Nikki Tesla and the Fellowship of the Bling | CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Volume XXVI / Issue 31 - April 17 / 2020

Nikki Tesla and the Fellowship of the Bling (Elements of Genius #2)

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Nikki Tesla and the Fellowship of the Bling

Author:

Jess Keating

Illustrated by:

Lissy Marlin

Series:

Elements of Genius #2

New York, NY: Scholastic (Distributed in Canada by Scholastic Canada), 2020

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

ISBN:

9781338295252 (hc.)

Grades:

Grades 4-7

Ages:

Ages 9-12

Review by:

Review by Teresa Iaizzo

Excerpt:

I’m Nikki Tesla, and there are a few things you should probably know about me before we continue. The first is that I’m a genius. I’m not saying that to impress you. I actually am a genius. In fact, I attend Genius Academy, a special school for kids like me with skills that tend to put us, or those around us, in danger. (They say danger, but I say fun, you know?)

My best friends are Mary Shelley (that’s who my ferret, Pickles, is trying to save right now), Grace O’Malley, Charlotte Darwin, Adam Mozart, Leo da Vinci, and Bert Einstein. You probably haven’t heard of them because Genius Academy is top secret. That’s why the government will censor anything I say about where the school is located, what we get up to around here, or anything else they deem inappropriate.

Nikki Tesla and the gang are back to save the world in the second installment of the “Elements of Genius” series by Jess Keating, the first book being Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray.

This time around, Nikki and her genius friends must find a top-secret, super dangerous ring that has the ability to change anybody’s shape. That’s right, whoever wears the ring will suddenly transform into any creature that they like. Unfortunately, on a highly sensitive mission to the Galapagos Islands, Mary, Nikki’s best friend, gets kidnapped, and the Genius Academy must come together to find her.

To make matters worse, the only person who can help the group is Nikki’s long-lost and presumed dead father. Did I mention he also happens to be a super smart evil genius? In order to save the world (and Mary), Nikki must work together with the one person she can’t trust.

Nikki Tesla and the Fellowship of the Bling is a great addition to the “Elements of Genius” series. It is fast-paced, full of adventure, and builds on the relationships that were forged in the first book of the series. In fact, the novel’s particular strength lies in Jess Keating’s ability to create memorable characters who the reader wants to see succeed. Overall, an immensely enjoyable read.

Highly Recommended

Reviewer:

Teresa Iaizzo is a Librarian with the Toronto Public Library in Toronto, Ontario.

Subject Headings:

Gifted persons-Juvenile fiction