A Problematic Paradox by Eliot Sappingfield (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- A Problematic Paradox by Eliot Sappingfield
Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-5247-3845-7 $16.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-5247-3846-4 $10.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 6-9
When malevolent interdimensional creatures known as the Old Ones abduct Nikola’s father, the thirteen-year-old genius discovers her dad has been keeping a strange and extraordinary world of scientific discovery a secret her whole life. Quickly shuttled away for her safety to a secret town-turned-boarding-school for young genius humans and “parahumans,” Nikola has a lot to learn—about quantum [End Page 308] mechanics, time travel, and making friends, just to name a few—if she has any hope of saving her dad. At times, Nikola’s genius amounts to little more than being an obnoxious and tactless teen, but as Sappingfield fleshes out the unique world of the parahumans, she fits surprisingly well into this school of extraordinary teens with predictably ordinary crushes and insecurities are subverted. The familiar beats of this humor-touched sci-fi adventure are complemented well by its refreshingly original cast of characters.
