Jack and the Geniuses: At the Bottom of the World

Jack and the Geniuses #1

by Bill Nye

New York Times bestselling authors Bill Nye the Science Guy and Gregory Mone take middle-grade readers on a scientific adventure in the launch of an exciting new chapter book series, Jack and the Geniuses. The perfect combination to engage and entertain readers, the series features real-world science along with action and a mystery that will leave kids guessing until the end, making these books ideal for STEM education.
 
In the series opener, Jack and the Geniuses: At The Bottom of The World, readers meet Jack and his foster siblings, Ava and Matt, who are orphans. But they’re not your typical kind of orphans—they’re geniuses. Well, Ava and Matt are, which sometimes makes life difficult for 1twelve-year-old Jack. Ava speaks multiple languages and builds robots for fun, and Matt is into astronomy and a whiz at math. As for Jack, it’s hard to stand out when he’s surrounded by geniuses all the time.
 
When the kids try to spy on Dr. Hank Witherspoon, one of the world’s leading scientists, they end up working for him in his incredible laboratory. Soon, Hank and the kids travel to Antarctica for a prestigious science competition, but they find that all is not as it seems: A fellow scientist has gone missing, and so has any trace of her research. Could someone be trying to use her findings to win the contest? It’s up to Jack, Ava, and Matt to find the missing scientist and discover who’s behind it all—before it’s too late.
 
Integrating real science facts with humor and suspense, and featuring an ensemble cast of loveable boy and girl characters, this uniquely engaging series is an irresistible chemical reaction for middle-grade readers. With easy-to-read language presented in a fun, motivating, and accessible way, this series opener is a great book for both inquisitive kids and reluctant readers. The book also includes information about the science discussed and used to solve the mystery, as well as a cool science project about density that kids can do at home or in the classroom.

Bill Nye's brand new talk show series for Netflix, "Bill Nye Saves the World" is set to launch in Spring 2017.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Science, Juvenile, Chapter Books

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2017

About the author

Not to be confused with 19th century American humorist Bill Nye

William Sanford "Bill" Nye, popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television presenter, actor, writer, scientist, and former mechanical engineer, best known in popular media as a science educator.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack, Matt, and Ava are all foster kids who have been granted the right to live on their own. That may sound odd, but everyone assumes that geniuses are smart enough to take care of themselves. Only Matt and Ava are really geniuses; Jack is just an ordinary kid who likes to read. When the three foster siblings come to the attention of scientist Hank Witherspoon, things get very interesting. Soon they're accompanying him to Antarctica to help out with a contest for a new invention. But when they get to the bottom of the earth, one of the resident scientists is missing. Can these meddling kids geniuses solve the mystery?

Curious kids (and adults) should love this one. The story is packed with loads of fascinating Antarctica facts, and Nye insisted that the wacky inventions and hardware used in the book be based on real science. Argh - I hate to say it, but doggone it - they make learnin' fun!

And I liked that even though the kids are geniuses, they still need to be reminded to zip up their coats.

[Bookgasms Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 12 year old son and I read books together. I am a voracious reader and am determined to instill this quality in my children. After several books falling flat lately, we picked this one up with nervous anticipation. On my part because I grew up with Bill Nye the Science Guy, and for my son he was just tired of trying to read boring books. His words, not mine. Oh but we were not disappointed!

The characters were so fun that it was easy to spark discussions on each one, and how they differed yet continued to work together. Who was he more like, what would this character do in a hypothetical situation.

The plot so engrossing that even my 7 year old sat with us, laughing at loud, asking questions, begging for a few more pages. I homeschool, and love it when a book brings about this type of discussion and delight in my kids.

Of course, then there's the fact that I, as an adult woman was able to enjoy the quirky story line and unique characters. Not to mention the way it encouraged learning and intelligence, adventure and experimentation.

Simply delightful for the whole family!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much what I expected from Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Smart kids get a fantastic opportunity to work as assistants to a world famous inventor who is rich enough to allow them to invent & travel to an exotic location where they have to solve a mystery. As the afterword assures us, all the inventions & the basics of the Antarctic station are true or at least could be or will be soon, so there is plenty to learn, even for adults not familiar with the area.

