Book Report by Aarene Storms: Genius

Genius by Steven T. Seagle & Teddy Kristiansen (graphic novel)

As a pre-adolescent, Ted Halker was a genius, the kid who skipped several grades in school because the teachers couldn't teach as fast as he could learn. As an adult, though, Ted seems to be running out of ideas...just when his wife and teenaged kids (and the director of the physics think tank where he works) seem to need a really fabulous idea.

Help may come, in the form of Ted's rickety father-in-law, who boasts that he worked briefly as a body guard to Albert Einstein, and who claims that the great physicist once told him an important secret. In the meantime, Ted is busy trying to catch up on learning the "heart knowledge" that he somehow managed not to learn as a kid.   

Beautifully illustrated, this graphic novel tells a small, but lovely story. Ted's musings on the nature of the universe are fascinating, but his conversations with his 14-year-old horn-dog son are priceless. 

Rating:

Recommended for adult readers who like a bit of introspection. The story is not inappropriate for teen readers, but not many will be interested in the mid-life crisis tale of a nerd, even one told in graphic novel format.

The events may not have happened; still, the story is true.  --R. Silvern

Aarene Storms, youth services librarian

Richmond Beach and Lake Forest Park Libraries, KCLS