Jack and the Geniuses #1: At the Bottom of the World by Bill Nye & Gregory Mone

Have you seen the new building with no entrances, over by the pizza place? Something in there grabbed my sister's drone, and I fell while trying to scale the walls up to a window. Turns out, THE Dr. Hank Witherspoon owns the building, and he hired my family to work for him. Actually, he hired my genius sister and genius brother, and I was part of the deal. After a couple of months, I was ready to quit when Hank said we were traveling to Antarctica! It wasn't my first choice for a vacation, but it beat cleaning and organizing the labs. However, when we arrived, we discovered Hank's friend was missing. She supposedly discovered something that would change the world, but no one knows what she found. Surviving in the frigid desert was nearly impossible, so I made it my mission to save her. 

I chose this book because one of the authors is Bill Nye the Science Guy, and science is clearly at the forefront of the plot. The inventions included are fairly realistic, which keeps the book from becoming a fantasy. There are a couple of pages at the end that even describe how the ideas for some of the inventions come from real ones created by kids. The authors do a wonderful job of including scientific information without interrupting the flow of the book. The underlying story describes efforts to change salt water to fresh water and maintaining ice masses in Antarctica. Finding Hank's missing friend becomes the focus of the plot, as Jack wouldn't give up on the mystery of her disappearance. The book is full of suspects, much like a game of Clue, and the director of the science lab wants to find any reason to get rid of the kids. Jack is a foster child and lives with his foster brother and sister. Ava invents things, Matt is great at math, and Jack usually feels worthless next to them. However, Jack comes up with clever plans and adds humor to the story. Overall, I enjoy the simple fun of the book, and recommend you give it a shot. Lovers of science and mysteries should appreciate it. I plan to read the sequel, In the Deep Blue Sea.