There was a lot he didn't say, especially about some of the animals in the ocean. I think he missed a great opportunity by not mentioning Antarctic Ice fish, those clear ones without hemoglobin, but he concentrated more on the environment such as pointing out that the area is a desert & is used for testing materials destined for Mars.

It's a 4 star read for kids mid teens & down, a 3 star read for adults. Fun for all ages. Apparently it's illustrated, but my edition was the audio book which was great. Very well narrated.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate to win this book in a Goodreads Giveaway! To start, I'd like to mention that I really enjoyed this book and could have gobbled it up in one sitting if I had had the time to do so. I intend to use this copy as a Summer Learning Program prize at my library now.

I was skeptical when I saw that this book is written by Bill Nye the Science Guy because I was not sure if he would be able to write a story as well as he explains science to kids. However, I was blown away! The characters are fun, unique, and likeable! The adventure is well researched and speckled with it's own creativity. I love that this book provides true science in fun fiction. Sci-fi, but accurate sci-fi! I enjoyed the explanations of science aspects at the end of the book and appreciated the accuracy used throughout. I feel like I learned a lot about Antarctica while enjoying an excellent children's tale. I can't wait to read more of this series and will recommend it to others at my library! I look forward to ordering a copy to put in our permanent collection here.

Finally, I'd like to add that while I am so appreciative of the use of diversity in the stories major characters, I think the author's could have gone a step further in choosing the main character.

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the Bottom of the World is the start in a new series co-authored by Bill Nye (yes... The Science Guy) and Gregory Mone (a talented author). What does this literary combination give us? A sometimes wacky approach to giving kids what the want (a thrilling adventure) while secretly supplying them with what they need (say, an education in science?!).

Let's get on to the plot. The 3 main kids are super independent (somehow they legally accomplished this task?!). They don't even go to school -- the work with their instructors online, and homeschool. These three siblings may be ethnically different, but are part of the same family, and work together on the same team, and that's what I enjoyed. Family is who you make into your family.

The kids go on an amazing adventure to Antarctica. All because they caught the eye of inventor extraordinaire, Henry Witherspoon. Or as the kids call him, Hank. With a few silly-sounding inventions under his belt, and the means to engineer whatever he desires, who knows where he'll take his new tagalong friends? Well, Antarctica, obviously! I found it rather refreshing to read a story that really tells you how the scientists work down there. It's a whole continent that's basically devoted to... well, the study of science. (I know, I know. I mentioned the 'science' word so many times in this review, but it's such a prevalent element in the book.) But it's definitely NOT a 'textbook' boring kinda book. It's a thrill-seeking adventure into great unknowns. It makes learning seem soooo cool.

Boys and girls alike will love this series.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of this book; I was not required to post a review.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was goofy and some part were predictable, but looking at it through the eyes of a kid? This book was exciting and interesting and there were a lot of fun science facts, especially about Antarctica. Would read again and would recommend for kids and preteens.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way.... I want to say I love it on its own. And I do, the voice is great, the story is fun, the science is interesting, nobody is completely obnoxious. Also, Antarctica! I hadn't realized how starved I was for young reader books about Antarctica.

I enjoy how Jack, Ava, and Matt all have their own strengths without being caricatures. They aren't blind to each others strengths, and work as a team from the beginning. Jack isn't discounted just because he's not a 'genius', but is always an equal third of the family. A refreshing dynamic.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to completely divorce my thoughts on this from my thoughts on science-minded books in middle grade fiction in general. I was burned SO badly by the Stephen Hawking book (it's terrible) and there are a lot of other, ah, poorly written books that try to focus on how and why science is fun. So disappointing. This was a very nice change of pace.

[Jean-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had planned on giving this book 3 - 3.5 stars; however, after Bill Nye's f*cking stellar performance on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver that attempted to warn everyone about the seriousness of climate change and global warming this past Sunday, I have decided to bump it up to 4 stars. I read this to my 11-year-old. I would say this is more of an independent read, but he wasn't interested in reading this one independently, and I wanted to get it off his shelf to make room for new reads. In the end, the 11-year-old really enjoyed it and decided he would like the other books in the series to read independently. Go figure. Two thumbs up!

