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A charming, funny middle-grade novel that combines action, adventure, science, and a big dose of satire from a talented voice in children's literature.
It takes a lot to get four kid geniuses together, even when they're all alumni of the now-shuttered Superior Thinking and Advanced Research Academy. Eleven-year-old leader-of-the-pack, Amanda Forsythe, needs to escape the clutches of her maniacally entrepreneurial father, determined as he is to capitalize on Amanda's fame for outsmarting a pair of aliens posing as teachers at the Academy. And Derek, Evelyn, and Sanjay are separately pursuing their own research projects in different schools around the world, desperate to continue the technological advances they began at the STAR Academy. Only the world's richest man could bring them all together--and that's exactly what George Snootman offers to do. But can they really trust the father of Eugenia, their nemesis at the STAR Academy? Probably not--but his offer is just too tempting. Besides, Amanda is pretty confident she and her friends can outfox him, even if he does seem as ruthlessly determined as the aliens before him to misuse their work for his own means.... EDWARD KAY is the author of Star Academy as well as a writer and producer on CBC's "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" for four seasons. He was also producer and head writer of "The Itch," a darkly humorous Canadian cult TV classic and a contributing writer to Rick Mercer's "Talking To Americans." He is the co-creator of the award-winning kids' animated comedy series "Olliver's Adventures." Amanda gazed upward , her eyes following the rocket's progress as it climbed higher and higher into the evening sky. She mentally calculated the angle of its trajectory and the speed an object of that size, weight and shape would have to reach to achieve escape velocity from Earth's gravitational pull. Amanda had to squint to follow its trail as the vanishing projectile rose into the darkening heavens. Just as the rocket became too small for her to see anymore, the sky was wrenched open by a blinding flash. Fiery orange and yellow tendrils shot out in every direction from where it had been, solid and resolutely on course only an instant before. But now the missile was blown to smithereens by the explosive force of the very material that had given it its power and upward momentum. A sonic boom like a cannon blast followed a moment later. Amanda felt the thump of the shock wave in her chest, and her eardrums popped. Backlit by the fading burst of light, tiny burned fragments of the rocket's casing began floating down toward Earth, giving them, thought Amanda, the ironic appearance of blackened snowflakes.
On cue, a slightly out-of-tune marching band began to play "Hail to the Victors." It was a type of music known as a "war song" and was performed at games where the Downview Danes, her school's football team, were competing. The aggressively energetic nature of the rhythm and melody was designed to rouse both fans and players. However, Amanda didn't have much interest in surrogate gladiatorial combats, so the music did not have the intended effect on her. Instead, its frenzied tempo and roller-coaster melody made her think not of champions but rather of an old slapstick silent movie. The type where some unfortunate man on a railway handcar was pumping frantically to avoid being mowed down by a speeding steam locomotive. Or perhaps he was running around a circus ring with the seat of his pants on fire, frantically trying to extinguish the flames by flapping his hands over his posterior while being chased by a tiger that had escaped from its cage.
Meanwhile, awed by the finale of the fireworks display, the large crowd of Downview residents who had gathered for the occasion cheered and applauded heartily.
It takes a lot to get four kid geniuses together, even when they're all alumni of the now-shuttered Superior Thinking and Advanced Research Academy. Eleven-year-old leader-of-the-pack, Amanda Forsythe, needs to escape the clutches of her maniacally entrepreneurial father, determined as he is to capitalize on Amanda's fame for outsmarting a pair of aliens posing as teachers at the Academy. And Derek, Evelyn, and Sanjay are separately pursuing their own research projects in different schools around the world, desperate to continue the technological advances they began at the STAR Academy. Only the world's richest man could bring them all together--and that's exactly what George Snootman offers to do. But can they really trust the father of Eugenia, their nemesis at the STAR Academy? Probably not--but his offer is just too tempting. Besides, Amanda is pretty confident she and her friends can outfox him, even if he does seem as ruthlessly determined as the aliens before him to misuse their work for his own means.... EDWARD KAY is the author of Star Academy as well as a writer and producer on CBC's "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" for four seasons. He was also producer and head writer of "The Itch," a darkly humorous Canadian cult TV classic and a contributing writer to Rick Mercer's "Talking To Americans." He is the co-creator of the award-winning kids' animated comedy series "Olliver's Adventures." Amanda gazed upward , her eyes following the rocket's progress as it climbed higher and higher into the evening sky. She mentally calculated the angle of its trajectory and the speed an object of that size, weight and shape would have to reach to achieve escape velocity from Earth's gravitational pull. Amanda had to squint to follow its trail as the vanishing projectile rose into the darkening heavens. Just as the rocket became too small for her to see anymore, the sky was wrenched open by a blinding flash. Fiery orange and yellow tendrils shot out in every direction from where it had been, solid and resolutely on course only an instant before. But now the missile was blown to smithereens by the explosive force of the very material that had given it its power and upward momentum. A sonic boom like a cannon blast followed a moment later. Amanda felt the thump of the shock wave in her chest, and her eardrums popped. Backlit by the fading burst of light, tiny burned fragments of the rocket's casing began floating down toward Earth, giving them, thought Amanda, the ironic appearance of blackened snowflakes.
On cue, a slightly out-of-tune marching band began to play "Hail to the Victors." It was a type of music known as a "war song" and was performed at games where the Downview Danes, her school's football team, were competing. The aggressively energetic nature of the rhythm and melody was designed to rouse both fans and players. However, Amanda didn't have much interest in surrogate gladiatorial combats, so the music did not have the intended effect on her. Instead, its frenzied tempo and roller-coaster melody made her think not of champions but rather of an old slapstick silent movie. The type where some unfortunate man on a railway handcar was pumping frantically to avoid being mowed down by a speeding steam locomotive. Or perhaps he was running around a circus ring with the seat of his pants on fire, frantically trying to extinguish the flames by flapping his hands over his posterior while being chased by a tiger that had escaped from its cage.
Meanwhile, awed by the finale of the fireworks display, the large crowd of Downview residents who had gathered for the occasion cheered and applauded heartily.
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Extended Details
- SeriesStar Academy #2