies turned friends and friends turned enemies. But when she was ready to face the thing she feared the most, telling her parents about being Bad Penny, she found herself trapped in a robot body by her own power. With her friends away and her parents believing the fake Penny her powers built instead of her, Penny will have to find new allies and pull off the biggest heist of her whole career. Bad Penny is going to have to steal her own life back. A super villain’s work is never done.
As would be expected of the last book in a series that I really enjoyed, I have thoughts on Richard Roberts’ Please Don’t Tell My Parents You Believe Her. A number of them in fact. This is a book that was split between opening up the world it’s set in for later stories, giving the reader more on some of the side characters and how things work, and also tying up Penelope Akk’s story. That’s where I get a little bit frustrated.
Please Don’t Tell My Parents You Believe Her is the book it needs to be more than the book I would have hoped it would be. It’s the tie up novel. The place where Penny finally gets to shed Bad Penny for a chance to be a hero. But first she has to beat the most dangerous super villain she’s ever faced, herself. And yet, even with the stakes as high as they are for Penny, I found myself more interested in what was going on with Ampexia or Cassie or what was going on with the other Penny at the Akk household.
That’s actually something that I would have really liked to have seen with how far the other Penny takes things. How did Penny’s parents react to that? We see the Audit reject Bad Penny early on because she defaults to believing the flesh and blood Penny over robotic Bad Penny. Never mind that the Machine stubbornly sticks to Bad Penny. This drove me up the walls, because it feels like it should have been a bigger thing all around. Like, we get the letters from super villain camp that Penny writes to cope with what’s going on but I wanted to see more of the parents being worried of if they made the right choice. Which is an odd stand out, because we see her friends trying to split time between the Pennys.
But then there’s all the support Penny gets early on from, mostly new, side characters who deal with robots. She gets to team up with the mascot from her childhood favorite pizza place, Gerty Goat. Ampexia shows back up as a team mate and makes for some really enjoyable scenes of Penny getting to know her and learning to take a chill between bouts of villainy.
There’s a lot of early on heist stuff, since Penny’s lost most of her gear. Between that and the bits with other characters that feel like they could have been expanded, kind of makes me wish that this had been split between two books. One with Penny adjusting to her robot body and gathering her allies and a second with the heists and the build up to the big fight with other Penny. It could make the expansion of characters and the whole robot deal feel like it had more room to breath while also allowing more space for Penny to deal with and question her current state of being. But, I also say that as someone who enjoyed the series and would really like to read more of it.
That’s really where I come down on this I think. It was an enjoyable book and it tied up the series exactly the way the series needed to be tied up for character stuff. But it also leaves room for more stories and showed a lot of characters who’s stories I’m really interested in reading. It’s the book that it needed to be, but that also leaves me wanting more from this setting. So, Please Don’t Tell My Parents You Believe Her gets a four out of five from me. I’m going to go find the prequel.
Publisher provided a copy of this novel for honest review.
As would be expected of the last book in a series that I really enjoyed, I have thoughts on Richard Roberts’ Please Don’t Tell My Parents You Believe Her. A number of them in fact. This is a book that was split between opening up the world it’s set in for later stories, giving the reader more on some of the side characters and how things work, and also tying up Penelope Akk’s story. That’s where I get a little bit frustrated.
Please Don’t Tell My Parents You Believe Her is the book it needs to be more than the book I would have hoped it would be. It’s the tie up novel. The place where Penny finally gets to shed Bad Penny for a chance to be a hero. But first she has to beat the most dangerous super villain she’s ever faced, herself. And yet, even with the stakes as high as they are for Penny, I found myself more interested in what was going on with Ampexia or Cassie or what was going on with the other Penny at the Akk household.
That’s actually something that I would have really liked to have seen with how far the other Penny takes things. How did Penny’s parents react to that? We see the Audit reject Bad Penny early on because she defaults to believing the flesh and blood Penny over robotic Bad Penny. Never mind that the Machine stubbornly sticks to Bad Penny. This drove me up the walls, because it feels like it should have been a bigger thing all around. Like, we get the letters from super villain camp that Penny writes to cope with what’s going on but I wanted to see more of the parents being worried of if they made the right choice. Which is an odd stand out, because we see her friends trying to split time between the Pennys.
But then there’s all the support Penny gets early on from, mostly new, side characters who deal with robots. She gets to team up with the mascot from her childhood favorite pizza place, Gerty Goat. Ampexia shows back up as a team mate and makes for some really enjoyable scenes of Penny getting to know her and learning to take a chill between bouts of villainy.
There’s a lot of early on heist stuff, since Penny’s lost most of her gear. Between that and the bits with other characters that feel like they could have been expanded, kind of makes me wish that this had been split between two books. One with Penny adjusting to her robot body and gathering her allies and a second with the heists and the build up to the big fight with other Penny. It could make the expansion of characters and the whole robot deal feel like it had more room to breath while also allowing more space for Penny to deal with and question her current state of being. But, I also say that as someone who enjoyed the series and would really like to read more of it.
That’s really where I come down on this I think. It was an enjoyable book and it tied up the series exactly the way the series needed to be tied up for character stuff. But it also leaves room for more stories and showed a lot of characters who’s stories I’m really interested in reading. It’s the book that it needed to be, but that also leaves me wanting more from this setting. So, Please Don’t Tell My Parents You Believe Her gets a four out of five from me. I’m going to go find the prequel.
Publisher provided a copy of this novel for honest review.
May 5, 2018
Best series ever!
I have absolutely loved every single one of these books. The only other series I can compare them to is the first one that ever really got me interested in reading (Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels, the Dragon Harper trilogy was the first time I ever found a world in a book that I loved so much that I desperately wished I could leave this world behind for it, even if it meant it would be a one way trip. Other book's worlds, both before and since, have been ones I have wanted to visit; however, until now there hasn't really been another world I wouldn't mind going to even if only a one way trip was offered.) This world has been amazing to follow, immerse myself in, and dream of visiting. I really hope to see a return of the inscrutable machine (set after highschool/during college? Some type of time jump, likely best after books following other characters advance the timeline, if wanting to keep the same progression of time as this series has)
I do have some thought specific to this novel. Foremost: how come nobody, at all, brought up the possibility that none of the Pennies were "real" and intact were actually fragments? Especially after the "test" where all three were judged to be Penny yet missing the things the others had? The solution seemed so much like they all just needed to rejoin to fix everything, but that option was never brought up. Anyways, this other bit is something related to the final revelation of the novel, so spoilers
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So with the second clockwork/gears/mechanic power Penny has, could The Machine have been created by the inscrutable power working on/powering up the clockwork one? But this book's "Meatbag Penny" was without the clockwork and the robot Penny had that power and this is why The Machine went with Robot Penny, because it was always linked to her clockwork power more so than the inscrutable one? Or, conversely, if the Machine is purely a product of the awakening of her clockwork power, what else might she still be capable of creating once it's fully awakened and under control in the future. Not that I expect that to be the case due to its creation being done in a fugue state.
I do kind of feel it was a shame that the Heart of Gold never got to make another appearance, a three way confrontation would have been interesting (and, honestly, I think the Heart of Gold would have made the best literary sense to be the third party trying to play peacemaker, been more interested/ willing to pursue the transhuman path, but ultimately come up with the way to fuse all three back into one/sacrifice the transhuman future in order to stop the other two from destroying one another.
I have absolutely loved every single one of these books. The only other series I can compare them to is the first one that ever really got me interested in reading (Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels, the Dragon Harper trilogy was the first time I ever found a world in a book that I loved so much that I desperately wished I could leave this world behind for it, even if it meant it would be a one way trip. Other book's worlds, both before and since, have been ones I have wanted to visit; however, until now there hasn't really been another world I wouldn't mind going to even if only a one way trip was offered.) This world has been amazing to follow, immerse myself in, and dream of visiting. I really hope to see a return of the inscrutable machine (set after highschool/during college? Some type of time jump, likely best after books following other characters advance the timeline, if wanting to keep the same progression of time as this series has)
I do have some thought specific to this novel. Foremost: how come nobody, at all, brought up the possibility that none of the Pennies were "real" and intact were actually fragments? Especially after the "test" where all three were judged to be Penny yet missing the things the others had? The solution seemed so much like they all just needed to rejoin to fix everything, but that option was never brought up. Anyways, this other bit is something related to the final revelation of the novel, so spoilers
.
.
.
.
.
So with the second clockwork/gears/mechanic power Penny has, could The Machine have been created by the inscrutable power working on/powering up the clockwork one? But this book's "Meatbag Penny" was without the clockwork and the robot Penny had that power and this is why The Machine went with Robot Penny, because it was always linked to her clockwork power more so than the inscrutable one? Or, conversely, if the Machine is purely a product of the awakening of her clockwork power, what else might she still be capable of creating once it's fully awakened and under control in the future. Not that I expect that to be the case due to its creation being done in a fugue state.
