  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 05/01/2019 Everything is going great with Nikki Tesla’s latest invention—a death ray, no less—until her ferret, Pickles, gets her paws on it and blasts a hole in the floor. Hey, accidents happen! But for Nikki’s mother, it’s one accident too many, which is how the young inventor ends up at the Genius Academy—an elite boarding school for brilliant kids. Ferret and inventions in tow, Nikki is immediately plunged into dangerous situations—for example, teamwork and saving the world. Having extensive experience with being bullied, she has no intention of trusting the academy’s other six students, all playfully named after some of history’s greatest minds: Leo (da Vinci), Charlotte (Darwin), Mary (Shelley), Mo (Mozart), Al (Einstein), and Grace (O’Malley). However, when Nikki’s death ray is stolen, she is forced to work with the academy kids to recover the ray. Keating’s action-packed mystery kicks off her new Elements of Genius series, which combines intelligence with superhero appeal. Nikki’s comical narration is printed on graph-paper pages and embellished by illustrations, all of which give STEM a fun new spin. - Copyright 2019 Booklist. School Library Journal - 06/01/2019 Gr 4–6—Twelve-year-old Nikki Tesla and her pet ferret Pickles have been sent to the Genius Academy, where she can make inventions in her own laboratory without the threat of blowing up her home. Nikki has never been good at making friends, and she has no intention of making any at this school, either. That is, until her death ray is stolen. Now she has to learn how to work with her classmates as they race around the globe piecing together clues to save the world from destruction by an evil villain. Occasionally the plot is lost as Nikki explains repeatedly why she doesn't want or need friends, but it comes back around. Each Genius Academy student (Leo da Vinci, Charlotte Darwin) is modeled on a notable historical figure. Most of the personages referenced were white and European, though the characters named after them appear more diverse in the book's illustrations. The integration of art and geography into the science fiction plot is seamless. The end pages contain information about the real Nikola Tesla and his possible invention of a death ray. VERDICT Readers will enjoy this fast-paced adventure.—Julie Overpeck, Holbrook Middle School, Lowell, NC - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
 |