[Lauren Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note to readers: Hello! I would like to take a quick opportunity to add some context to my post. I am posting this review as a requirement of a class at the iSchool at Syracuse University. For this project, I am producing several book talks that are designed for a hypothetical scenario where I am trying to get middle schoolers to read literature that inspires them to participate in methods of "green" activism. Again hypothetically, l would like to rally these students to start a "Green Domino Effect Club" in my school media center's Maker Space. That being said, I wrote this review on 'Jack and the Geniuses at the Bottom of the World' to give them an example of literature about science that may peak their personal interest. Please bare in mind when reading my book talk that it was written to reflect my conversational personality. My book talk is as follows:

“Alright, tell me everyone has heard of Bill Nye the Science Guy? If you haven’t, he is the star of the show ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ and I will happily show you an episode later if you haven't seen it, but if you know exactly who I’m talking about, then you might be pretty excited that he has written a novel for kids. It’s called ‘Jack and the Geniuses At the Bottom of the World’ and he wrote this fast-paced adventure book with a science journalist named Gregory Mone. Fun fact: They published this on my birthday this year, so it feels like it came out just for me, because I love reading adventure novels.”
“This story takes place at the bottom of the world. When I say “bottom of the world,” where does that make you think of? Where do you think this story takes place? (Pause for a raise of hands.) This is kind of tricky question because “bottom of the world” could mean the term of phrase like “bottom of the barrel,” or it could represent a literal location on Earth. So in this case, it means the literal location of the bottom of the Earth, which is, can anyone tell me? (Pause for raise of hands.) Antartica! So this book is extremely fast paced, action-oriented, it has a lot of suspense, but it also has a great deal of humor sprinkled into the narrative. On top of all of this, the storyline is issue-oriented. What does that mean, issue-oriented? (Pause for a raise of hands.) It means that it focuses on controversial issues that really exist.”

“Our protagonist Jack takes us with him as he and his two former-foster siblings Ava and Matt, and I say former because they were smart enough to ditch their slacker foster parents — I won’t tell you how— and they are living alone in a Brooklyn apartment at 15 years old. One night, they get an intriguing email from “Hank” Witherspoon, a billionaire scientist. Hank is inviting them to dinner. The strangest part about this old guy inviting them to dinner is that they were caught trying to spy through his windows with their homemade robot drone. Crazy, right? Soon, the three of them are taking off in a private jet to Antartica and they will have to solve a mystery that can mean life or death. Something cool about this book is that while it is classified as science fiction, if you look in the back, you can find that all of the science and technology inventions in this book are based on real science exploration. While you’re taken on the adventure of a lifetime, you are also getting a peek behind the scenes of what scientists are exploring today. And we know it’s all very recent science, because like I said, this was just published just a couple of months ago. So if you like books that have fast-paced, action-packed adventure and real-life science exploration, with amusing and offbeat yet heartwarming characters, this would be a really great book for you! I think it’s so exciting that you could read it in a day, honestly.”

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a good story for kids to read. I was trying to think about the different ages of kids I've worked with over the years, and I could definitely see some of them being really excited about this. It has adventure, science, a mystery (although I kind of felt like the mystery was an unnecessary plot line, but I could be wrong), smart kids, and the ugly-duckling kid who's not as smart as his siblings but who finds he has worth, too -- basically, there's something for everybody. Plus, nearly half of the kid scientists and adult scientists are female, so yes, girls can do science and be smart, which is something we apparently still need to emphasize in the world.

As I read, I tried to imagine a kid (of any age, really, because I was doing the same thing) reading this book, thinking about how she or he would feel in Antarctica, and how she or he could change science and the world. And the important science topics are explained easily for kids to understand, so as they're reading, they're not losing the plot AND they're learning science. Then I loved the back sections of the book that explain more about Antarctica, the real science of the book (the stuff that seems totally far-fetched, but apparently is based on real science), and an experiment for kids to try that is related to part of the plot of the book. So there's a fun story, adventure, science to read about, and then science to try!

I'd definitely recommend this book to teachers to have stocked in their classrooms!

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack refers to his two foster siblings as "the geniuses." The three of them ended up in the same foster home several years back and by working together were able to declare themselves emancipated minors, even though Jack and Ava are just 12 and Matt is 15. Through several fortunate coincidences, they discover that eccentric inventor Henry (Hank) Witherspoon is living nearby, and are ecstatic when he takes them all on as apprentices. When he asks them to join him on a trip to Antarctica to judge a desalination project, they are beyond thrilled. Once they get there it is not what they expected. Hank's friend has disappeared and they become embroiled in the mystery of what her secret discovery was and how to find her. Contains a lot of facts about Antartica seamlessly woven throughout the story, some historical but mostly what life is like for researchers living there now. A strong start to a new series. Highly recommended for grades 3 & up.

[Mrs. Schuld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the overall idea of this book, and loved how kids used science in this book. It’s encouraging to kids to be curious. I thought having so many supporting characters was kind of confusing. If they needed to have that many, I wish they would have added more descriptions or illustrations for these characters. Speaking of illustrations, I liked that they included them, but I don’t think they used them to enhance the story. There were some confusing parts to this book that could have been better explained with an illustration. Overall, I am glad to see current science literature for kids.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as I used to teach world cultures and we did a week about Antarctica. It brought me back to those lessons.

I read an ARC of this book that was shared with my #BookVoyage group. This books is a fun mix of mystery and science that will be a hit with many of my kids. They are always looking for good mysteries. Lots of adventure as well and the back matter that has information about Antarctica and science in general was helpful.

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack and his two genius siblings, Matt and Ava, have a new mentor. Hank (a contender for the prestigious Clutterbuck Prize) can offer sufficient challenge for the genius set, providing them with an "alternative education" in the most practical of ways. A trip. To a very science-y locale. Namely ... Antarctica.

Lots of humor and information, which makes the fact that this is as sneakily educational as all of Bill Nye's "Science Guy" programs. Fun with purpose. Not a bad thing.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice mixture of mystery and science. Good plot... a bit short on character development. An entertaining book that is along the same vein as the Frank Einstein series but harder to read. This is one of our Global Reading Challenge books (a battle of the books-type program put on by the King County Library in Seattle WA).

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story takes you to the bottom mod the earth where anyone is capable of doing amazing things , even if they’re not a “genius.” Jack explains at the very beginning he doesn’t consider himself a genius when compared to his foster siblings, Ava and Matt. However, that doesn’t make him any less equipped to contribute to solving the problems that they run up against in Antarctica at the science lab.

The characters are between the ages of eight and twelve. They encounter examples of engineering thinking and design as they find solutions to problems, generate unique ideas to solve tricky problems, and ultimately bring their ideas to life and into the action.

In mystery story form, the book introduces the reader to real life science concepts as Jack, Ava, and Matt travel to Antarctica and solve the mystery of the missing scientist while developing designs using those concepts, such as water density and self-driving cars. The book promotes engineering thinking and design practices, while showing that anyone can be a part of a team of engineers and scientists. And, you don’t have to be a genius. You see, everyone has the potential to persevere and think creatively about the world around them.

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

5th grade Battle of the Books selection

FUN!!! I really enjoyed this one. Lots of science in this one along with adventure, which doesn't surprise me given that Bill Nye is one of the authors. It would appear that this is a series, and I have to say, yes, I'm ready to go on another adventure with Jack and the Geniuses.

[Kateryna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like a lot of the inventions described are just to show off, and just cluttering attention. Also, kids adults interactions are too far from real to enjoy reading

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read that incorporates mystery and kid jokes and scientific facts! Both Reese and I enjoyed it—another read for our MoDa (Mother-Daughter) Book Club.

[Erin Staples]

Reading Battle of the Books selections with my daughter.

[Jaymie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! Emancipated 12 year olds is not believable but look past it because the rest of the story is so fun. A funny mystery with a science base. Great science info, including an experiment, in the back matter.

I received a copy of this on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Stuart Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggle to give this a 3 or 4...but I did find it interesting and applaud Bill Nye's first attempt to bring true science into youth novels. For some reason, I felt that the writing of the book began to develop in its skill as it reached the final third. The first two-thirds of the book felt a bit forced at times. It's as if the style used to write the story gained momentum and the authors began to acknowledge the difficulties in writing this type of book. One challenge that I noticed was dialogue. By creating scenes with multiple characters (even the main characters are a group of three kids), writing dialogue is a challenge. Young readers will surely have trouble with this and they may become easily bored with the dialogue tags that are used to transfer the speaking from character to character. Second, I felt like the early examples of science felt forced even though the context made sense. Last, there needed to be more storytelling and less dialogue. If you read the book, you'll notice how this begins to change at the end of the book and it caused me to be much more interested in how the story was developing. One thing I did LOVE about the book was the end where they explain all of the science within the book and there's some explanation of life down in Antarctica. If I were using this with students, I'd want to use this before students read the book. We know that students need background knowledge to understand. I know that scientists often like to uncover knowledge, but I differ in my beliefs and believe that building background knowledge about science and geography will enhance understanding of the book. In the end, I look forward to reading this series because I feel like the writers will get their "legs" and there will be greater balance between storytelling and dialogue.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much everyone knows who Bill Nye the Science Guy is. He has been on television for more than 25 years and is known for getting kids excited about science. What I didn't know is that he also writes books.

This is the first book in the Jack and the Geniuses series, cowritten with Gregory Mone.

It's an entertaining story of three emancipated young teens who discover an eccentric inventor who has too much money and not enough time or help.

The intrepid team goes to the McMurdo Station on Antarctica for the judging of a science prize as well as at the request of an adventurous and ambitious scientist.

Along with a lot of exploration around the station, the group ends up solving the mystery of the scientist's disappearance.

It's a fun read, although it took me some time to get into the story.

I really enjoyed the sections at the end of the book that describe the real-life science behind the gadgets in the story, facts about Antarctica, as well as a science experiment kids can do at home.

interesting quotes:

"How in the world could someone who blew such pungent mouth wind have the voice of an angel?" (p. 101)

"You mistake me for a ukulele, my skinny friend." (p. 129)

" ." (p. )

" ." (p. )

[AMY · Rating 1 out of 5]

243 pages. I read one chapter/21 pages and I have no idea what is going on in this book. It is weird, techy, boring and involves kids interacting with robots. It has a small font and seems more like MS level reading. It says in the book fair app that it is Age 9-12, Grade 4-8, but I would skip this one for ES. Not recommended for ES.

After reading the whole book... 243 pgs. I cannot believe I finally finished this book. It took me forever. Some books just seem to move slowly and take longer, huh? Anyway, the main plot is good. I didn’t really feel like I could relate to the characters. They seemed a bit flat, with the exception of Jack. It moved too slow for me. The scientific angle will appeal to some kids. I think it is really for a higher level reader in elementary and maybe more for Middle School due to the ages of the kids (youngest is 12). It was just ok for me. Recommended for Grades 5-8.

[Echo C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehh, not too bad. Fun but totally unbelievable story of 3 independently, well-off emancipated minors who discover their neighbor is a tech genius who enlists their help with a trip to Antarctica. Still with me? The kids embark on a mission to find a missing scientist deep in the snow covered landscape.

If you can suspend all logic and knowledge of the real world, you'd probably enjoy this. It's perfect for kids: silly, unreal, and completely harmless. It's the first in a series so I'm sure this won't be the last of Jack and the geniuses.

[Mckelle]

This book was okay. The characters were interesting and the plot interesting, but it felt too much like a grown up plot, with most characters being adults and the problems dealing with adults. I liked the humor of Jack, but I felt like he was the only thing that made the book a MG book, and that wasn't enough for me. My 8 year old did enjoy it, but he didn't rave about it.

[Jamie R · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 stars for adults, 4 for kids. Although it wasn’t particularly compelling for me, the story is cute and full of accessible science facts. I think my science-y kids will really enjoy it, plus I’m thrilled by the lack of potty language and poorly behaved children. Thanks, Bill Nye! Bonus points for diversity of characters.

[Nannette Demmler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will admit that I picked this book up because of Bill Nye. I often avoid books by celebrities, just because you are famous doesn’t mean you can write, but I have a soft spot for Bill and I love science so I had to give it a try. I am also always on the look out for something that will appeal to those students who only like to read non-fiction. Often they have to read something fiction for a school assignment and it can get tough to find something that they will like. I also liked that there was little science experiment at the end.

The story was quite good and kept my attention for the most part. I really liked Jack and his siblings. They all have a great relationship with each other, even when Jack struggles to understand his genius siblings. The story is told only from Jack’s point of view and I do usually prefer to hear from only one person, but in this case I wanted to hear something from Ava and Hank as well. I think it would be interesting to hear their thoughts about each other and about Jack as well. Their situation is unusual, three tweens living on their own, but they all seem to care about each other and though they are not related, are truly a family.

I also liked the adults that support this trio. Hank is somewhat absentminded and I think sometimes forgets that they are kids. But he means well and he does seem to care for them. Their social worker Min is not in the book much, but I still really liked her. Jack mentions her often with fondness when she is not around.

The science and the mystery are well done. Some of the science is a little futuristic, but still based on solid scientific theory. The setting of Antarctica was very cool and realistic for the most part. From the author’s note you can tell they did their research on what it is like to live and work there. The mystery of the missing scientist was also nicely done with some cool clues and detective work on Jack’s side. He may not be a genius like his siblings, but he has strengths in other ways.

Overall this is a solid read for kids who are into science. The story and the characters are engaging and likable and even when there are some scary moments, things still turn out ok.

[Mark Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you seen the new building with no entrances, over by the pizza place? Something in there grabbed my sister's drone, and I fell while trying to scale the walls up to a window. Turns out, THE Dr. Hank Witherspoon owns the building, and he hired my family to work for him. Actually, he hired my genius sister and genius brother, and I was part of the deal. After a couple of months, I was ready to quit when Hank said we were traveling to Antarctica! It wasn't my first choice for a vacation, but it beat cleaning and organizing the labs. However, when we arrived, we discovered Hank's friend was missing. She supposedly discovered something that would change the world, but no one knows what she found. Surviving in the frigid desert was nearly impossible, so I made it my mission to save her.

I chose this book because one of the authors is Bill Nye the Science Guy, and science is clearly at the forefront of the plot. The inventions included are fairly realistic, which keeps the book from becoming a fantasy. There are a couple of pages at the end that even describe how the ideas for some of the inventions come from real ones created by kids. The authors do a wonderful job of including scientific information without interrupting the flow of the book. The underlying story describes efforts to change salt water to fresh water and maintaining ice masses in Antarctica. Finding Hank's missing friend becomes the focus of the plot, as Jack wouldn't give up on the mystery of her disappearance. The book is full of suspects, much like a game of Clue, and the director of the science lab wants to find any reason to get rid of the kids. Jack is a foster child and lives with his foster brother and sister. Ava invents things, Matt is great at math, and Jack usually feels worthless next to them. However, Jack comes up with clever plans and adds humor to the story. Overall, I enjoy the simple fun of the book, and recommend you give it a shot. Lovers of science and mysteries should appreciate it.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the series opener, Jack and the Geniuses: At The Bottom of The World, readers meet Jack and his foster siblings, Ava and Matt, who are orphans. But they’re not your typical kind of orphans—they’re geniuses. Well, Ava and Matt are, which sometimes makes life difficult for 1twelve-year-old Jack. Ava speaks multiple languages and builds robots for fun, and Matt is into astronomy and a whiz at math. As for Jack, it’s hard to stand out when he’s surrounded by geniuses all the time.
When the kids try to spy on Dr. Hank Witherspoon, one of the world’s leading scientists, they end up working for him in his incredible laboratory. Soon, Hank and the kids travel to Antarctica for a prestigious science competition, but they find that all is not as it seems: A fellow scientist has gone missing, and so has any trace of her research. Could someone be trying to use her findings to win the contest? It’s up to Jack, Ava, and Matt to find the missing scientist and discover who’s behind it all—before it’s too late.
Integrating real science facts with humor and suspense, and featuring an ensemble cast of loveable boy and girl characters, this uniquely engaging series is an irresistible chemical reaction for middle-grade readers. With easy-to-read language presented in a fun, motivating, and accessible way, this series opener is a great book for both inquisitive kids and reluctant readers. The book also includes information about the science discussed and used to solve the mystery, as well as a cool science project about density that kids can do at home or in the classroom.

Heather's Notes
I listened to this book with my daughter, and was pleasantly surprised. Why definetely geared toward children it was still enjoyable for me to. The plot moved well, and the villian was not so obvious that you knew who it was for the entire story. While there was a lot of sceince in the book, it did not bog it down and also did not bore you with long explanations. My daughter liked it well enough for us to be getting the second book.