Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo

Three friends in the 7th grade navigate a love triangle and a science fair.

On the one hand, this seems to be the only book I can find written by an Asian-American author with a random Asian-American character that isn't about immigration. On the other, it's one of my least favorite genres: the awkwardness of navigating one's love life in the 7th grade.

The plot point about the authoritarian "I have to be right" teacher is an interesting one. The ending feels unsatisfying because the teacher magically turns into someone reasonable. I don't know how I wanted that conflict to resolve: the student accepting unfair punishment and learning that life is unfair? The student fighting the teacher forever and losing? I'm not sure.

Cute fantasy. Yes I know it's 'realistic fiction' - but nonetheless it's a fantasy. I mean to say, would the science teacher really be so short-sighted at such an expensive school? Or would Shohei's parents really be so blind to what he's really interested in - to the point of being, actually, racist? Or would Elias' big brother be that unavailable?

And if it's written about smart kids, smart kids are probably going to read it. And they're going to be just as exasperated as I by the hyper-fast shifting of the three points-of-view. Experienced readers do not have such a short attention span.

Still, it's really fine, and I'm tempted to give it four stars, just to counter all the negative reviews here. I can't quite justify that though. show more It's cute, fun, with some interesting ideas, but nothing special. Imo. show less

Interesting book about a teenage love triangle and science fairs

A funny story for kids!