Genius

May 9, 2016
This exciting series starter from filmmaker and producer Gout follows the lives of three teenage geniuses: Rex, an ace coder and the son of illegal Mexican immigrants; Tunde, an impoverished, self-taught Nigerian engineering prodigy; and Painted Wolf, a middle-class Chinese girl with a talent for ferreting out corruption. Best friends who have only met online, they get caught up in the Game, an international competition run by 18-year-old CEO Kiran Biswas, "the biggest name in technology, cybernetics, futurism, and design." Painted Wolf discovers hints that Biswas's ostensibly humanitarian motives are suspect and that he may actually be working with a corrupt Chinese industrialist and a vicious African warlord. It's a fast-moving story that presents its protagonists with intriguing moral choices, and all three bring thorny personal problems to the contest, too. Maps, photographs, schematic illustrations, faux security footage stills, and other artwork further build out the teens' high-stakes, high-surveillance, and highly interconnected world, as well as their various technological innovations. The right sort of techie reader should be riveted. Ages 12âup.

Starred review from April 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Meet Rex, a 16-year-old programing genius who is determined to find his brother, Teo, no matter what the cost. Rex creates WALKABOUT, a very complicated code that once run will allow him to track down his brother; the only catch is he has to find a quantum computer to run it. Meet Tunde, a 14-year-old self-taught engineering genius who lives in rural Nigeria. It is not until the cruel General Iyabo visits Tunde's village to demand his help in creating a weapon that he realizes that his genius may be the detriment of his family. Meet Painted Wolf, a 16-year-old genius who lives in Shanghai. The infamous teen is one of China's leading microbloggers who takes pride in exposing public officials who take bribes from mob figures. She knows her online presence can never be linked to her true self or her family will be in danger. It is not until the three protagonists learn of a competition called the Game, hosted by one of the biggest names in technology, Kiran Biswas, that they realize their meeting may help to resolve their individual problems. Strong characters who show their bravery throughout, friendships that do not falter, and ethics that do not fail, even when characters are faced with the impossible, are a refreshing change to most teenage novels. VERDICT Readers will be caught up in the brilliance of the three characters and be surprised at the many twists and turns that they must confront. A gripping must-have.-Elizabeth Anne Ragain, Springfield Public Schools, MO

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