I am a genius of unspeakable evil and I want to be your class president

by Josh Lieb

Paper Book, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

[Fic]

Publication

New York : Razorbill, c2009.

Description

Omaha, Nebraska, twelve-year-old Oliver Watson has everyone convinced that he is extremely stupid and lazy, but he is actually a very wealthy, evil genius, and when he decides to run for seventh-grade class president, nothing will stand in his way.

User reviews

LibraryThing member BrynDahlquis
I hate to say stuff like this, but it was actually touching. Really funny, too.
LibraryThing member bookcrazed
Oliver Watson is 12 years old, in the seventh grade, and overweight. This is his story, told by him. If it’s true what Einstein said, that “imagination is more important than knowledge,” then Oliver has a great deal of what is more important. He plays dumb at school, he says, so that no one
Show More
will know that he is actually an evil genius, a billionaire, the hidden power behind the wealthiest man in town. From his headquarters in a blimp, he manipulates his teachers and parents with an unlimited budget for bribery and dirty tricks, and with the aid of his front man and a goon whose primary job is intimidation.

I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil reads like Lieb’s memoir of how it could have been back then if he had only had, then, the brain he has now. Early on I saw that many of Oliver’s metaphors are a bit above the radar of even the most precocious seventh-grade nerd, when he describes his dog as “a pudgy dewdrop of brindled fur and baby teeth, smiling happily at the world from a cold and barren cage.” Half way through, I stopped to check if I was mistaken about this being a book published as “young adult fiction.” Oliver’s vocabulary, grasp of politics and business, not to mention his rather advanced knowledge of literature, is less believable than his batman-like hideaway built into the lockers outside study hall.

In the end, I judged that the many sly inside jokes for brainy adults are well enough balanced with the quantity of pubescent body-function jokes. Just as is true with many cartoons, the format and basically simple story line are sufficient to engage the target audience, who most likely breezed past the adult content with nary a notice.

As so many young men (and even old ones) before him, Oliver’s deepest desire is to win his father’s approval. It is this longing that inspires him to run for class president. He spares nothing in his effort to succeed. He threatens, cajoles and bribes - - even accepts the help of the school’s meanest girl.

Until nearly the end, I bought into the notion that I Am a Genius of Uspeakable Evil is just another wipe-your-boogers-under-your-seat-and-fart-at-every-opportunity glee-fest for adolescent boys, with bits of adult-in-the-know humor thrown in here and there. Thus the ending was a complete surprise. The hints at depth given throughout the book were realized just when I thought it was too late for it to be anything other than what it had most obviously been for 284 pages. It now qualifies for a second read and a pass-on to people-watchers of all ages.

I’ve saved the worst for last. I hated the block format of the book, the use of spaces between paragraphs instead of indents. I kept thinking I would find some reason, but in the end all I could see was convenience and laziness - - or spite. My first impression was that the publisher took the economical way out by publishing directly from the author’s manuscript, which was in email/block letter format. The only other reason I can fathom is that maybe Lieb’s father is the editor of an important literary magazine, or a copy editor for a text book publisher, or just something of a old-school grammar nut, and Lieb did it to get even with the old man.
Show Less
LibraryThing member doxtator
Although written for the young adult-set, this book works remarkably well for adults. There are many dual-level events in the story, and the entire book, while resting on the nearly implausible concept of a twelve-year-old super genius with a giant network of minions and underlings, is totally
Show More
captivating and amusing.

The "plates" add to the humor, in giving the reader actual, visual parts of the story, and the story itself is one long reminder of middle school, and how it would have been completely different, if only there had been an evil genius around.

At its heart, it is really the story of a young boy's desperate attempts to garner pride, respect, and some attention from his father (a perhaps not so out-of-the-ordinary condition of young boys) and that even being a truly Unspeakable Evil Genius doesn't change some basic facts of character, or of growing up.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lilibrarian
Oliver is a genius controlling a huge financial empire, but to hide that fact, he has found it necessary to convince everyone that he is a dim-witted loser. Now in middle school, he has decided to run for class president, and will let nothing stand in his way.
LibraryThing member prkcs
In Omaha, Nebraska, twelve-year-old Oliver Watson has everyone convinced that he is extremely stupid and lazy, but he is actually a very wealthy, evil genius, and when he decides to run for seventh-grade class president, nothing will stand in his way.
LibraryThing member YAbookfest
Oliver is that chubby, not too bright, not too nice boy in middle school. Or is he? Oliver will tell you that’s all a sham to cover up the fact the he is “the greatest genius in the history of the universe…unspeakably evil.” His Secret Worldwide Empire controls everyone from his school
Show More
principal to heads of state. He can tune into his spy network to trick his pathetic English teacher and blackmail his classmates. He invents ingenious weapons. But, can he win the election to become president of the 8th grade? Can he win his father’s respect?

