NPGalileo

Ninjas, Piranhas, & Galileo

Elias, Shohei, and Honoria are a trio of teenagers united in the attempt at survival at their magnet school. They are bright, quirky, determined, and mischievous. They are trying to cope with their classes, impossible parents, and an array of mixed emotions among their group. Elias is secretly in love with Honoria, who does nothing but talk about how much she is in love with Shohei, and Shohei is much too preoccupied with his own family matters to notice any of this. He is a Japanese-born adopted son, and his parents are constantly forcing him to �take pride in my Japanese heritage" and who claim that his

�ancestors are speaking to you...[and] we�re going to help you hear.� Meanwhile, he is sending anonymous love letters to Honoria as a �favor� to Eli, who never asked him to do this. It all lends itself to many comical situations and plenty of mayhem. When the two boys are forced by their parents to join the science fair, their way of finding an easy way out completely backfires on them. Elias copies his brother�s award-winning project from previous years, and Shohei simply copies Elias� results. Honoria, on the other hand, is determined to win this year�s contest and decides that she will try to teach a pair of piranhas to become vegetarian.
          The author�s use of alternating first-person narration adds spice to the story. Readers get to see opposing views to the same situations and will enjoy jumping from character to character during the story. For example, readers will be silent witnesses to the mayhem that is created when Honoria thinks a different boy sent her the e-mail. She e-mails him directly and tells him, "I am not your dearest....Your attempt to hide your identity is lame and stupid." In the meantime, we notice the sudden change in Elias when he finds out about Shohei's letters. The constant change in narrator keeps the story fast paced and entertaining at all times.
          Whether at a magnet school, or at a regular public school, readers may relate to situations such as getting caught cheating, having to deal with a difficult teacher, and competing against a disagreeable classmate. There is plenty of technology being used at all times (laptops, e-mails, time-lapse recordings, etc.) which help it reach out even more to readers of today. Both male and female young readers will enjoy it, due to the fact that the protagonists are both male and female, and take an equal role in narrating the story. This is a book which attracts a wide variety of audiences. Whether male or female, public or private school students, this is one book which readers will have a difficult time not laughing out loud to!

Smith, Greg L. 2003. Ninjas, piranhas, & Galileo. New York: Little, Brown & Co. ISBN
          0-316-77854-0.

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