Yee, L. (2003). Millicent Min, girl genius. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.
Interest Level: 3-6
Reading Level: 5.7
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Subjects: Gifted children, friendship, Chinese Americans, Diaries, School, Volleyball.
The smarter you are the harder it can be.
Millie learned to read when she was only three years old and by the time she entered kindergarten she was kicked out because she was too smart. She started high school when she was only 10-years-old, managed to skip another grade and will be graduating high school next school year. Currently, Millie is only 11-years-old, literally a genius, or that’s what the tests say. She can excel beyond that of even current college students but totally clueless when it comes to a social life.
Millie is often left out, not for any logical reason she can comprehend but rather she’s disliked for breaking and setting new grading curves that every other student older than her must meet. Because of it, almost no one wants her as a friend. She’s ecstatic when a student at the local community college becomes her friend for the sole reason to use Millie to do her psychology homework. How will Millie ever fit in? All is about to change when her mother decides it’s time for her to do something her own age. Her mom signs her up for volleyball camp where she meets Emily who is new to town. Being a little overweight Emily knows what being different can be like. Millie who wants to give being “normal” a try, realizes she has to pretend to be someone she’s not. And, when she has to tutor Stanford Wong who doesn’t want anyone to know he’s being tutored by Millie, and both Emily and Stanford start liking one another everything becomes all the more complicated. Emily misunderstands when she sees the two at the library during one study session. Emily believes Stanford is tutoring Millie. This actually helps Millie keep up her disguise of not being a genius and Stanford for once is viewed as smart and likes it. Through ups and downs, normal Emily and genius Millie learn that BFF’s is possible.
This is a fun, quirky and heartwarming story that anyone who’s ever felt smarter than the average person may be able to easily relate to. But also, anyone for whatever reason has been labeled as a social outcast will be able to identify with. Millicent Min, Girl Genius is an excellent book for tweens. It’s a good book that teaches the importance of trust, honesty, and empathy as you read how everything gets more and more complicated between Stanford, Millie, and Emily. If you like Millicent Min, Girl Genius then you may also want to read other Lisa Yee books such as; So Totally Emily Ebers and Stanford Wong Flunks Out Big Time. All three of these Lisa Yee books can be read in any order as each book individually tells the events of the summer from the point of view of either Millie, Emily, or Stanford. You may also enjoy reading Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan, Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass, and The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng.
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