Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray | CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Volume XXVI / Issue 15 - December 13 / 2019

Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray (Elements of Genius #1)

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Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray

Author:

Jess Keating

Illustrated by:

Lissy Marlin

Series:

Elements of Genius

New York, NY: Scholastic (Distributed in Canada by Scholastic Canada), 2019

274 pp., hardcover & ebook, $22.99 (hc.)

ISBN:

9781338295214 (hc.)

9781338295238 (ebook)

Grades:

Grades 4-6

Ages:

Ages 9-11

Review by:

Teresa Iaizzo

Excerpt:

There’s one thing you should know about being a genius: It can land you in deep trouble. We’re talking in-over-your-head-poop-hitting-the-fan-you-better-hide-from-the-international-police trouble. Fugitive trouble. Global meltdown trouble.

You know what happens when you get in that kind of trouble? The government gets annoyed. They get their government-issued undies in a twist. They tell you that you must write a full account of said trouble for their records, or else. Because I’m not particularly interested in learning what “or else” means, I decided to listen. (You know, this time). Luckily for them, I keep extremely detailed notes that will help me relive the whole story for them, like they were there for every hiccup, explosion, break-in. Every good scientist does. I can show you exactly how it happened.

So, I hope you’re happy, government. Here’s my story. I wrote the words. My friend, Leo da Vinci, is pretty good at drawing things, so he made the pictures. Let the official record show that I, Nikola Tesla, did not intend to destroy the world.

Meet Nikola Tesla, a young inventor who doesn’t quite fit in. She has left more schools than you can count, and her best friend is a French fry-fanatic ferret. To top it all off, her latest invention, a death ray, has been stolen from her home. The only solution: Genius Academy.

Genius Academy consists of the six brightest young minds in the world: Grace O’Malley (the leader), Leo da Vinci (polymath and artist), Adam “Mo” Mozart (musical prodigy), Albert “Bert” Einstein (physicist and visionary), Charlotte “Charlie” Darwin (biologist), and Mary Shelley (writer). Fitting in with these young prodigies should be a no-brainer, right?

However, Nikki has a big secret, one that she refuses to let anyone in on. Things get complicated as she is forced to rely on the group to track down the criminal mastermind who has stolen her death ray. As the Genius Academy races around the world to find Nikki’s invention, she is forced to face her past in order to realize her future.

Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray is a fast-paced, highly imaginative, action-adventure novel. But at its core, this novel is so much more than just an adventure story. It is the story of a young girl who just wants to belong, and, in order to do so, she must learn to trust her friends. It is all about growing up, finding yourself, and learning how to believe in not only who you are, but who you want to be.

Highly Recommended

Reviewer:

Teresa Iaizzo is a Librarian with the Toronto Public Library.

Subject Headings:

Gifted persons-Juvenile fiction