kirkusreviews.com
Max Einstein is “the smartest girl in the world.” But is she
smart enough to solve the globe’s most pressing problems?
The child genius is in hiding in New York City, and she’s
bored out of her mind. The leader of a group of child geniuses that formed the
Change Makers Institute, Max normally spends her time traveling around the
world trying to solve the Earth’s most devastating problems. But after evil Dr.
Zimm, founder and leader of the nefarious organization called the Corp, tried
to kidnap her in series opener The Genius
Experiment (2018), she was forced to go into hiding. When her friend and
fellow genius Siobhan asks Max to join her on a mission to Siobhan’s home
country of Ireland, where water contamination is making Siobhan’s family and
friends sick, Max finally gets a chance to get back in the game. But as she
travels from Ireland to India with her group of friends, trying to solve water-contamination
and -shortage issues, she’s also running away from the Corp, a reality that
makes Max wonder if her presence on the team—and the solutions she devises—are doing
more harm than good. This fast-paced story features a diverse team of
protagonists that realistically tackles some of the world’s most pressing social-justice
issues. While it is mostly entertaining, the insertion of scientific principles
and ethical considerations often feels out of place and heavy handed, and some
of the details included about India are incorrect.
Overall, a fun read that could have benefited
from less preaching and more background research. (Thriller. 9-12)
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