FernFolio

It is hard to be a child with an IQ of over 200.  Eleven-year-old Amanda Forsythe has had to contend with the taunting and insults of classmates, irritation from teachers, and the incomprehension of her parents.  When her science fair project on photon-sail space travel results in mutterings from the school principal about delusion and psychosis, and her mother urges her to “try to act normal,” Amanda realizes sadly that there is no one who understands or values her ideas.
When Dr. Glays Oppenheimer and her colleague Professor Mildred Leitspied, of STAR Academy, a new school for gifted children, approach Amanda, and commend her on her research, the girl is flattered and, for the first time, feels valued for her intellectual abilities.  Invited to sit the Academy’s entrance exams, she is taken aback by the questions posed but applies herself to the best of her abilities.  When she is offered a full scholarship to STAR Academy, Amanda is eager to attend, entranced by the idea of meeting and working with others like herself, and soon finds herself far from home sitting in the back of ta chauffeur-driven car approaching the gates of the Academy.
A few of the Academy’s procedures have Amanda wondering, briefly, about what is going on.  The headmistress, Dr. Oppenheimer, implants a microchip in her arm and attaches a bracelet to her right leg that looks suspiciously like a tracking bracelet used for paroled criminals.  But she forgets her concerns when she sees the state-of-the-art science equipment available for student use and makes friends with her roommate Evelyn, and with Derek and his roommate Sanjay.  Soon Amanda is happily ensconced in life at STAR Academy, attending classes, working on individual and group projects, and enjoying the first real friends she has ever had.
Then Sanjay makes an unnerving discovery about the Academy that threatens his safety and that of every other student.  Determined to collect proof of his assertions, he is caught and captured by an enemy that may be too powerful to overcome.  It will take the combined efforts of Derek, Evelyn and Amanda to outwit their enemies, and save Sanjay and… the world.
Written by Edward Kay, STAR Academy is an adventure story with plenty of excitement, humour and surprises that takes a most unexpected turn!  It is sure to appeal to readers from Grade 5 up!
FernFolio Editor