Starred review from November 10, 2003
Readers don't have to share Millicent Min's IQ to empathize with the 11-year-old genius narrator featured in this energetic first novel. Millicent breezes through high school and college classes, but when it comes to making friends her own age, she's at a loss. In an attempt to give her daughter "a more normal and well-rounded childhood," Millicent's mother signs her up for a volleyball league. Even though the narrator abhors the idea of playing a team sport ("As I see it, my childhood is round enough," she remarks), going to practice does give her the opportunity to form a solid camaraderie with new-girl-in-town Emily, who hates volleyball as much as Millicent does. Not wanting to jeopardize her precious new friendship, Millicent keeps her mental capabilities a secret; as might be expected, deception soon leads to disaster. When Emily turns her back on Millicent for pretending to be someone she's not, Millicent must solve a problem more difficult than any math equation or test question. How can she regain Emily's trust? Millicent's unique personality—a blend of rationality and naïveté—makes for some hilarious moments as the young protagonist interacts with a cast of colorful characters including her athletic, down-to-earth mother, her laid-back father, and her beloved grandmother, who borrows sage advice from the television show, Kung Fu. Yee re-examines the terms "smart" and "dumb," while offering a heartfelt story full of wit. Ages 9-12.
Starred review from January 12, 2004
Youthful actress Agena, perhaps best known for her role as Lane Kim on TV's Gilmore Girls
, is perfect as Millicent Min, a certified genius who still has plenty to learn in this humorous and touching novel. Millicent has always been an overachiever, and takes pride in the fact that she will be entering her senior year of high school when her contemporaries begin sixth grade. Though she's long been content to spend hours at the library or visiting with her grandmother, the summer before 12th grade provides Millicent's social life a real jolt. Millicent's mom has signed her up for a volleyball team, and Millicent will be tutoring a family friend her own age, Stanford Wong. But along the way, Millicent finds her first true friend in 11-year-old Emily. And best of all—at least initially—Emily doesn't know a thing about Millicent's intellectual gifts and thinks Millicent is swell all the same. Agena nails the assured tone of someone who has reached lofty goals and received heaps of praise. In addition, her interpretation of Millicent's attempts to be a little more hip or popular are laugh-out-loud funny (just as they are written in Yee's fine debut novel). A solid and enjoyable listening experience from start to finish. Ages 8-12. (Oct. 2003).
March 1, 2004
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 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2003
Gr. 4-6. Certified genius Millicent Min has problems. Sure, her parents have " finally "consented to let her take a college poetry class over the summer (even though Millie is not yet 12). But it turns out college kids aren't her peers--they're as dumb and lazy as her nemesis, Stanford. If Millie can just keep her brilliance a secret from Emily, Millie's first real friend, and manage to keep Emily and Stanford from smooching (ick!), things might turn out OK. Yee's first novel examines child prodigies from a refreshing angle, allowing nongeniuses to laugh appreciatively at the ups and downs of being a whiz kid. Millie's pretentious voice grows tiresome after a while, but Yee does an excellent job of showing both Millie's grown-up brain and her decidedly middle-school problems. Even if they can't relate to her mastery of Latin, most kids will readily follow as Millie struggles through a world where she's smarter than everyone but still sometimes clueless.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)
August 30, 2004
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.
January 1, 2004
Millicent may be a girl genius, but outside of academics she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Readers will laugh and groan at her ultra-geeky efforts to fit in (granted, it's awkward being the only eleven-year-old in the eleventh grade). In this smartly funny debut novel, Millicent finds that she doesn't know everything and learns some crucial lessons about friendship and trust.
(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)