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Evil Genius

Catherine Jinks

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Similar in premise + setting

These books are ranked using the premise + setting labels extracted for Evil Genius. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Premise labels used: gifted child, evil school, criminal training, world domination, child hacker, hidden parentage, moral awakening, lonely genius, manipulation, secret agenda

Setting labels used: Australia, private school, elite institute, criminal academy, contemporary setting, school setting, prison communication

This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their premise + setting embeddings are close.

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Persephone

Lev Grossman · 2022

A bullied teen’s buried grief cracks open a hidden power and pulls her toward a secret world she barely understands.

Why this is here

Premise labels: teen powers · emotional awakening · school bullying · hidden abilities · secret world · coming-of-age · disappearing parent · gifted teens · power eruption

Setting labels: high school · school setting · teen setting · contemporary setting · secret facility · hidden world · speculative reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2316

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The Mysterious Benedict Society

Trenton Lee Stewart · 2008 · The Mysterious Benedict Society

Four gifted children are recruited for a secret mission at a ruleless school where puzzles, codes, and danger await.

Why this is here

Premise labels: gifted children · secret mission · undercover school · logic puzzles · codebreaking · world threat · misfit team · hidden tests · adventure quest · child spies

Setting labels: contemporary reality · school setting · boarding school · secret underground tunnels · island setting · hidden lairs · classroom world · slightly fantastical reality · slightly futuristic reality · fictional institute

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2434

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G.O.D.S: Gifted. Obedient. Deadly. Students.

Jaye Pratt · 2021 · G.O.D.S

A foster teen with missing memories is pulled into a secret program of weaponized students and a dangerous why-choose bond.

Why this is here

Premise labels: amnesia · memory loss · foster care · secret organization · genetically engineered humans · child soldiers · protective harem · lost identity · mystery note · revenge

Setting labels: high school · contemporary setting · current time · secret program · school and foster home space

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2568

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Lost and Found

Orson Scott Card · 2019 · Micropowers

A shunned teen with a tiny finding-lost-things power gets pulled into friendship and a dangerous missing-child case.

Why this is here

Premise labels: minor powers · finding lost things · misunderstood teen · missing child · outcast protagonist · compulsion to return items · supportive friendship · school ostracism

Setting labels: high school · school setting · contemporary world · our world · police investigation · support group setting · family home

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2580

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Shadows

John Saul · 1993

A bullied child genius enters a school for gifted kids and uncovers a terrifying experiment hiding behind its walls.

Why this is here

Premise labels: gifted children · gifted school · brain experiment · artificial intelligence · child endangerment · bullying · suicide attempt · secret conspiracy · evil intelligence · mansion school · remote academy · scientific ethics · body transfer · children in peril

Setting labels: academy · boarding school · cliff-top mansion · oceanfront setting · isolated setting · Pacific coast · 1990s · early internet era · 90s technology · old mansion · school setting · remote campus

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2617

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Genius Squad

Catherine Jinks · 2008 · Genius

A sheltered teen genius in foster care joins a secret hacker squad, but the offer may be another trap.

Why this is here

Premise labels: foster care · identity uncertainty · protective custody · hacking team · secret organization · teen investigators · conspiracy takedown · forced alliance · recruitment trap · coming-of-age

Setting labels: Australia · Sydney, Australia · contemporary · near-future tech · secret facility · foster home · police surveillance · computer-mediated world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2643

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Super Powereds: Year 1

Drew Hayes · 2013 · Super Powereds

Five new college students hide a dangerous secret while training to become certified superheroes.

Why this is here

Premise labels: superhero school · secret identity · experimental procedure · power control · hidden powers · hero certification · outcasts to heroes · training program · found family · social hierarchy

Setting labels: college campus · superhero academy · university setting · contemporary setting · real-world adjacent · secret training program · hero certification program

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2653

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Witch and Wizard Book One Free Preview

James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet · 2009

Two siblings are seized by a new regime and discover magical powers that could help them escape and fight back.

Why this is here

Premise labels: secret powers · imprisoned siblings · totalitarian regime · missing children · resistance movement · save the parents · escape from prison · prophecy · outcast teens · magic in a dystopia

Setting labels: dystopian future · totalitarian society · prison setting · futuristic world · secret prison · post-takeover society · alternate reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2659

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Curtsies & Conspiracies

Gail Carriger · 2013 · Finishing School

A spy-in-training at an airborne finishing school uncovers a conspiracy, a kidnapping plot, and complicated new feelings.

Why this is here

Premise labels: spy school · boarding school · conspiracy · stolen device · kidnapping attempt · girls' academy · evil genius school · travel invention

Setting labels: finishing school · dirigible school · airship · London · Victorian-era setting · alternate reality · paranormal world · boarding school

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2663

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Girls with Sharp Sticks

Suzanne Young · 2019 · Girls with Sharp Sticks

At a girls-only boarding school, one student uncovers a terrifying program behind beauty, obedience, and control.

Why this is here

Premise labels: all-girls school · secret academy · brainwashing · oppressive school · female resistance · awakening · patriarchal control · girls band together

Setting labels: boarding school · near future · dystopian setting · elite academy · isolated institution · controlling environment · school enclosure

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2669

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Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins?

Liz Kessler · 2015

A schoolgirl’s sudden invisibility draws her into a secret circle of kids with powers and a dangerous hidden origin.

Why this is here

Premise labels: invisibility · superpowers · hidden abilities · kids with powers · ordinary child becomes extraordinary · secret origin · young heroes · friend-led investigation

Setting labels: school setting · middle school · teen contemporary · small-scale reality · lightly fantastical world · local adventure

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2671

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Rated

Melissa Grey · 2019

In a rating-obsessed future school, six teens from different cliques unite after a cryptic warning upends their lives.

Why this is here

Premise labels: rating system · social mobility · elite school · cryptic messages · unlikely allies · teen conspiracy · status hierarchy

Setting labels: prestigious academy · high school · future society · near-future · dystopian society · school setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2673

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