I do kind of feel it was a shame that the Heart of Gold never got to make another appearance, a three way confrontation would have been interesting (and, honestly, I think the Heart of Gold would have made the best literary sense to be the third party trying to play peacemaker, been more interested/ willing to pursue the transhuman path, but ultimately come up with the way to fuse all three back into one/sacrifice the transhuman future in order to stop the other two from destroying one another.
December 9, 2022
Having read all the Bad Penny books that we have right now, I wish there was more. I skimmed a few reviews before I re-started the series and I can see why some of them were complaining. If what you cherished the series for was the Penny running around as a super villain with her best friends, yeah, they're not so much around near the end. But what I saw was that Penny was always with them because they all had the same time free. If any of the parents had signed up one of the friends with more extracurricular activities, they would have been forced to play more with others. They didn't though, and that's why the Inscrutable Machine was such an awesome trio: they'd grown up with each others moves and actively compensated for and supported each other in every encounter.
Even in the first parts of the first book of the series Penny tried to get Claudia to join her group of friends. In truth, Penny made friends where ever she went, so of course she was able to team up with other people when her besties were away. And Roberts sealed the deal on my impression at the end when Penny tells Claire and Rey(sp?) that she wants to spend the most time with them, but also wants to include more time with others.
Also, Gertie Goat is the best. I fucking love her and would buy the action figure if Roberts made one and I heard about it in time.
I loved this series. Roberts did a great job of showing how the good side can actually be far worse when it applies its principles too rigidly (*coughConservativeDemocratsCough*). I also enjoyed how Penny noticed how little regular people really cared about her antics throughout the series. If you're paying attention, you realize that Spider is behind that learned complacency. I know Roberts has continued the series with other characters and did write a prequel with Spider, but I'm hoping we get a full-on Spider book at some point. Probably not happening though b/c I suspect that would give too much of the game away.
In sum: The characters are great. The world building is great. It doesn't even remotely feel like DC (usually so blech) or Marvel (also problematic). And the feeling that adventure will continue whether or not Roberts writes more books is very clear. I really hope this gets adapted to other forms of media so more people can enjoy this wonderful series. Yes, it is not written for adults though. I often had to rein in my feeling that Claire is the worst friend b/c she always wants to do the thing that will get them in trouble. She is her mother's daughter after all.
Even in the first parts of the first book of the series Penny tried to get Claudia to join her group of friends. In truth, Penny made friends where ever she went, so of course she was able to team up with other people when her besties were away. And Roberts sealed the deal on my impression at the end when Penny tells Claire and Rey(sp?) that she wants to spend the most time with them, but also wants to include more time with others.
Also, Gertie Goat is the best. I fucking love her and would buy the action figure if Roberts made one and I heard about it in time.
I loved this series. Roberts did a great job of showing how the good side can actually be far worse when it applies its principles too rigidly (*coughConservativeDemocratsCough*). I also enjoyed how Penny noticed how little regular people really cared about her antics throughout the series. If you're paying attention, you realize that Spider is behind that learned complacency. I know Roberts has continued the series with other characters and did write a prequel with Spider, but I'm hoping we get a full-on Spider book at some point. Probably not happening though b/c I suspect that would give too much of the game away.
In sum: The characters are great. The world building is great. It doesn't even remotely feel like DC (usually so blech) or Marvel (also problematic). And the feeling that adventure will continue whether or not Roberts writes more books is very clear. I really hope this gets adapted to other forms of media so more people can enjoy this wonderful series. Yes, it is not written for adults though. I often had to rein in my feeling that Claire is the worst friend b/c she always wants to do the thing that will get them in trouble. She is her mother's daughter after all.
March 19, 2019
I found this installment in the Please Don't Tell My Parents saga a bit... flat. Very much a similar feel I had for Please Don't Tell My Parents I Blew Up The Moon. There were moments of entertainment but often I just kept waiting for the story to move along. It was needed to get the outcome but it felt just eh.
As much as I enjoyed this series, I do not know if I will continue with it or not. I think I have seriously aged out of it (not that I was the intended age to begin with).
In this one Penny wakes to find her powers have split her mind and taken over her body while she is trapped in a robot and must find a way to get her body back before it's too late. While interesting in a freaky friday/body snatchers kind of way, it was also very jump the shark. If you have done the first 4.5 books in the series, I say read it to finish it up.
As much as I enjoyed this series, I do not know if I will continue with it or not. I think I have seriously aged out of it (not that I was the intended age to begin with).
In this one Penny wakes to find her powers have split her mind and taken over her body while she is trapped in a robot and must find a way to get her body back before it's too late. While interesting in a freaky friday/body snatchers kind of way, it was also very jump the shark. If you have done the first 4.5 books in the series, I say read it to finish it up.
April 10, 2019
Bad Penny is in a terrible situation - stuck in a damaged robot body with a parasite residing in her own body. Or is that really the case? Robot Penny manages to get mended and finds allies in unlikely places. She also recruits a super villain team to aid in her quest to get her body back. One interesting ally is Gertie Goat, an animatronic figure that can fry pancakes or launch missiles with equal ease. After several inconclusive encounters, Robot Penny and Meat Penny meet at the school playground for the final showdown (cue Western music). Plenty of action, plenty of decisions and a very interesting ending that could allow Bad Penny to return in a few years.
Emily Woo Zeller did a wonderful job on voicing this tale. I had started reading the ebooks for the first few Bad Penny adventures, but since I found the audio versions on Hoopla, I have thoroughly enjoyed my drive to work and back listening to the tale.
Emily Woo Zeller did a wonderful job on voicing this tale. I had started reading the ebooks for the first few Bad Penny adventures, but since I found the audio versions on Hoopla, I have thoroughly enjoyed my drive to work and back listening to the tale.
September 4, 2019
This book was alright, but I predicted the ending pretty early in after a confrontation between robot and meat bag Penny. I thought it was really obvious and was annoyed that it took so long for anyone to come up with the idea. I also thought it was dumb that they didn't consider the idea of using Penny's super science power to make empty clone bodies for robot penny and heart of gold to be mind transferred into. I don't know how they didn't even offhandedly mention and disregard the idea. It is a middle grade book though, so I can't really fault the author for not making the characters have what should be obvious thoughts. I did enjoy the book though.
January 9, 2021
This book had more awesome fights and thanks to Gerty Goat it might be the funniest book of the series. But I was disappointed at how unreasonable the core plot was. I can't say a lot without massive spoilers, but I can say adults allow and even encourage the children to handle things on their own in ways that totally violate how the adults have been acting the previous four books.
I still enjoyed the series, but the ending didn't have the grand finish I was hoping for. It was just some more fun hijinks.
I still enjoyed the series, but the ending didn't have the grand finish I was hoping for. It was just some more fun hijinks.
January 22, 2023
While the story certainly has a good climax, it suffers from reduced characterization. Ray and Claire are out of the state for most of the book and don't really affect the plot when they do come back. Claudia also pops in just long enough to explain why she isn't helping. Cassie has some development but it's kinda sad, especially when most of the book seemed to be setting it up for her to get what she wanted.
There's no payoff for anything thats been set up except for the main plot hook. I hope the next book covers some of the other characters to give some closure.
There's no payoff for anything thats been set up except for the main plot hook. I hope the next book covers some of the other characters to give some closure.
April 22, 2018
Pretty Good Conclusion
I didn't quite love the end of book four. In essence the series had gotten a little too dark. Book five begins in that same dark place but builds to an ideal climax. I unreservedly recommend the series as a whole but but don't love book five as much as I did book one. Well worth reading however and my "negative" take is only because how much I loved books one through three raised the bar ridiculously high.
I didn't quite love the end of book four. In essence the series had gotten a little too dark. Book five begins in that same dark place but builds to an ideal climax. I unreservedly recommend the series as a whole but but don't love book five as much as I did book one. Well worth reading however and my "negative" take is only because how much I loved books one through three raised the bar ridiculously high.
September 6, 2018
finished August 2018. This book was a fantastic end to this part of the series. I really enjoyed some of the new characters and some of the "older" ones who came back for this one. I wasn't a huge fan of the back and forth with time, but i really enjoyed the drama and premise of the book and how it tied so much together (but not in a dull, predictable way). Can't wait to read more from the world.
November 2, 2021
Good story, but needs an editor
A wonderful story and a fitting end to the saga of Penelope “Bad Penny” Akk. Like earlier entries in the series it would be greatly improved by a solid pass by as editor to correct word and grammatical issues that are occasional obstacles to enjoyment.
A wonderful story and a fitting end to the saga of Penelope “Bad Penny” Akk. Like earlier entries in the series it would be greatly improved by a solid pass by as editor to correct word and grammatical issues that are occasional obstacles to enjoyment.
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