Superheroes are everywhere. They're on our screens, our lunchboxes, and dominating the global box office. But most of those stories are, frankly, a bit stale. You have the brooding billionaire or the boy scout in blue. Then Richard Roberts came along and dropped a book called Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain, and suddenly, the genre felt fun again. It isn't just another cape-and-cowl story; it’s a weirdly relatable look at what happens when you’re a teenager who just happens to be a technological genius with a penchant for accidental world domination.
Honestly, the premise is a hook that doesn't let go. Imagine your parents are the world's most beloved superheroes. They're the gold standard of morality and justice. Then you hit puberty, and your powers kick in. But instead of being a shining beacon of hope, your brain starts designing giant robotic spiders and gravity-defying gadgets. You're a "Mad Scientist." In a world of heroes and villains, you’ve basically been born onto the wrong side of the tracks, and you have to hide it from the very people who protect the city.
The Problem With Being Penny Akk
Penny Akk is the heart of Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain. She’s smart—scary smart. But she’s also a kid. This isn't a story about a dark lord trying to burn the world down because of a tragic backstory. It’s about a girl who wants to build cool stuff and ends up becoming a supervillain mostly by mistake.
The brilliance of Roberts’ writing is how he handles the "Supervillain" label. In Penny’s world, the distinction between a hero and a villain isn't always about who is "good" or "evil." Sometimes, it’s just about who follows the rules and who breaks them. Penny breaks them. A lot. She forms a crew with her friends—Claire, who can manipulate her own density, and Ray, who is essentially a living battery—and they bumble their way into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles.
They call themselves the Inscrutable Machine. It’s a terrible name. They know it’s a terrible name. But that’s the point. They are teenagers trying to find their identity in a world that already decided who they should be based on their DNA.
Why the World-Building Actually Works
Usually, YA novels about superpowers feel like they're trying too hard to be the next X-Men. Roberts avoids this by making the "Science" of his world feel lived-in. There are tiers of powers. There are social hierarchies among the capes. The "super" community is small, gossipy, and surprisingly bureaucratic.
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When Penny becomes "Bad Alice," her villainous alter ego, she’s not doing it for the money. She’s doing it for the "Mad Science." In this universe, being a Mad Scientist is almost like having a fever. You have to build. You have to innovate. If you don't, it eats at you. This adds a layer of biological necessity to her "villainy" that makes her incredibly sympathetic. She isn't malicious; she's just obsessed with the technical challenge of, say, making a suit of armor that can withstand a punch from a guy who can level a skyscraper.
The Los Angeles Setting
Los Angeles serves as more than just a backdrop. It’s a character. The city is divided into zones, some protected by the "Just Cause" (the hero team Penny's parents lead) and others left to the whims of various warlords and tech-thieves. It feels messy. It feels real. The contrast between Penny's suburban life and the neon-lit, chaotic life of a rookie villain creates a tension that drives the plot forward faster than a speeding bullet.
Middle School is Harder Than Fighting Superheroes
You've probably noticed that most superhero media ignores the "civilian" life because it’s boring. Not here. The stakes of Penny’s chemistry test or her awkward social interactions are treated with the same weight as her battles with "The Bull."
There’s a specific kind of anxiety that comes with being a teenager. You're constantly terrified of being "found out." For Penny, that fear is literal. If her parents find out she's been robbing tech warehouses and fighting other supers, her life is over. Not just "grounded for a month" over, but "institutionalized in a specialized prison for dangerous metas" over.
This creates a fascinating dynamic. Penny loves her parents. They are genuinely good people. But they represent a system that has no place for someone like her. Watching her navigate family dinners while hiding bruises from a fight she had three hours ago is where the real drama lies. It’s a metaphor for the secrets all kids keep from their parents as they grow up, just dialed up to eleven.
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It Isn't Just for Kids
Don't let the "YA" tag fool you. The book is sharp. The humor is often dry and self-aware. Roberts plays with the tropes of the genre in a way that rewards long-time comic book fans. He knows that we know how these stories usually go, so he ziggs when you expect him to zagg.
The morality is surprisingly gray. Penny realizes pretty quickly that some "villains" are actually just people who were screwed over by the system, while some "heroes" are arrogant jerks who care more about their PR than actually helping people. This isn't a groundbreaking revelation in the world of The Boys or Watchmen, but seeing it through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old gives it a fresh, less cynical perspective. It’s more about discovery than deconstruction.
The Impact of the Inscrutable Machine
One of the best things about Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain is the supporting cast.
- Claire (Cinderman): Her powers are terrifyingly powerful but hard to control. She’s the muscle, but she’s also the moral compass, which is ironic for a supervillain group.
- Ray (Bolt): He’s the comic relief, but he also represents the "average" kid who gets swept up in something much bigger than himself.
- The Parents: They aren't villains themselves. They are just... parents. They’re oblivious in that way only parents can be, but they are also formidable. When you see them through Penny's eyes, you see them as titans.
The chemistry between these characters is what makes the sequels—and there are several, including Please Don't Tell My Parents I've Blown Up the Moon—worth reading. You actually care if they get caught. You actually want them to succeed in their "heists," even though you know they shouldn't be doing them.
Action That Actually Makes Sense
The fights in this book aren't just descriptions of people hitting each other. Because Penny is a tech-based character, the action is tactical. It’s about how she uses her limited resources to overcome people who are objectively stronger than her.
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She uses gravity, magnetism, and clever engineering. It’s Home Alone if Kevin McCallister had a genius-level IQ and access to experimental alloys. Every victory feels earned. Every defeat feels like a learning experience for her next "build."
Common Misconceptions About the Series
People often assume this is a "parody" of superheroes. It's not. A parody mocks the source material. This is an "affectionate subversion." It loves superheroes. It just wants to look at them from a different angle.
Another mistake is thinking it’s a dark, edgy "evil protagonist" story. If you're looking for someone who commits atrocities, go elsewhere. Penny is a "villain" in the same way a graffiti artist is a criminal. She's a nuisance to the status quo, but she has a heart of gold. The title itself—Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain—is a plea for normalcy in an abnormal life.
Actionable Steps for New Readers
If you're ready to dive into the world of Penny Akk and the Inscrutable Machine, here is how to get the most out of the experience:
- Start with the first book: It sounds obvious, but the character growth is cumulative. Don't skip ahead to the later entries where the stakes get cosmic.
- Pay attention to the tech: Roberts puts a lot of thought into how Penny’s gadgets work. Half the fun is seeing the "logic" behind her crazy inventions.
- Look for the sequels: This is a long-running series. If you finish the first one, there is a lot more content waiting for you, including side stories and spin-offs.
- Check out the audiobook: The narrator for the series, Emily Woo Zeller, does an incredible job of capturing Penny's frantic, high-energy internal monologue.
- Engage with the fandom: There is a dedicated community of readers who discuss the "science" of the books and share fan art of Penny’s various costumes and inventions.
This series is a masterclass in how to take a tired genre and inject it with genuine heart and humor. It's about growing up, finding your tribe, and realizing that you don't have to be who people expect you to be. Sometimes, being the "villain" is the only way to be yourself.