Jack and the Geniuses at the Bottom of the World by Bill Nye (review)

Jack and his older foster siblings Ava and Matt are bound together by their shared orphan status and their unusual intelligence. However, when Ava and Matt begin working for a renowned scientist, Jack is relegated to gofer status. At least he gets to tag along with them to Antarctica, and it is there that Jack’s particular skills get a chance to shine, since he’s got plenty of his own creativity, cleverness, and smarts. As the first volume in an anticipated series, there’s a lot of set up; careful introductions of the three siblings here will hopefully allow future entries to dive in quicker to the action. The story offers a sturdy amount of real danger, as the weather conditions alone can be quickly fatal, but there’s never a sense of potentially fatal peril. Bill Nye’s name will likely cue readers that there will be a lot of science in this novel, and indeed there is, but it’s presented in an accessible, engaging way and it’s always carefully woven into the nifty gadgets, zippy action, and well-written story. The scientists are diverse, the educational and entertainment values are high, and there’s even good end matter (a fact vs. fiction section on what was real in the novel, cool information about Antarctica, and a science experiment), making this a promising series start.