Great gift

I bought this for my granddaughter and read it myself first so this is an adult review, not a child’s. I was excited by the courageous, imaginative heroine and know my granddaughter will love it.

(The following comments were left by me on a review by someone who said their 7 year old loved the book. I am also posting this as a review of the book.) Sorry, but I would not let my 7 year old read this book. Too worrying. Homelessness, getting snatched up by scary guys and dragged away to a foster care group home and made to peel potatoes, etc? Not appropriate for such young kids. Scary stuff. I bought this for an 8 year old who has skipped to fourth grade, but after reading the book, I will not be giving it to her. This book is too heavy handed, tries too hard to beat a kid over the head with Einstein references to try to connect some dots which are not well explained, and introduces - while simultaneously glossing over - very scary subject matter. I think kids should be kids as long as possible, and I don’t want to introduce such frightening thoughts as homeless children with no idea who they are, or sinister organizations who kidnap kids and use them in think tanks for solving the world’s problems. I see that the authors are trying to push an agenda of kids being problem solvers, but this is an epic failure because of the sinister aspects involved. This is a NO for me. Definitely NOT for young children.

Goodness gracious, if this is not a leftist propaganda hidden in a children's book!The book is mostly fine. But it has three major flaws.1. It will not be read by the kids who may benefit from it most - the kids who need a point of view different from what is offered in their immediate real surroundings. Why you ask? The orange right-side endorsement by Chelsea Clinton.2. It reflects the reality today way too well. In light of the Saudi-Trump fiasco of the last three weeks it has become evident that big money trumps any life. Huge multi-national corporations acting as citizens and controlling global money flow, are a real threat to the individual everywhere - the majority of individuals are basically little lab rats, existing only for the purpose of growing corporate wealth. Liberty and freedom are just words which mean nothing. So there are real fears but should kids be spooked about them. It's adults' issue to worry about.3. Children have no business solving adult problems. It may be argued that children should be aware of what is going on, but children have no business solving adult problems. The Russian -type youth propaganda I grew up with worked similarly. The books I was assigned to read, or in fact most of the books that were available to read, were of the "the communist kid hero" finds, follows, catches the "non-communist(usually fascist) enemy"; and one was supposed to aspire to be just like the hero.The left, I believe, has gone a tad too far with this book.

Overall, this was a suspenseful book with good ideas and a lively heroine. The authors shine beginning in Chapter 4 when the action starts to ramp up. They have their readers eager to find out about all the shadowy characters (the spy, the Corp), who Max’s parents were, and how the team will solve the problem of getting those poor kids out of the mines so they can go to school and have electricity in their homes. The friendships Max develops are heartwarming and the value of teamwork well portrayed. And, the authors bring in just the right power-hungry, local villains, even though, sadly, they are modeled after real-life villains. (I concur with the authors on using real-life problems; if we don’t acknowledge their existence, they will continue. Likewise, the authors use age-appropriate language.) And, just when the kids think they have the problem solved, it all comes crashing down. Yes, this is a page turner.I also commend the authors for finding many creative ways to bring Einstein’s ideas into the narrative, and subtly injecting new vocabulary words. Parents and teachers will appreciate this. Finally, while the authors left the door open for a sequel, they still left this reader feeling satisfied and even pleasantly surprised at the end. The quizzes, ideas, and end notes are quite helpful, too.However, I have some thoughts on what would possibly have improved the reading experience. There were times when I felt that I was being bombarded with much too much about Einstein. Sometimes less is more. I also had trouble understanding what was going on the first few chapters because there weren’t enough clues in the narrative as to where Max lived and what her situation was. And, initially it looked like an all-science story, but it's actually so much more. I eventually caught on, but I hope young readers will persist until they reach the fourth chapter where more is revealed and the action kicks in. Also, there is a map showing the trip to Israel, but what about the location of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where much of the action takes place? The illustrations are good, but the placement of the picture of the wizard announcing who is selected as project leader should not have preceded the actual announcement in the narrative, nor should it have been right in the middle of Max’s interview for the position - a dead giveaway. Finally, when a fiction or science fiction book is heavy on actual science, it would be helpful for the authors to include explanatory notes at the end on the status of current science for budding young scientists. For instance, do actual wind turbines have solar panels on them today, or is this under development? My Google searches showed many sites saying it had been tried but the panels were too heavy for the turbines, the rotation of the blades reduced the potential for capturing sunlight, and there are many hybrids now where the solar panels are mounted on the post holding up the turbine blades. So, if solar panels on turbine blades are being developed and are already being used, tell us, please. Curiosity. And, what about the possibility of airplanes flying remotely? Yes, we have drones and we are already in a semi-autonomous society …but what’s the status of airplanes today? Pilots use autopilot already, but can they leave the cockpit? FYI, many children’s books include a science consultant.