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Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo
Best friends Elias, Shohei, and Honoria had a bond that couldn't be broken, but as time went on and the trio grew up, the strains began to show as different personalities and goals made it difficult for three such unique people to find a working balance.
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First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
September 5, 2010
This is one of those books that I did not expect to read but I was bored enough that I would read anything (aka I was in English class and my teacher decided that her opinion is the most important thing in the universe so I read a book of her bookshelves in the back of the class instead of listening). I found it hilarious since it exaggerated everything. I could related to them since I was in a group that were considered nerds yet we were the ones exaggerating how nerdy everyone else thought we were. I don’t really know why but it was captivating! I ended it the same day and force most people to read it as well. So I will recommended just don’t take it to seriously of expect a lot out of it. It is just one of those books that are good to read when there is just nothing better to do.
October 5, 2011
The adults in this book are all so over-the-top caricatures that I disliked reading it. While three seventh-grade friends are the focus, the adults appear enough to make it annoying. For example, I find it hard to believe that such a non-scientific science teacher would be employed by the uber-elite school depicted in this book. Giving a student zero points for Methodology when he clearly did an experiment but just didn't achieve the teacher's desired results? A little far-fetched. I enjoyed the historical end notes better than most of the book.
May 18, 2009
This book is book is pretty bad. I don't see the point of the book. The Author Greg Leitich Smith wasted his paper by writing this story. I'm giving this book no stars.
January 19, 2020
I loved this! It's like a call to arms for the nerds. What I most appreciate is that being smart and studying hard is positive in this book. I enjoyed this when I was still in school and years later I still enjoy it. It's extremely creative and dorky and I simply adore it.
I think the age I read it was about sixteen but I imagine 12 is about the age this works best.
I would guess some negative reviews were related to how a group of animal rights activists were depicted as being extremist.... Well in the book they were. The book is bent in the direction of responsible and considerate testing with animals that keeps their wellbeing as a priority, from that viewpoint Freddy and her crew are being extreme. I am not a fan of animal testing in real life but in this book the experiment was "do piranhas like meat or banana better" and the piranhas were clearly adored and cared for by Honoria I had no issue with it. It's like when I "test" to see if my dog prefers blueberry or peanut butter treats or try him on a new diet to see if it improves his coat, Beef kibble v chicken kibble.
So i you lean on the more extreme side and are against any and all animal testing or experiments with animals you will have a problem with this no matter what and should save yourself the trouble of reading it.
I think the age I read it was about sixteen but I imagine 12 is about the age this works best.
I would guess some negative reviews were related to how a group of animal rights activists were depicted as being extremist.... Well in the book they were. The book is bent in the direction of responsible and considerate testing with animals that keeps their wellbeing as a priority, from that viewpoint Freddy and her crew are being extreme. I am not a fan of animal testing in real life but in this book the experiment was "do piranhas like meat or banana better" and the piranhas were clearly adored and cared for by Honoria I had no issue with it. It's like when I "test" to see if my dog prefers blueberry or peanut butter treats or try him on a new diet to see if it improves his coat, Beef kibble v chicken kibble.
So i you lean on the more extreme side and are against any and all animal testing or experiments with animals you will have a problem with this no matter what and should save yourself the trouble of reading it.
August 21, 2017
The title held so much promise. The book is written from three characters' alternating perspectives. Unfortunately, all the characters' voice sound the same. I kept having to go back and look at the chapter title (named by character) to see which character's perspective I was reading. If the disctinctions had been individualized with better voice for each character, I wouldn't have given up before page 50.
January 9, 2023
This story is told in short chapters from the perspective of each of the three characters, Elias, Honoria, Shohei. The three attend the Preshtigo School in Chicago. They have been best friends for nearly as long as they can remember but now some cracks are showing in their friendships. Honoria likes Shohei, Elias likes Honoria. But that is not all their problems; Shohei has been allowed to duplicate Elias's science fair project to verify the results. But he is not holding up his end of the bargain.
This is a story with boa constrictors, piranhas, and science fairs gone awry. It is also a story about friendships, forgiveness and learning to make things right. Written in a way that will make you laugh, make you smile and maybe learn a little science along the way. It is a wonderful novel and won the Parent's Choice Gold Award. It was a great, fun read.