Many middle-school students will think this book is hilarious. The witty sarcasm and zany inventions are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. The author is the Executive Producer of The Daily Show and worked on The Simpsons, so it is not surprising that there is political satire and a great deal of Bart and Homer humor in the book.

Many adults will find it tiresome after a while, a one trick pony. The potty jokes wear thin. Oddly, there are quite a few references to good literature threaded through the story that would fly over the heads of the target audience, 7th and 8th graders.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ChristianR
I suspect that middle schoolers will love this introduction to political satire, written by the Executive Producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Oliver Watson (7th grade) is a genius, but he learned very early (when he was one day old!) that it was better to hide his intelligence, so he has
Show More
actively convinced everyone, even his family, that he is dumb. Meanwhile, he secretly amassed a fortune and a mouth-watering array of lackeys intent on accommodating his every whim. Essentially, he runs the world, but what he wants most is to impress his father by becoming class president. Funny and written for the middle school audience, this works.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tgraettinger
This book was enjoyable for about 50 pages, then it started to wear thin. Gutted it out to the end, but even that was fairly predictable.
LibraryThing member jazzamatazz
I am a genius of unspeakable evil and I want to be your class president - Junior

Josh Lieb



This is a fantastic new read along the same lines of the popular book series 'Evil Genius' by long time author Catherine Jinks. Josh Lieb has created a fun read that will have you chuckling away.



The evil hero
Show More
speaks directly to you the reader so only you know what's really going on. Oliver is in disguise as a simpering idiot who is widely pitied and despised. This cunning tactic keeps people out of his business while he's taking over the world. He overcomes childhood trials such as bullies by poisoning them with a flatulence and puberty delaying potion.



He is wonderfully evil and spiteful but manages to not be too hateful to enjoy reading about. Then Oliver's world is disrupted when he runs for class president, will he be able to win the position when he's the most despised boy in his class? Read it and see.
Show Less
LibraryThing member callmecayce
This is not a bad book and in spite of my low rating, I highly recommend it. It's an especially good book for boys (or girls) who want to challenge authority, but are afraid of the consequences. It's funny (laugh out loud funny at some points) while having a fairly balanced mix of juvenile humor
Show More
and sophisticated intelligence. Though the story is about at 12 year old boy (or there abouts) it's not a J fiction book. This is definitely geared at teens -- especially smarter ones. It's just not something that I like. I firmly believe that this'll be a popular book, and it should be. It is smart, funny and quite clever. Just not my type of book!
Show Less
LibraryThing member kristy-zeluff
Very, very funny (also appealed to my 20 year old son), excellent pacing, unique. Give to boys or girls. Ending a little abrupt.
LibraryThing member joel10
The novel encompasses a young boy who wants the attention of his father. In the beginning, Oliver shows us how disengaged his father is from his life. Throughout the middle, we learn of Oliver's evil plan to not only take over the world but to win the class presidency to prove to his father that he
Show More
is worthy. By the end, he learns nothing.
Show Less
LibraryThing member khallbee
Oliver Watson is the third richest person in the world, and probably the smartest. Some day, he's going to going to rule the planet. There's only one problem: he's also a pudgy seventh-grader in Nebraska. Oliver rules his vast commercial empire through a proxy--recovering alcoholic and cringing
Show More
minion Lionel Sheldrake-- while pretending to be the dumbest boy in class in order to punish his neglectful "Daddy". He would have been content to keep up the charade for another six years, if not for Tatiana Lopez, the Meanest Girl in School, who nominates him for class president and sets off a disastrous chain of events not even Oliver could see coming.

This book presents a tempting alternate narrative for every kid who felt bullied or out-of-place in Middle School. Josh Loeb creates a world where Oliver's perceived powerlessness is actually his greatest strength and the all-American "hero" of the school is a closet nose-picker. Rife with gross-out humor and witty sarcasm that will immediately appeal to boys of this age, the story is actually remarkably safe given its premise. Early on in the narrative, Oliver explains the difference between evil and insanity as "why we call one dictator 'Alexander the Great' and another 'Hitler, the little creep with the mustache'". With a secret base beneath his suburban home and master to a killer pitbull named Lollipop, Oliver could easily wage a reign of terror over Gayle Sayers Middle School, but instead he plays dumb to please his clueless mother and embarrass his self-obsessed father. His great power is tempered by an iron will and almost perfect self-control. The only person who suspects he could be something more is Tatiana, a tough, crafty girl intent on winning him the presidency--at whatever cost.

