Review of “Milicent Min - Girl Genius” by Lisa Yee

“Milicent Min - Girl Genius” by Lisa Yee is a humorous book about a young Asian girl who is a genius. But for some reason, when it comes to social interaction she’s a little bit ignorant.

Millicent’s parents are always worried that she hasn’t had a chance to enjoy a “normal childhood.” But Millicent doesn’t care. She would much rather be what she is: a child genius who has been featured in TV shows and Time magazine. Millicent has skipped so many grades that she is attending high school at age eleven. Unfortunately, this makes all the other kids her age hate her.

Sometimes Millicent feels a little lonely, but when that happens she just buckles down and studies some more cryptarithms. But Millicent’s parents are determined to make sure that Millie does something “fun” as well. When they sign her up for volleyball, Millie is sure that her parents have lost their minds.

But then Millicent meets Emily, another girl on the volleyball team. Emily doesn’t know about Millie’s high IQ. She is very friendly, and Millie is soon having sleepovers at Millie’s house. There’s just one problem. Millie is afraid to tell Emily that she goes to high school and takes college classes. She doesn’t want Emily to start viewing her differently if she finds out about how smart Millie is.

At the same time, she is currently tutoring an older cousin, and if Emily finds out, then not only will the secret of Millie’s intelligence be uncovered, but it will also embarrass her cousin, who has a crush on Emily.

Even calculus isn’t this hard. Emily soon finds herself juggling a net of lies while trying to keep her ignorance of fashion and pop culture from tipping off her new friend. But each passing day brings both girls closer to the end of summer vacation. Then Millie’s lie is bound to be uncovered because it will be obvious that she doesn’t go to middle school with Emily.

I really loved “Millicent Min - Girl Genius” the first time I read it. The second time that I read it, the book got even better. There are so many wonderful lines in this book. One of my favorites is:

“Just because I once stayed awake for fifty-three hours straight to work out a complicated equation, Mom and Dad think I have an unhealthy obsession with math.”

Lisa Yee has done a tremendous job designing Millicent and her personality. The plot is also superb, with humor and tension interspersed throughout. I think that “Millicent Min - Girl Genius” is a good book to help school age children understand what it is like to have a higher than average IQ.

I definitely recommend “Millicent Min - Girl Genius” to all young readers.

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