This is a story with boa constrictors, piranhas, and science fairs gone awry. It is also a story about friendships, forgiveness and learning to make things right. Written in a way that will make you laugh, make you smile and maybe learn a little science along the way. It is a wonderful novel and won the Parent's Choice Gold Award. It was a great, fun read.
November 2, 2010
Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo is a very unique book. There are three main characters: Elias, Shohei, and Honoria. They are best friends and go to a very strict school. Elias is a young boy who's dad has a PhD in physics and music and his mom is an expert in music. Shohei is more of a laid back type of guy, very opposite of Elias.He is Japanese but was adopted. His parents insist that he tries all these Japanese things so he can become closer to his ancestors. Then there is Honoria, she is a smart girl who wonders about things in life. At the school they go to, The Peshtigo School, there is a science fair coming up. Honoria's project is on whether piranhas can prefer bananas over meat. Elias decides to re-do his older brother's project, if music affects plant growth. Shohei, however, always waits until the last minute to start a project. This time he partners up with Elias. Honoria has always competed in the school science fair, but a student named Goliath Reed seems to always beat her by winning first place.
Elias has always had a crush on Honoria but Honoria had told Elias that she liked Shohei. Shohei never knew about Honoria's crush on him, but he did know who Elias liked. So Shohei had tried getting Honoria and Elias together by sending e-mails to Honoria. Shohei pretended he was Elias sending the e-mails. Honoria read the e-mails and thought it had been Goliath Reed who kept sending these messages. It caused a bunch of confusion, but in the end Honoria had figured who it really was. Elias and Honoria never truly went out, but they stayed close friends.
The science fair had made Elias stressed out because he wasn't getting the same results as his brother's. His brother had "proved" classical music can make plants grow. A teacher had used these results to redesign the garden at The Peshtigo School by adding classical music. Elias wondered if his older brother had forged his results and convinced his teacher into believing music did affect plants. So Elias sneaks into the garden and switches the music. He gets caught and now he must face the consequences by going into a court trial at his school. Honoria decides to defend him. In the end, Elias is innocent, and the teacher figures out about the real results of the project. In other words, "They lived happily ever after."
This book is not like ordinary books. Each chapter has one of the main characters writing in their point of view. This type of writing does help with the understanding of the story, because the reader gets to feel the emotions of each type of character. The school itself is not like ordinary public school and has a bunch of criteria the students have to meet. It mostly sounds like all the students there are intelligent. If this school was real then I would've enjoyed to be in this school. I think this book had real life situations because it contains crushes and friend relationships. For example, what can ruin it and how it progresses. I enjoyed reading the book but there were sometimes when I didn't understand some of the words used. All in all, I think it was great and I would recommend it to kids in middle school.
Elias has always had a crush on Honoria but Honoria had told Elias that she liked Shohei. Shohei never knew about Honoria's crush on him, but he did know who Elias liked. So Shohei had tried getting Honoria and Elias together by sending e-mails to Honoria. Shohei pretended he was Elias sending the e-mails. Honoria read the e-mails and thought it had been Goliath Reed who kept sending these messages. It caused a bunch of confusion, but in the end Honoria had figured who it really was. Elias and Honoria never truly went out, but they stayed close friends.
The science fair had made Elias stressed out because he wasn't getting the same results as his brother's. His brother had "proved" classical music can make plants grow. A teacher had used these results to redesign the garden at The Peshtigo School by adding classical music. Elias wondered if his older brother had forged his results and convinced his teacher into believing music did affect plants. So Elias sneaks into the garden and switches the music. He gets caught and now he must face the consequences by going into a court trial at his school. Honoria decides to defend him. In the end, Elias is innocent, and the teacher figures out about the real results of the project. In other words, "They lived happily ever after."
This book is not like ordinary books. Each chapter has one of the main characters writing in their point of view. This type of writing does help with the understanding of the story, because the reader gets to feel the emotions of each type of character. The school itself is not like ordinary public school and has a bunch of criteria the students have to meet. It mostly sounds like all the students there are intelligent. If this school was real then I would've enjoyed to be in this school. I think this book had real life situations because it contains crushes and friend relationships. For example, what can ruin it and how it progresses. I enjoyed reading the book but there were sometimes when I didn't understand some of the words used. All in all, I think it was great and I would recommend it to kids in middle school.
June 17, 2015
Greg Leitich Smith’s Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo is the story of three best friends: Elias, Honoria, and Shohei. The three friends attend a science magnet school in Chicago called the Peshtigo School. Elias comes from a family of musicians and scientists and wants to do well in the school science fair. He decides to replicate the experiment of one of his brothers, involving playing music to plants to stimulate their growth. Elias also has a crush on Honoria, but Honoria has a crush on Shohei. Honoria serves as a defense attorney for the school’s disciplinary court and is trying to train piranhas to prefer bananas for her science experiment. Shohei is Japanese American and has been adopted into an Irish American family. Shohei’s parents seem to be obsessed with the idea of Shohei learning more about his Japanese heritage. Shohei is oblivious to Honoria’s crush and seems to be more of a slacker than the other kids. He helps Elias with his project, but bribes his little brother Tim to do the work for him.
Problems develop regarding Elias’s science project. Elias does not get the same results that his brother did, and after Shohei’s half of the project is destroyed, he fakes answers that contradict Elias’s. After a humiliating scolding from his science teacher, Elias ends up with a horrible grade and is furious with Shohei. He breaks into the school and switches the CD that constantly plays to the plants in the atrium in hopes of proving that music has no effect on plants. He is caught and Honoria must defend him in the trial. The mismatched crushes also lead to troubles, with an angry Honoria realizing that the secret admirer emails she has been receiving are not from Shohei, but instead were written by Shohei for Elias. In the end, all is straightened out. Shohei gets his parents to lay off the forced appreciation for Japanese culture. Elias clears his name by agreeing to replicate the experiment again under the supervision of his teacher. And Elias and Honoria may be on their way to being more than “just friends.”
The story is told from three different viewpoints: that of Honoria, Shohei, and Elias. By presenting the plot from the perspective of all the main characters, Leitich Smith allows the reader to become more immersed in the characters and to better distinguish among them. Humor and exaggeration are used to entertain and pull the story along. For example, Shohei’s parents’ actions regarding the instillation of Japanese culture into their son are comical in their extremity. Although the kids’ school experience is different from those in public schools, kids will relate to the struggles they face: a difficult teacher with a personal grudge against a student, the desire to perform well in front of one’s peers, and the angst and uncertainty of a first crush.
Some aspects of the story seem a bit over the top and unrealistic. For example, it is doubtful that a grouchy old teacher like Mr. Eden would tolerate being blackmailed by his students. In the end, however, it is all in good fun. Junior high kids will likely really enjoy this book, especially those who are interested in the sciences or designated as “gifted and talented.”
Problems develop regarding Elias’s science project. Elias does not get the same results that his brother did, and after Shohei’s half of the project is destroyed, he fakes answers that contradict Elias’s. After a humiliating scolding from his science teacher, Elias ends up with a horrible grade and is furious with Shohei. He breaks into the school and switches the CD that constantly plays to the plants in the atrium in hopes of proving that music has no effect on plants. He is caught and Honoria must defend him in the trial. The mismatched crushes also lead to troubles, with an angry Honoria realizing that the secret admirer emails she has been receiving are not from Shohei, but instead were written by Shohei for Elias. In the end, all is straightened out. Shohei gets his parents to lay off the forced appreciation for Japanese culture. Elias clears his name by agreeing to replicate the experiment again under the supervision of his teacher. And Elias and Honoria may be on their way to being more than “just friends.”
The story is told from three different viewpoints: that of Honoria, Shohei, and Elias. By presenting the plot from the perspective of all the main characters, Leitich Smith allows the reader to become more immersed in the characters and to better distinguish among them. Humor and exaggeration are used to entertain and pull the story along. For example, Shohei’s parents’ actions regarding the instillation of Japanese culture into their son are comical in their extremity. Although the kids’ school experience is different from those in public schools, kids will relate to the struggles they face: a difficult teacher with a personal grudge against a student, the desire to perform well in front of one’s peers, and the angst and uncertainty of a first crush.
