Review of MILLICENT MIN: GIRL GENIUS

Bibliography:

Yee, Lisa. 2003. Millicent Min: Girl genius. New York: Scholastic Press.
ISBN 0439425190

Review:

“I have been accused of being anal retentive, an overachiever, and a compulsive perfectionist, like those are bad things.” Thus begins Millicent Min: Girl Genius, a novel by Lisa Yee. This statement made by Millicent, an eleven-year genius getting ready to start her senior year in high school, piques readers’ interest and their desire to learn more about Millicent, who may have an IQ that is off the chart, but still faces the same problems with friends and family that all young girls encounter. Through a series of short, humorous journal entries written over the course of one summer, readers learn the inner thoughts of this California girl who is facing a number of dilemmas: Can she survive volleyball? How long can she keep her IQ a secret from her new best friend, Emily? Will she be able to stand tutoring her “mortal enemy”, the jock Stanford? And, is her mother really dying? While readers may find Millicent a little smug at times, they will laugh out loud at her attempts at being normal, such as writing a “list of potential topics to explore with Emily. They included: 1) History of the Be-Dazzler (I found out it is a clever sewing apparatus. . .); 2) volleyball: elevating or enervating?; and 3) Joan of Arc and other misunderstood adolescents like ourselves.” How many twelve-year olds would create a list like this before a sleepover? Yee balances out Millicent’s seriousness by introducing a unique set of supporting characters including Maddie, Millicent’s grandmother and best friend, a free spirit who is getting ready to study Feng Shui in London and “tour Europe ‘until they kick me out or the money dries up,’” and Millicent’s Dad, a “skateboard, Frisbee, and Nerf Ball fanatic” who likes to play Rock’em Sock’em Robots. As readers are introduced to Millicent’s world, they will discover that Millicent is not so different from them. Like all kids, she just wants a friend. Lisa Yee weaves a realistic story about Millicent’s attempts at “having a friend my own age” and the worries faced by all tweens as they follow the rocky road of friendships. In the end, readers will realize that if Millicent can survive her dilemmas, then they just might make it as well.