The Smartest Kid in the Universe Book 2: Genius Camp

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Twelve-year-old Jake McQuade had never flown a military helicopter behind enemy lines, but it really wasn t all that hard.

Sure, bad guys kept firing machine guns and mortars and Hydra rockets at him, but Jake and his chopper dodged all the incoming fire.

Well done, son! said the general strapped in beside him.

Just using my math and geometry skills, sir.

Now we need to go rescue the hostages!

Six pulsing green dots throbbed on the holographic display projected on the whirlybird s windshield. They showed Jake the precise location of the hostages: trapped behind the walls of a heavily armed desert fortress the helicopter was heading to.

A nasty new fireball erupted on Jake s right. Another near miss. He jerked the joystick to the left.

Warning, said the on-board computer. Fighter jet on your tail. Prepare for missile attack.

Two can play at that game, said Jake. He punched in a string of code--an algorithm he d actually written himself--that would command his starboard Sidewinder missile to execute a complex backward, loop-the-loop, boomerang shot that no chopper pilot had ever dared attempt before.

If the next missile hits us, son, we re toast! barked the general. Toast!

Hold off on the marmalade, sir!

Jake punched the launch button.

The rocket streaked away in a blistering plume of white. It arced up and over the helicopter, flipped back around, and surprised the enemy jet with a direct heat-seeking hit to its tailpipe.

BA-BOOM!

Woo-hoo! cried Jake, doing a quick arm-chugging, hip-swiveling chair dance.

Well done! shouted the general.

Math and physics, sir. Math and physics.

A two-note danger signal blared.

Fish sticks! shouted the general. That was our final weapon! More angry warning lights throbbed up and down the control panel. The bad guys still have rockets, mortars,

Chris Grabenstein

Here's what people are saying about The Smartest Kid in the Universe:

"Clever, fast-paced and incredibly funny Chris Grabenstein has done it again." Stuart Gibbs, New York Times bestselling author of Spy School

It s pure jelly-bean-enhanced entertainment and a perfect escape. . . . A rollicking good time. New York Times

Grabenstein is the author of the best-selling Mr. Lemoncello series, and this new volume, packed with wacky hijinks, will appeal to his legions of fans. Booklist, starred review 

Grabenstein delivers once again...with a book that will appeal to even the most reluctant readers. School Library Journal, starred review

"Grabenstein returns with another fact-filled, puzzle-packed, multigenre romp. High-paced humor . . . Clever, concise, and compelling."  Kirkus Reviews

This amusing adventure also works as a humorous love letter to public education and dedicated teachers.   Publisher s Weekly