Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation (Charlie Thorne Series #1)

by Stuart Gibbs Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

Overview

From New York Times best-selling author Stuart Gibbs comes the first novel in a thrilling new series about the world's youngest and smartest genius who's forced to use her unbelievable code-breaking skills to outsmart Einstein.

Charlie Thorne is a genius. Charlie Thorne is a thief. Charlie Thorne isn't old enough to drive. And now, it's up to her to save the world....

Decades ago, Albert Einstein devised an equation that could benefit all life on earth — or destroy it. Fearing what would happen if the equation fell into the wrong hands, he hid it.

But now, a diabolical group known as the Furies are closing in on its location. In desperation, a team of CIA agents drags Charlie into the hunt, needing her brilliance to find it first — even though this means placing her life in grave danger.

In a breakneck adventure that spans the globe, Charlie must crack a complex code created by Einstein himself, struggle to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and fight to keep the last equation safe once and for all.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

07/22/2019

This adrenaline-charged thriller by Gibbs (the Spy School series) introduces 12-year-old supergenius Charlie Thorne and sends her, with two CIA agents, in search of a world-changing equation developed by Albert Einstein before his death. Charlie is skipping university classes in Colorado to ski forbidden slopes when she is tracked down by agents Dante Garcia and Milana Moon. They need her help to find Pandora, an equation concealed by Einstein that could make both cheap, clean energy and terrible weapons. The Furies, a white supremacist cell, is hot on Pandora’s trail, and Garcia believes that only Charlie can solve the clues that Einstein left behind and get the CIA there first. Clues take them to Israel, where both groups run afoul of the Mossad. Bullets fly, bodies fall, puzzles lead to more puzzles, and chases via skateboard and Humvee ensue at a breakneck pace. In addition to all the action, Gibbs slips in a few lessons on cryptography and Einstein, and poses questions about moral uses of power that give this adventure depth. Charlie is a terrific hero—outrageously smart, courageous, and still believable as a kid. After this explosive start, young readers will eagerly await her next adventure. Ages 10–up. (Sept.)

recommended School Library Connection

"Action-packed and thrilling."

From the Publisher

2019 Parents' Choice Recommended Seal award winner

#1 New York Times bestselling author Chris Grabenstein

"Stuart Gibbs’s CHARLIE THORNE AND THE LAST EQUATION is fast-paced, smart, and action-packed. Gibbs knows how to write a real page-burner. Charlie Thorne is a younger, smarter, cooler version of Jason Bourne."

Edgar-award winning author of the Framed! and City James Ponti

"Whether she’s catching big air on her snowboard or deciphering clues hidden by Albert Einstein, Charlie Thorne is an ideal hero for a new generation. Her pulse pounding adventure unfolds like one of the equations she’s so skilled at solving – the final answer remains concealed until every last variable has been uncovered."

Booklist

"Gibbs deftly pens an Alex Rider–level adventure with this series starter...It doesn’t take a theoretical physicist to predict that this series will be popular."

Booklist

"Gibbs deftly pens an Alex Rider–level adventure with this series starter...It doesn’t take a theoretical physicist to predict that this series will be popular."

James Ponti

Whether she’s catching big air on her snowboard or deciphering clues hidden by Albert Einstein, Charlie Thorne is an ideal hero for a new generation. Her pulse pounding adventure unfolds like one of the equations she’s so skilled at solving – the final answer remains concealed until every last variable has been uncovered.

Chris Grabenstein

Stuart Gibbs’s CHARLIE THORNE AND THE LAST EQUATION is fast-paced, smart, and action-packed. Gibbs knows how to write a real page-burner. Charlie Thorne makes smart cooler than cool! Charlie Thorne is a younger, smarter, cooler version of Jason Bourne.

School Library Journal

09/20/2019

Gr 4 Up-Charlotte Thorne, aka "Charlie," excels at everything. Only 12 years old, she is an intellectual prodigy who despises not just her uncaring, manipulative parents, but anyone or anything that seeks to exploit her intelligence for their own purposes. She enjoys taking chances, such as snowboarding with sorority girls rather than attending her college classes where she knows more than the professor. The book opens with Albert Einstein's death and the immediate descent of CIA agents on his house. Charlie's half-brother works for the CIA, and he manipulates her into helping them locate a formula created by Einstein that has been hidden since the 1930s. They want Charlie to solve the emerging clues for Pandora's Box, an equation developed by Einstein that solves the world's energy needs. However, various world powers and criminals are also racing to solve the formula's intricate puzzles and develop a weapon of mass destruction. Initially, Charlie is unwilling to assist in the mission, but gives up the fight once her brother acknowledges that he is aware of a crime that Charlie committed that could send her away for a long time. The quest for the formula takes them from Israel to the Hubble Lab in California, following clues that look like mathematical equations. The inclusion of famous historical figures in a modern setting will effectively entice those interested in biographies, and the worldwide travel keeps the plot fresh. The action doesn't slow down for a minute and readers will enjoy the journey. Puzzlingly, Charlie's background doesn't prepare her to be so skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and she can also be a bit bratty at times. However, these aspects pale in comparison to the writing skills of Gibbs. VERDICT Run, don't walk, to purchase this title. Readers will be thrilled with this amazing math-infused adventure. A first purchase.-Amy Caldera, Dripping Springs Middle School, TX

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171234850
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Series:	Charlie Thorne Series , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,080,554
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

Read an Excerpt

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation
CIA headquarters

Langley, Virginia

Present day

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency scrutinized the photograph of Charlie Thorne, then dropped it on the conference table and gave Agent Dante Garcia a hard stare. “You must be joking.”

“I’m not,” Dante replied solemnly.

“This is a twelve-year-old girl!” Director Carter exclaimed.

“She’s not a normal twelve-year-old.”

“I don’t care if she can fly,” Carter snapped. “I own pairs of shoes that are older than this kid. The fate of humanity is at stake here and you want me to rely on someone who’s barely a teenager?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Dante said.

“These measures aren’t desperate. They’re insane.”

“Well, maybe it’s time we tried something crazy. The CIA has been using the same old techniques to find Pandora for almost seventy years, and they haven’t gotten us anywhere. They certainly didn’t work in Bern.”

Director Carter’s gaze went cold, making Dante think that he’d pushed things too far. But then Carter gave a slight nod, conceding that he was right, and sat back in her chair to think.

Dante had seen the director lapse into deep thought before, though never when he was the only one in the room with her. The previous times, he had been a junior agent, relegated to the background, expected only to observe and keep his mouth shut. Carter’s long pauses to think in meetings were legendary at the Agency. She had been known to not say anything for up to ten minutes, during which she expected complete silence. This could be awkward for the other agents in the room, but they all greatly respected Carter—revered her even—and so they dealt with it.

Jamilla Carter was in her sixties, the rare CIA director who had risen to the job by being an exceptional agent rather than a political appointee. Her piercing brown eyes stood out against her dark skin. She had been an analyst, rather than a field operative, but then, most CIA employees were analysts, and Carter was one of the best.

Carter was in analysis mode now. She picked up the file Dante had assembled on Charlie Thorne and leafed through it for what was probably the twentieth time that day.

Dante grew uncomfortable watching her, so he let his gaze drift out the window. It was January and the sky was roofed with gray clouds. Squalls of snowflakes swirled outside the window. Even on a sunny day, the buildings of CIA headquarters were drab; today they looked ominous and foreboding.

Carter’s eyes shifted from the file to the photograph once again.

Charlotte Thorne, aka Charlie, was a mix of many different races, although she didn’t look like one more than any other. If Charlie had been ten years older, this would have been a huge asset. She could have passed for a very tan white person, a light-skinned black person, or Hispanic or Arab or Indian, or even partly Chinese. Looks like that would allow you to blend in anywhere on earth, to pass yourself off as almost any culture if you could speak the language.

But Dante hadn’t suggested Charlie because of her appearance. It was because of her intelligence. Her IQ was off the charts. Director Carter had dozens of certified geniuses under her at the CIA, and none of them had IQs as high as Charlie Thorne’s. Carter wouldn’t have believed anyone could score that high if Dante hadn’t provided three separate reports from respected psychologists to confirm it.

Carter flipped through the psych reports again. She had read them twice already. The second time, she had marked them with a red pen, circling words or phrases that were important to her, for reasons that were good or bad. Finally, she looked back at Dante.

“She’s brilliant,” Carter said. “I’ll give you that.”

“She’s beyond brilliant,” Dante corrected. “She speaks at least twelve languages and can understand more. She’s already been accepted to college, studying advanced math and theoretical physics. She has a photographic memory. . . .”

“There’s no such thing as a photographic memory.”

“Well, hers is as close as it gets. Her mind is wired differently than ours. She knows everything about everything. Science, history, art . . . you name it.”

“Perhaps. But there are other characteristics of her personality that are more worrisome.” Carter tapped some of the reports where she had made notes. “Rebellious. Headstrong. Conceited. Disrespectful of authority.”

“Do you know who else was like that as a child?” Dante asked. “Albert Einstein. As well as Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin, and every other groundbreaking genius you can name. Anyone that brilliant is going to chafe at authority. Because they’re smarter than the authorities.” Dante leaned across the conference table. “The CIA has been searching for Pandora ever since Einstein died, and we’ve gotten nowhere. So maybe we need someone as smart as Einstein to find it. And the closest person we have to Einstein right now is her.” Dante thumped his finger on the photo of Charlie Thorne.

Carter’s eyes fell to the photo again, then returned to Dante. Agent Garcia was mentally gifted himself; that was why Director Carter was even sitting here with him, considering his radical suggestion, when she had a thousand other things to do. Like dealing with the fallout from Bern.

Dante was only twenty-eight, but he had already proved himself in the field many times, rising rapidly through the ranks. Like Charlie Thorne, he was a blend of races, able to pass as almost any ethnicity he wanted, meaning he had served all over the world.

“Miss Thorne’s disrespect for authority probably goes much farther than Einstein’s ever did,” Director Carter said. “As far as we know, Einstein never broke the law, whereas Miss Thorne has. And in rather spectacular fashion.”

“That’s exactly why she’ll work for us.”

Carter arched an eyebrow. “You want to blackmail her into helping us? That’s not exactly going to make her respectful of authority.”

“I can handle her.”

Carter leafed through the file on Charlie Thorne one last time, considering all the possible ramifications of bringing this girl aboard. The kid was a risky play, for sure. The chances were high that it wouldn’t work. And yet, as Agent Garcia had said, these were desperate times. Carter’s intelligence said the Furies were closing in on Pandora; meanwhile the CIA was no closer than it had been seven decades ago.

“This will have to be an unsanctioned mission,” Carter said. “Completely off the books. There can’t be any record that the CIA is coercing twelve-year-olds to work for us.”

Dante smiled. “Of course not.”

“That means a bare-bones operation as well. Only you and one other agent.”

Dante’s smile faded. “Only one other? That’s crazy!”

“Weren’t you just telling me it was time to try something crazy? If it helps, you can select whoever you want.”

Dante didn’t hesitate for a second. “Milana Moon.”

Director Carter nodded. Even though she had thousands of agents working under her, she knew exactly who Moon was. The fact that Dante had named her so quickly simply confirmed his intelligence to her. “Fine. If she’ll agree to it.”

“I think I can convince her.”

“Then we’re done here.” Carter snapped to her feet and slid the file back across the conference table to Dante. “Destroy that. And then go find Pandora.”

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