Satisfying wish-fulfillment for the tween set, this book would go over well with boys in grades 5-8. The bodily humor and references to latin phrases and classic literature might be a bit much for younger readers, but the bold typeface and spaces between every paragraph will make for easy reading. Additionally the formatting of the book--with footnotes, transcripts of conversations, newspaper articles and captioned photographs--will keep readers' attentions while introducing new literary techniques.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bremmd
Normally I don’t read much contemporary young adult literature. Honestly, I can’t remember any I’ve read in the last couple of years. I read some along with my daughter when she was young but stopped as she got older. I couldn’t bring myself to read the “Twilight” series because the
Show More
brooding vampire thing doesn’t really do it for me. The last brooding vampire I read about was Lestat and I lost interest in him after “The Vampire Lestat”. I would have read along with my son but he went from “Captain Underpants” to Issac Asimov. Until last week.

Looking for a new book for him to read I saw “I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President” by Josh Lieb. I could no more pass up that title than I could pass up free breadsticks and trust me, my friends, there’s no way I would pass up either. If the title alone didn’t attract me there was a great story to boot.

Now, my family can tell you I have an infinite ability to suspend disbelief. Really, I’ll pretty much buy anything for a good story. So, I didn’t have a problem with an eighth grade genius being the second richest person in the world with a secret lair the covered almost the entire underside of the city of Omaha and secret minions who keep him protected from the bullies in not only the world but in the halls of Gale Sayers Middle School. The problem I had when I started to read this was the over the top style it was “written” in. I could really see the writing, at first. But, then I had to rejigger my thinking. It’s suppose to be over the top. How could it not? We’re talking about a boy running for eighth grade president to secretly hires an elite campaign strategist to help him rig the election, he has a special stall in the boys bathroom where the toilet dispenses milk duds and popcorn. I got it, over the top is what Lieb was going for. It’s sly and irreverent, it’s funny and snarky, and it actually has somethings to say about politics, parenting, and what being an evil genius really means.

Lieb was an Executive Producer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and also worked on The Simpsons which definitely shows in his style. It’s smart and funny. Think Dexter’s Laboratory (do people remember that cartoon?) with less accent and more treats. Better still, there’s a happy ending even though Oliver is now only the fourth richest person in the world.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookmolady
Oliver Watson was born with such high intelligence, he made the immediate decision to play dumb as a defense mechanism. Assumed to be of low to nil IQ, he puts in his time at school during the day (very few demands are put on him since he can never answer his teachers' questions), and by night he
Show More
runs his secret multi-national conglomerate from subterranean headquarters. When Oliver steps out of his role as class moron to run for class president, he discovers that at least one of his classmates is on to his act. Tatiana steps in to mastermind a campaign that is truly worthy of an evil genius of Oliver's stature. Very funny.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MaryWJ
very cute YA, for all of us who long to secretly rule the world! ;-)
LibraryThing member justpeachy
Oliver Watson is a chubby, slow, socially-awkward middle-schooler in Omaha, Nebraska. Or so he'd like you to think. This image is simply a front to hide who he really is: a super-rich businessman who overthrows foreign dictators, buys corporations, and has a whole platoon of minions who do his
Show More
bidding. He has a secret button for getting chocolate milk out of the water fountain, and an out-of-order stall in the bathroom where he can get a snack. When Oliver decides to run in the student council elections to impress his father, he turns out to be the only candidate, and he must use all his powers and influence to mold an opponent to run against. After all, he has to win by votes, not by default, if he's going to make his clueless dad proud of him.
Show Less
LibraryThing member librarian_k
Some people think this book isn't that funny. I am not one of those people.
LibraryThing member mazeway
SO funny. I read this one aloud on a long trip and it made the miles fly by. Funny characters, funny dialog, engaging plot. The horror that is middle school as seen through the eyes of a self-proclaimed super genius. He's part Dwight Schrute, part Bond villain.
LibraryThing member KarenBall
Oliver Watson is your average, everyday 7th grade evil genius stuck in Omaha, Nebraska. On his way to world domination, Oliver has decided to win the election for class president... only creating shell corporations, stealing moon rocks from the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, and
Show More
overthrowing foreign governments are actually easier than winning a middle school election. Seriously. "I can assure her (but I won't) that the burglars didn't "just stroll" into the museum. This was a precision military operation, conducted by top-flight Armenian mercenaries. They were in and out in under five minutes, and they didn't leave a trace. Okay, that's not completely true. I had them leave one of Miley Cyrus's fingerprints just to blow the FBI's minds."This reminds me of Artemis Fowl -- Americanized, and hilariously rotten! There are photos and footnotes in this one that made me laugh out loud while reading -- loved it. Good for 6th grade and up, especially for those who love sarcastic humor with your world domination.
Show Less
LibraryThing member stacyinthecity
I thought this book would be something along the lines of Election - the story of a typical (or perhaps atypical) kid who will stop at nothing to win a jr high school election.

Well, I was sort of right. And when I say he would stop at nothing, that is exactly what I meant. See, the protagonist
Show More
actually IS an evil genius and one of the richest people in the world, and in order to gain the approval of just one person, just one little person he doesn't even think he likes, he will sto...more I thought this book would be something along the lines of Election - the story of a typical (or perhaps atypical) kid who will stop at nothing to win a jr high school election.

Well, I was sort of right. And when I say he would stop at nothing, that is exactly what I meant. See, the protagonist actually IS an evil genius and one of the richest people in the world, and in order to gain the approval of just one person, just one little person he doesn't even think he likes, he will stop at nothing - throwing cash around is nothing to him. He will even risk an international crisis and global instability to win the jr high school election.

The book was quite clever and read very quickly. It also had entertaining photos that helped tell the story. Ultimately, it fails in earning more than 3 stars from me because some of the humor got old after a while and there were quite a few predicable moments. Still, a fun little book that I would recommend.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
Some parts of this were funny, but the general tone was more obnoxious that amusing. Oliver's desire for approval from his father is one of the interesting things about the story. Oliver recognizes his father's basic phoniness, yet he wants to somehow force his father to appreciate him for himself
Show More
(hence the defensive cover of stupidity).
Show Less
LibraryThing member aakauff
Written by Daily Show producer Josh Lieb, this humorous (bordering on crass) book for young adults stars Oliver Watson, a seemingly ordinary kid who is anything but. Oliver is a genius who pretends to be slow so that he can become class president, which he is only running for to irritate his
Show More
father. Oh, and Oliver’s a billionaire. The premise of the plot is a bit on the convoluted side, but Oliver’s antics are fast-paced and sometimes witty. The book is not always as funny as it tries to be, and the copious footnotes and photos become tedious and get in the way after awhile. Lieb’s debut novel may be the ticket to get middle school boys interested in reading, but some mild profanity and adult references make the reading level questionable. For ages 13-16. Recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member michellebarton
very funny, main character somewhat like artemis fowl but not as likeable and pretends to be feeble. Loves his mother who is rather feeble and defers to his father, but finds herself in the end and in the unusual friendship/bond with his classmates. Interesting girl character, strong, independent,
Show More
grudging admiration for her. fun twists on who really is the wealthiest person in town and just who is working for who... Good narration.
Show Less
LibraryThing member librarybrandy
Oliver Watson is one of the dumbest kids in the seventh grade, and one of the most pathetic. However, he knows something the other kids don't. In fact, he knows lots of things the other kids don't, because the dumb-kid thing is actually his cover for his genius. And we're not talking quiz-bowl
Show More
genius, but third-richest-man-in-America, secret-lair-under-the-house genius. After buying up companies and corporations (several for the sole purpose of helping or hurting classmates' parents, depending how nice each classmate is to him), Oliver has his sights set on one more task: becoming class president. With his connections, it's easy to eliminate the competition--but how can one really win an election when there's nobody running against him?

Despite Oliver's penchant for being a vindictive jerk, he's still enjoyable to read about. His voice never wavers; Lieb manages to make him sound exactly as you'd expect a seventh-grade evil genius to sound: part cartoonish, part business, part exasperated with his family, his teachers, his classmates, his minions. Oliver may be strategically brilliant, but his immaturity trips him up in hilariously unexpected ways.

This is one of the few books I've found that can sustain a particular style of humor without working my last nerve by the end--it never seems self-conscious, but just so much exactly who Oliver is. Probably best for 8th-11th grades--even though Oliver is in the 7th grade, his voice is a little older and many of the references will go over younger readers' heads. A sharp and funny read, even if the cover may look a little young.

[edit:] You could make a case for a certain Walter Mitty-ness to this, but that's more thought than I want to put in right now. I like it at the surface level. Fascinating to consider it as the daydreams of a bullied kid, but that's a lot of intellectual energy I don't have at the moment.
Show Less

Awards

Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — Teen — 2012)

Language

Original publication date

2009

Physical description

244 p.; 22 inches

ISBN

1595143548 / 9781595143549
Page: 0.2688 seconds