Lenny Cyrus, School Virus
By Joe Schreiber; illus. by Matt Smith
288 pages, ages 9 – 12
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2013
Lenny Cyrus is 13. He’s also a genius. So when he decides
that the way to a girl’s heart is to know what she’s thinking, he takes action.
Nano-tech action. It may not be ethical, safe, or sane, but Lenny’s chosen
course is to shrink himself to the size of an amoeba and get inside Zooey. His
goal: her brain.
Turns out, girls are just as hard to understand from the
inside as they are from the outside. Not only that, there are so many obstacles
– like the semitransparent jelly-bean-looking thing with a flagella whipping
back and forth who challenges Lenny for his digestive system pass.
Lenny hooks up with an astrovirus who serves as a guide,
figures out how to cross the blood-brain barrier, and basically wreaks havoc
and near destruction on his one true love all in the name of science…. or at least middle-school romance.
This book is funny – and I love the way Schreiber (he’s the
author) tosses in caffeine molecular chemistry, osmoreceptors, limbic systems
and Planck’s Constant. A perfect April
Fool’s read but for one thing: it isn’t released until tomorrow. No fooling.
This is part of the Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday round-up.
Check out more great reading here. Review copy from publisher.
Sci fi and romance-- say no more! I have this one on reserve at the public library!
ReplyDeleteHa! I love the sound of this. I need to check it out.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fun! How awesome that it comes out tomorrow. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. :) Great review!
ReplyDelete~Jess
This sounds hilarious! What could be better than science and humor? Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteOh, dear! This sounds hilarious. I'll have to watch for it at the library.
ReplyDeleteCindy