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

by Jess Keating, Lissy Marlin (Illustrator)

Overview

Ocean's 11 meets Spy School in this hilarious illustrated middle-grade series featuring the world's greatest minds.

"Let the official record show that, I, Nikki Tesla, did not intend to destroy the world."There are only so many times a kid can invent an instrument of global destruction without getting grounded. So when Nikki's death ray accidentally blows up her bedroom (if you can call a pet ferret with an itchy trigger finger an accident), she's sent to the only place that can handle her. Genius Academy is a school for history's greatest brains. Leo da Vinci? Charlotte Darwin? Bert Einstein? All extraordinary. Yet even among her fellow prodigies, Nikki feels like an outsider thanks to a terrible secret she can't let anyone discover. Ever.But when her death ray is stolen, Nikki must stop worrying about fitting in and learn to play nice with her new classmates. Because it doesn't take a genius to track a thief around the world, outwit the authorities, and keep a French fry-fanatic ferret happy. It takes all of them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338295214
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/09/2019
Series:	Elements of Genius Series , #1
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

As a zoologist and author, Jess Keating has been sprayed by skunks, bitten by crocodiles, and victim of the dreaded paper cut. Her books blend science, humor, and creativity, and include the acclaimed My Life Is a Zoo middle-grade trilogy and award-winning picture books, like Shark Lady and Pink Is for Blobfish. Jess lives in Ontario, Canada, where she loves hiking, nerdy documentaries, and writing books for curious and adventurous kids. Jess can be found online at www.jesskeatingbooks.com or on Twitter at @Jess_Keating.
Originally from the Dominican Republic, illustrator Lissy Marlin has a simple mission: bring a little bit of magic to everyday life one piece of art at a time! She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

05/20/2019

Genius kid Nikola “Nikki” Tesla doesn’t intend for her latest invention—a death ray—to vaporize her bedroom, but sometimes accidents happen, especially to Nikki. Even though she and her mother have moved several times, trying for a fresh start, their connection to Nikki’s father, a brilliant, troubled weapons-inventor known to have perished in a lab explosion, always follows them. In addition to reporters, Nikki’s latest incident attracts two mysterious agents, who invite her to enroll in a special boarding school: the Genius Academy. She was bullied badly at her last school, so she’s reluctant to accept this new offer. But after an agent blackmails her by threatening to arrest her mom, Nikki reluctantly agrees. At the Academy, she discovers a group of six other geniuses: Charlotte Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Grace O’Malley, Adam Mozart, and Mary Shelley. Instead of classes, the students are tasked with saving the world, X-Men–style. The latest threat? Nikki’s death ray has been stolen. This fast-paced caper features plot twists galore and a main character who confronts her past and learns that she can make friends along the way. A lively series kick-off. Ages 8–12. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Elements of Genius #1: Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray:

Short-listed, Sunburst Award, Young Adult category, 2020

Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Starred Selection, 2020

* "Full STEAM ahead on a series debut equally charged with personal issues and science in (dramatic) action." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Keating's action-packed mystery... combines intelligence with superhero appeal. Nikki's comical narration is printed on graph-paper pages and embellished by illustrations, all of which give STEM a fun new spin." — Booklist

"Nikki is a heroine readers will want to tag along with in the promised series... [which] calls up Disney's Kim Possible, an apt echo as fans of that show will enjoy the female-led action here." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This fast-paced caper features plot twists galore and a main character who confronts her past and learns that she can make friends along the way. A lively series kick-off." — Publishers Weekly

Praise for My Life Is a Zoo series:

* "Humor, poignancy and fascinating zoological facts infuse the narrative with a warm conversational tone that welcomes readers into the drama that is middle school." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "With her trademark kid-oriented wit and lighthearted touch, Keating leads readers through the daily emotional ups and downs of the typical just-turned-teenager." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

From the Publisher

06/01/2019

Gr 4–6—Twelve-year-old Nikki Tesla and her pet ferret Pickles have been sent to the Genius Academy, where she can make inventions in her own laboratory without the threat of blowing up her home. Nikki has never been good at making friends, and she has no intention of making any at this school, either. That is, until her death ray is stolen. Now she has to learn how to work with her classmates as they race around the globe piecing together clues to save the world from destruction by an evil villain. Occasionally the plot is lost as Nikki explains repeatedly why she doesn't want or need friends, but it comes back around. Each Genius Academy student (Leo da Vinci, Charlotte Darwin) is modeled on a notable historical figure. Most of the personages referenced were white and European, though the characters named after them appear more diverse in the book's illustrations. The integration of art and geography into the science fiction plot is seamless. The end pages contain information about the real Nikola Tesla and his possible invention of a death ray. VERDICT Readers will enjoy this fast-paced adventure.—Julie Overpeck, Holbrook Middle School, Lowell, NC

School Library Journal

★ 2019-04-28
The Genius Academy turns out to be about more than dull classwork, as a lonely young inventor discovers.

Unable, despite her mother's earnest pleas, to stop concocting devices like the death ray that blows a hole through the floor, Nikola reluctantly agrees to be shipped off to a (supposed) boarding school for geniuses. Hardly has she arrived, though, than the death ray is stolen and Nikki discovers that she and her six classmates are actually a team of secret agents employed to save the world on a regular basis. Fortunately, the young folk are an unusually talented bunch. Unfortunately, Nikki has a lot to learn about teamwork, trust, and friendship before the trail of clues dropped by the thief leads to a tense and twisty climax. Cleverly modeling her preteen cast on a gallery of historical geniuses, Keating has done her homework: Nikki reflects her near namesake not only in her work on electrical inventions, but also in other respects from eidetic memory to deep-seated distrust of others. Likewise, her associates include sharply observant Mary Shelley, musical and math prodigy Adam "Mo" Mozart, biology whiz Charlotte Darwin, and multiskilled Leo da Vinci. The white default is in place, but the kids' adult overseer has dark skin, and in Marlin's illustrations so do Mo and charismatic team leader Grace O'Malley.

Full STEAM ahead on a series debut equally charged with personal issues and science in (dramatic) action. (author's note) (Science fiction. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews