[I received an electronic review copy from Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Ellie, the star of The Fourteenth Goldfish, is back. In that book, Ellie discovered her grandfather, Melvin, had found a way to get younger. He was on his second trip through adolescence.
In this book, Melvin is back, and Ellie is glad to have him around. She asks him to help her with an experiment for the science fair. They decide to use an axolotl Melvin found that had two extra legs. They use wingless fruit flies to see if the axolotl cells would cause any structural changes in the fruit flies. And some of the wingless fruit flies grow wings! On its own, that’s astonishing. But not nearly as stunning as Melvin regrowing his appendix when he injects some cells from the axolotl into himself!
In the middle of all the amazing science, there are some relationship things happening for both Melvin and Ellie, but they are complicated. Why can’t everything just get better, like with the axolotl experiment?
Review
This was an absolute delight! It took a little while for the two pieces – the science piece and the relationship piece – to tie together, but when they did, it was perfect. I love these characters!
If you haven’t read The Fourteenth Goldfish, I highly recommend it, but you don’t have to have read it to enjoy this. The only real reference to the first story is about Melvin’s age. If you accept that Melvin is a scientist who figured out how to get younger, that’s all you need to know for this book. But it’s a great story, so by all means, check it out.
I love the science emphasis in this! The end notes include additional details on the scientists mentioned throughout the book. There are great tie-ins for teachers and classrooms regarding the scientific method and science fairs.
My favorite part is the heart of this. The relationships between the characters, the emotions for different events in the book, and the delightful ending were perfect. It was all so fun to read.
Hand this to any upper elementary or middle school kid you know. There’s something here for kids who love science, kids who love science fiction, kids who love family stories, and more. Highly recommend.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
