100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

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, 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.