Millicent Min, Girl Genius

by Lisa Yee

Overview

Who would have thought being smart could be so hard (and funny)?

Millicent Min is having a bad summer. Her fellow high school students hate her for setting the curve. Her fellow 11-year-olds hate her for going to high school. And her mother has arranged for her to tutor Stanford Wong, the poster boy for Chinese geekdom. But then Millie meets Emily. Emily doesn't know Millicent's IQ score. She actually thinks Millie is cool. And if Millie can hide her awards, ignore her grandmother's advice, swear her parents to silence, blackmail Stanford, and keep all her lies straight, she just might make her first friend.What's it going to take? Sheer genius.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780439425209
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2004
Series:	The Millicent Min Trilogy , #1
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 10.36(h) x 0.64(d)
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lisa Yee’s novels include Millicent Min, Girl Genius; Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time (an ALA Notable Book); the first Bobby book, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally); and most recently WARP SPEED. She lives in South Pasadena, California, with her family. Please visit her website at www.lisayee.com.

Editorial Reviews

An 11-year-old breezes through high school and college classes, but when it comes to making friends her own age, she's at a loss. "Readers don't have to share the heroine's IQ to empathize with the genius narrator of this energetic first novel," wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 9-12. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 5-8-Millie, an 11-year-old with a genius IQ, is taking a college poetry class and waiting for her high school senior year. Because she never hesitates to show how much she knows about a particular subject, her peers tend to stay away. Millie's social ineptitude is a cause of concern for her parents. Against her will, she is enrolled in summer volleyball and enlisted to tutor Stanford Wong, a friend of the family. Into this mix enters Emily, a volleyball teammate and typical preteen. The girls become friends but Millie neglects to tell Emily about her genius status. Eventually the truth surfaces and Emily feels betrayed. Millie thinks that Emily is angry because she is smart, never realizing that the betrayal comes from her lack of trust in their friendship. While some readers will have trouble identifying with Millie, her trials and tribulations result in a story that is both funny and heartwarming. A universal truth conveyed is that honesty and acceptance of oneself and of others requires a maturity measured not by IQ but by generosity of spirit.-Sharon Morrison, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

From Yee's first sentence-"I have been accused of being anal retentive, an overachiever, and a compulsive perfectionist, like those are bad things"-this perfectly captures the humor, unique voice, and dilemma of Millicent Min, its wunderkind heroine. For while there is no doubt that Millicent, an 11-year-old entering 12th grade, is a genius, her social and athletic skills leave something to be desired. In an effort to ameliorate the situation, her parents sign her up for a girls' volleyball league. There Millicent meets Emily, a potential friend, and to seem more normal decides to lie about her academic ability. Comic complications multiply when Millicent's parents induce her to tutor the son of a family friend, who also likes Emily and is delighted to let her think that he's the one doing the tutoring. Funny, charming, and heartwarming, with something to say about the virtues of trust and truth telling, this deserves an A. (Fiction. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Millicent Min, Girl Genius:

* "A heartfelt story full of wit." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An utterly charming debut, as well as being the kind of tour de force that leaves one breathless... Yee's mastery of the 'girl genius' voice is flawless, by turns hilarious and poignant." — Boston Globe

"Funny, charming, and heartwarming, with something to say about the virtues of trust and truth telling, this deserves an A." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher