The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

Lucy Callahan is a cute, "average" eight year old girl, until she is unexpectedly (who ever expects it?) struck by lightning. Once she recovers from a brief heart stoppage, she begins exhibiting an intellectual ability she never experienced before: she is now a math genius. More than a genius: a savant, and a little girl who is obsessed with numbers. (The nature of her obsession is not pathological, and in fact is quite endearing.) As she approaches adolescence, she's home schooled. But her grandmother, worried about Lucy's lack of socialization, insists on enrolling her in middle school — a prospect that Lucy finds as appealing as being eaten by a dinosaur.

This book, which is an utter delight, recounts both Lucy's superhuman show more relationship with numbers and her fumbling, touching interaction with her peers. This is not merely a "clever" situation: it is the basis for a personal odyssey that will ring true to anyone who is being scorched (or has ever been scorched) by the flames of Middle-School Hell.

N.B.: The author, Stacy MacAnulty, has a legitimate scientific background, and seems determined to make concepts from the STEM fields appealing to young people. She is very blessed in being able to do this in a way that even makes a jaded adult like me laugh out loud.

Very funny, and very highly recommended. show less

Middle School is hard enough, but it is going to be an even more difficult year for 12 year old Lucy Callahan. Four years ago Lucy was struck by lightning while playing outside. Lucy's heart stopped for a few minutes, but more importantly, it changed the way her brain worked. When Lucy recovered, she had developed Acquired Savant Syndrome for math. Lucy became a whiz with number, doing complex calculations in her head, she could also see math, numbers have a color and a shape. With her acquired savant syndrome also came a few quirks, Lucy now has a germ phobia and has to toe tap three time and do a stand-up, sit-down routine three times before taking a seat or the numbers of Pi will invade her head. With her new skills and quirks, show more Lucy's Nana pulls her out of traditional school and helps Lucy earn her GED at 12 years old. Now, when Lucy should be looking at colleges, her Nana and Uncle Paul decide that Lucy could use some real world skills and enroll her in Middle School where Lucy is tasked to make one real friend, join one activity and read one book that is not a textbook.

A surprising, fun and unique middle grade story that quickly captured my heart. Even though Lucy is a math genius, her challenges make her relatable to anyone who has ever had to navigate middle school. The writing flows effortlessly and accurately describes a middle school experience. I was also impressed with how well the processes of Lucy's quirks and math logic were described. They did not seem like a handicap, just part of Lucy's life. Lucy's classmates and soon to be friends, Windy and Levi help round out Lucy's middle school experience. With these two very different friends, Lucy is pushed to grow, learn and relate to people in unique ways. When the trio of friends has to take on a service project, Lucy is pushed even farther. I did love that Lucy was able to combine her love of math, Levi's love of photography and Windy's love of pet philanthropy into one project to help a pet shelter. Overall, a distinct and easy to devour book featuring a diverse cast and a great message that middle grade readers to adults will enjoy.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less

This is the kind of children’s middle grade novel I can immediately sink into. I did not want to put it down. It helped me realize how I was often reading a book a day in elementary school (middle grade reader) and jr. high (middle school) because I think I was as fast a reader at ages 9-13 as I am now, and kids’ books “read fast” compared to most books written for an adult audience.

This book gets a full 5 star rating from me and would definitely have been a favorite of mine when I was 9-12 years old. I love the main character/narrator’s voice. She’s so engaging and sympathetic. There are so many interesting and memorable characters in this story, the kids and the adults too, and a dog as well.

I was nearly in emotional tears show more during many parts of the story, especially toward the end of it.

It’s a mostly realistic story, though some happy circumstances do occur, but I was glad for them, and they kept this story appropriate you young and sensitive readers.

I enjoyed the 4 illustrated “math” pages at the end, explaining pi and the Fibonacci sequence. I was not a math fan at Lucy’s age, but I think this book would have gotten me a bit more interested in the subject.

Highly recommended for kids ages 9-12, especially girls, and especially kids who feel different in any kind of uncomfortable way, and for anyone who likes a good friendship story, and for all math & numbers fans. I think most readers who can enjoy middle grade novels will enjoy this one. show less

What an unexpected find this book turned out to be! I loved Lucy - she was such an endearing protagonist despite the unlikely possibility of being struck by lightning and becoming a maths genius. I totally believed her struggles as she started middle school having previously been home-schooled. Not only did she have to hide her intelligence, she also battled with her OCD routines.

I also liked her friends, Levi and Wendy. They were both well-developed with distinct personalities. The three young people made a fabulous team and supported each other at all times, even when Windy unintentionally hurt Lucy. I thought their maths project was a wonderful idea and it allowed them to all work to their strengths.

Overall, "The Miscalculations of show more Lightning Girl" was a delightful read with charming characters and an engaging storyline. show less

An unusual premise (math genius delivered by lighting bolt); some winning characters (grammy is the BEST) and some unlikely friendships lead to an engaging middle school story.

Things I didn't love: dog drama stresses me out (no more dead dogs). Realistic but frustrating unresolved social dynamics -- to be clear, the book is very convincing, which is why I didn't like these themes.

Things I really appreciated -- she's an orphan, but that's almost a non-starter in the book. Between her loving Grammy and her deployed Uncle, she doesn't seem to dwell or worry about her missing parents. Her family is her family and it isn't a big deal. Love that.

This book is about Lucy, a 12-year-old girl who was struck by lightning when she was 8 and gained mathematical intelligence through the strike. She is a child with OCD in a new middle school that her Nana is forcing her to go to even though she's at a college level to make her grow as a person. This book seems great for 8 to 13-year-olds. Notable characters are Windy and Levi, they both have distinct personalities and are 3-dimensional characters and aren't just Lucy's side pieces. My personal feeling is that the book was a good book with heart, though I am concerned about how OCD is represented. While yes, people like Lucy exist it feels like the compulsive cleaning with some rituals is the de facto setting of OCD. There are actually a show more lot more types of OCD like hoarding, symmetry compulsions, and obsession with checking on potentially dangerous situations. While I commend the author for not making her OCD a joke or making it Lucy's only trait I do think there should be a discussion on representing other types of OCD. Again, I am not bashing Lucy and her partial; I just think it falls into the usual stereotype of how OCD is portrayed. show less

I read this for work (some days my job is awesome) and I'm definitely going to recommend it to my fifth grade book club. The writing is great, the main character is both admirable and flawed, and the author manages to capture a male-female relationship that could become romantic in a couple of years but right now is just a great friendship between outcasts. Really fun.