Island of the Unknowns

April 27, 2009
This first novel's promising premise—Carey (a New York Times
science reporter) uses mathematical equations and theorems as clues to a mystery—sinks under the weight of burdensome plotting and characters' hypothesizing. Spearheading the sleuthing are Di and Tom, seventh-grade misfits determined to find Mrs. Clarke, a kindly neighbor who helps them with their math homework, after she vanishes. The kids live in a bleak trailer park located beside an underground nuclear plant, made all the more unsavory by the nearby dump, Mt. Trashmore, “an entire rotting universe, reeking like sugary vomit.” Deciphering notations left by Mrs. Clarke, the kids draw a map that leads them to underground tunnels, which they suspect hold the key to the woman's disappearance. The maps—simple diagrams that grow as information is uncovered—help elucidate their discoveries, yet digressions and a steady stream of data (“The Trashmore entrance was eight hundred yards above the x-axis. But the tunnel angled inward one hundred yards for every four hundred it moved downward”) may dampen interest in what feels like an extended, if adventurous, story problem. Ages 10–up.

October 1, 2009
Gr 6-8-This clever and unusual mystery is tailor made for young mathematicians. Lady Di and Tom Jones live in Folsom Adjacent, a godforsaken trailer park named after the giant power plant that shares the small coastal island. When people start vanishing from this nuclear nowhere, the two 11-year-olds investigate, using mathematical cues left behind by their missing math tutor. Equations, right triangles, pi, coordinates, and slope help the kids and some of their similarly outcast friends negotiate a massive maze of underground tunnels to access the plant and discover a nefarious scheme that will destroy the island. Carey is particularly adept at creating setting: the landscape is raw, desolate, and nearly apocalyptic. Math moves the plot along, at times at the expense of character development. Replete with diagrams, charts, and illustrated problems, the book will appeal especially to kids who love geometry, but it will also reel in fans of less numbers-centric books such as Eric Berlin's "The Puzzling World of Winston Breen" (Putnam, 2007) or Ellen Raskin's "The Westing Game" (Puffin, 1992)."Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2009
Grades 6-10 Math is the key to solving the mystery in this fast-paced adventure about a group of seventh-grade misfits who discover secrets surrounding the energy plant next to their trailer park. After their teacher disappears, the kidsstumble across mysteriousclues that she left behind. Di, Tom, and three more classmates band together, and their sleuthing takes them through claustrophobic man-made tunnels, secret underground workstations, and horrifying mountains of trash before they finally expose a team of powerful and corrupt grown-ups. Computers are part of the detective work: essential clues are on the teachers flash drive, and the details about how the kids crack the code and get the password will hook young readers. Science and math buffs will love the equations and charts, but even those bored by the technical details will be swept up in the fast talk and exciting action.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
After their math tutor disappears, Di and Tom discover a series of clues leading from their trailer park to a nearby power plant. As the two eleven-year-olds unravel the mystery, they learn about the Pythagorean theorem, slope, Cartesian coordinates--and a conspiracy. The math gets tough and the story sometimes feels overburdened with detail, but the characters are quirky and memorable.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)