Lenny Cyrus, School Virus by Joe Schreiber (review)

Look up “geek” in the dictionary and you’ll find Lenny, the son of two Nobel prize–winning scientists, who has the genius chops to outstrip both of his parents. Predictably, he’s also bully bait at his middle school, and he’s hopelessly in love with Zooey, who saved him from a particularly nasty bully in third grade but hasn’t really noticed him much since. His best friend, Harlan, could be cool if he wanted, but he chooses to stay by Lenny’s side and protect Lenny from his own worst instincts, which usually include brilliant experiments that go brilliantly wrong. When Lenny comes up with a plan to literally change Zooey’s mind about him from the inside by shrinking himself down to the size of a virus and entering her bloodstream, Harlan goes along with Lenny for damage control. Damage definitely ensues, but this time Lenny isn’t wholly to blame and is given the opportunity to save the day, even if he doesn’t get the girl. There is a serious ick factor here as Lenny describes his wild ride through Zooey’s body, meeting up with talking viruses, partying hormones, and lunk-headed steroids and getting bashed around by muscles spasming and contracting and generally just doing their thing, but budding scientists and future doctors will find the interactions among the genetic particles fascinating and even enlightening. While Lenny’s invasion and manipulation of Zooey’s outsides through her insides is actually creepily unethical, the questionable moral dimension of his actions is called out by Harlan; Lenny is ultimately redeemed when he notices who really dominates Zoe’s imagination and when he saves her life from an invasion of another set of microscopic miscreants. The action is fast, furious, and even funny for middle-schoolers with strong stomachs and fond memories of similar journeys on Ms. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus.