Millicent Min, Girl Genius

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Millicent Min, Girl Genius is Lisa Yee's first book about an eleven and a half year old girl genius, named Millicent Min, who attends high school in Rancho Rosetta, California.

Millicent Min, Girl Genius
Author Lisa Yee
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Contemporary Fiction
Publisher Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication date October 1, 2003
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 256 (hardcover)
ISBN ISBN 0-439-34257-0

Contents

[edit] Plot

Besides skipping five grades, being featured in PBS specials (TIME Magazine as well), and winning third place at the National Math Bowl, being on Jeopardy, Millicent Min, girl genius, is also looking forward to becoming senior valedictorian and earning a scholarship to an Ivy League university- that is, at age 11. Despite this young age, she has already completed 11th grade and is anticipating a summer taking a college poetry course (only one course at her parents' insistence). All seems well until...her mother signs her up for volleyball and assigns her a job tutoring Stanford Wong, peabrained basketball player- the exact opposite of the unathletic, nonsocial Millicent Min. What's more is that her grandmother Maddie (also her best and only friend) is leaving for England to attend a fengshui academy.

That leaves her with volleyball practice four times a week, college poetry only three times a week, and "Stupid Stanford" three times a week, equating to... a thoroughly not enjoyable summer for this genius girl.

Then, surprisingly enough, things start to look up. In volleyball, Millicent is befriended by Emily. Never before has Millicent had a best friend her own age (with the word "genius" written all over her, it was impossible for "normal" high schoolers to get close to the "geek"). Neither has anyone ever called Millicent "cool" and meant it. No one except for Emily.

In order to maintain her friendship with Emily, Millicent believes she must hide her uber high IQ and pretend that she is home-schooled. She thinks that Emily will treat her just like everyone else if she knows that Millicent is an "anal retentive, an over-achiever, and a compulsive perfectionist." However, keeping her IQ tucked away isn't as easy as it sounds. When Emily finds Millicent and Stanford in the library at one of their tutoring sessions, Millicent must act as the failing student and treat "Stupid Stanford" as the "genius," the reciprocated truth.

On the other hand, Stanford has his own reasons for acting as the tutor. Stanford and Emily have crushes on each other, and out of need to impress her, acts smart, believing that that is the only reason that Emily likes him. Surprisingly, both Stanford's and Millicent's lying to Emily bond them together. All that Emily talks about is Stanford.

But on one fateful sleepover at Millie's house, Emily finds out the big secret, the trophies and awards and honorable mentions, the genius IQ. Angry that Millie had been hiding all this from her, she storms out of the house. Having no experience with friends, Millicent Min, genius girl, believes that it's all because of her IQ, not because she kept it a secret. Emily even becomes disgusted at Stanford after figuring out that he was also lying.

On top of all this, Millicent is also having problems at home. Her father doesn't have a job, and her mother is showing symptoms of brain tumor (it turned out later on that Millicent's mom was pregnant) . Can it possibly take more than Millie's prodigy side to keep things in line?

In this touching and funny novel, readers learn that even sheer geniushood might not be enough for our lives.

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