beach read, light, humorous, fairly implausible ( )

If you like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, you will like Addie Emerson. She’s not as “out there” as Sheldon, but she definitely isn’t like your average kid. This novel is a humorous, fun romance with alternating chapters for the different characters.

The novel begins with Addie returning to her exclusive private school on a plane next to a guy who seems unfazed that the plane is experiencing terrible turbulence, with people on board proclaiming they are all going to die. After surviving the plane ride, Addie realizes that the guy next to her attends her school. Addie doesn’t have a lot of friends because she’s perceived as strange, but she wants to show her best friend that she can make a friend. One of her quirks is that she is very literal and corrects people for their misuse of vocabulary. She is also a genius when it comes to science, and she wants to win a full scholarship to Harvard by winning the Athenian Award. Her lab partner is Dexter who may or may not help her win after he learns that she is befriending, of all people, Kris.

Kris is trying to stay in school--a transgression from last semester may mean that he will transfer to military school. He’s spending the summer working for the maintenance department to make amends. He also has to be a participant in Addie’s experiment determined by the head of the school. Kris has spent time in Nepal working with the extreme poor and hopes to eventually return there to continue his work. He just has to get through the summer with, of all people, Addie Emerson. He’s been threatened by Addie’s best friend, Tess, who will destroy him if he hurts Addie in any way. Tess’s boyfriend, Ed, will do whatever Tess says.

I so enjoyed this novel because it’s just fun. The vocabulary and comments by Addie make this novel more suited to older students because younger students may not understand what Addie is talking about, especially her corrections of other people and references to the science of the brain. I loved all the characters and the way they interacted and how everything came together in the end. Enjoy! You won’t regret reading this one. ( )