Author: Stuart Gibbs
Illustrator (cover): Lucy Ruth Cummins
© Date: 2019
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 388
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: No
Publisher Recommended Age: 10 years and up
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No
Summary from Book:
Charlie Thorne is a genius.
Charlie Thorne is a thief.
Charlie Thorne isn’t old enough to drive.
And now it’s up to her to save the world.
Decades ago, Albert Einstein devised an equation that could benefit all life on earth—or destroy it. Fearing what would happen if the equation fell into the wrong hands, he hid it.
But now a diabolical group known as the Furies is closing in on its location. In desperation, a team of CIA agents drags Charlie into the hunt, needing her brilliance to help them find it first-even though this means placing her life in grave danger.
In a breakneck adventure that spans the globe, Charlie must crack a complex code created by Einstein himself, struggle to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and fight to keep the last equation safe once and for all.
Page Pig Thoughts: This one does not have a standard rating image because I am writing these notes without finishing the book (got to about page 90). I felt like I should add some thoughts anyway. This one is a spy thriller story that seems more appropriate for an older reader. I did not find any lighthearted humor in the portion that I read. Which isn’t the end of the world, but merits noting because the other Stuart Gibbs books that I read (FunJungle [review] and Once Upon a Tim [review]) were humorous.
The part I read was a page turner and kept my curiosity going for where the story would go. I could see someone really getting into this story. I just wasn’t in the mood for a heavy, spy thriller and made the rare decision to stop reading an intriguing book.
Use caution with younger or sensitive readers, this one has racial issues and the potential for heavy action.
Family Unit: Charlie Thorne (12 yo) lives on her own at college now, her parents are somewhere
Items of Interest:
- The opening scene is Albert Einstein’s deathbed and his final moments.
- Charlie Thorne is off the charts smart, she has seen numbers in her head and been capable of doing advanced math from the age of 5.
- The CIA tapped Einstein’s home and has been looking for his lost, secret equation since he died around 70 years earlier. The equation is an easier way to produce energy from mass. Einstein did not trust humanity with this secret equation because it could be used to destroy the world. His morphine laced mutterings have him divulge a riddle for how to find the secret equation.
- A terrorist cell, the Furies, is close to finding the lost equation. A chapter followed the story of the head guy, Alexei. He envisions blowing up ports and wiping out the rats’ nests that bring in foul, uneducated, inferior race refugees with repugnant food and abominable customs. He and other Europeans have been having a hard time finding work because the lowly refugees come in and take all of the good jobs. He sees a boat coming in with refugees that nearly drowned and wishes that the fisherman had not saved the refugees.
- Alexei meets a KGB spy who tells an old story of capturing an American spy. The American offered secrets in return for his life. After spilling his secrets, the American was killed anyhow.
- At some point in the past, Charlie Thorne secretly stole forty million dollars and stashed it away. She has been constantly looking over her shoulder in case anyone tracks her down.
- Thanks to her intelligence, Charlie is headstrong and a step ahead of the game in life. She does not go to her college classes but aces the tests anyway.
- The CIA secretly and reluctantly hires Charlie to help them find Einstein’s lost equation so that the Furies do not destroy the world. She reluctantly agrees to help.
- As I was skimming the book to decide whether I wanted to continue, the CIA agent that brings Charlie in on the case is her half brother. The CIA director also puts out an order to kill Charlie Thorne after she uncovers the secret equation.
- My skimming also indicated that the end of the book has explosions, bullets flying, and a big fire.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Book 2 – Charlie Thorne and Lost City
- Book 3 – Charlie Thorne and Curse of Cleopatra
- Book 4 – Charlie Thorne and the Royal Society