Some aspects of the story seem a bit over the top and unrealistic. For example, it is doubtful that a grouchy old teacher like Mr. Eden would tolerate being blackmailed by his students. In the end, however, it is all in good fun. Junior high kids will likely really enjoy this book, especially those who are interested in the sciences or designated as “gifted and talented.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2012
Grade/Interest level: Upper Elementary
Reading level:750 L, Guided reading:X
Genre: Contemporary realistic Fiction
Main Characters: Eli, Shohei, and Honoria
Setting:Chicago, IL
POV: Eli, Shohei, and Honoria
This book follows the lives of three best friends named Eli, Shohei, and Honoria who attend 7th grade at a private school in Chicago. The book is told from all three of their points of view which is both fun and different. Elias is forced to do a science project by his father, but instead of doing his own project, he decides to use his older brothers project. Shohei lies about the results of the project and soon the teacher confronts them about it. Shohei is the laidback bestfriend who was adaopted ny Irish parents. He himself comes from a Japanese background, but he doesnt really know anything about the culture. His parents decide that he needs to know more about his background, so they begin to immerse him with Japanese culture. Honoria deals with being in love with her best friend which adds a little love triangle to the mix since she like Shohei while Eli like her.
This book would be great to use with middle school students. It addresses issues that they may face in school, but does so in a light and humourous way. I think they will like the love triangle in the book since many of them may be able to relate. I think this book would be great to use to integrate science since there it mentions the scientific method and what goes being working on a science project.
Reading level:750 L, Guided reading:X
Genre: Contemporary realistic Fiction
Main Characters: Eli, Shohei, and Honoria
Setting:Chicago, IL
POV: Eli, Shohei, and Honoria
This book follows the lives of three best friends named Eli, Shohei, and Honoria who attend 7th grade at a private school in Chicago. The book is told from all three of their points of view which is both fun and different. Elias is forced to do a science project by his father, but instead of doing his own project, he decides to use his older brothers project. Shohei lies about the results of the project and soon the teacher confronts them about it. Shohei is the laidback bestfriend who was adaopted ny Irish parents. He himself comes from a Japanese background, but he doesnt really know anything about the culture. His parents decide that he needs to know more about his background, so they begin to immerse him with Japanese culture. Honoria deals with being in love with her best friend which adds a little love triangle to the mix since she like Shohei while Eli like her.
This book would be great to use with middle school students. It addresses issues that they may face in school, but does so in a light and humourous way. I think they will like the love triangle in the book since many of them may be able to relate. I think this book would be great to use to integrate science since there it mentions the scientific method and what goes being working on a science project.
October 18, 2011
Ages 12-16. This young adult novel features three narrators who are best friends and students at a gifted high school. The story centers around the science fair, and the relationships the narrators have with each other, their peers and their families. This novel, then, appears in many ways to be unoriginal, the variety of young adult novel that has many permutations and of which there are already many in most youth collections. To be sure, this is often because the experience of being a young adult in high school is not precisely individual, and thus much young adult fiction which tries to accurately represent young adult life is very similar. If the plot is unoriginal, Smith makes up for it with his witty and honest characters, his accurate representation of parents through the eyes of high school students, and finally, a knack for understanding the relationship between young adults and technology. Moreover, this novel is standard fare for young adult literature, but it's written well, and would be a good purchase for a youth collection at a public or high school library that is low on fiction about modern, young adult life.
February 24, 2010
Plot Summary: This book featured three middle school students who are best friends - there are two boys and one girl. The three students enjoy science and they all compete in the science fair. There was a little middle school romance that took place with the girl and one of the boys. They attend Peshtigo School
Main Characters: Shohei - lazy, adopted, Japanese hertiage, parents are Irish. At some points in the book, he tries/his parents want him to get in touch with his roots
Honoria - the girl in the group of friends, competitive, always gets second place at the science fair, gets picked on/teased by Goliath Reed (male classmate)
Elias - Forced to do science pair project by his father. father seemed strict, Elias had older, intelligent, successful siblings
Key Issues: science terms, science, friendships, growing up, understanding cultures
Other interesting information: If you liked this book, here are a couple more by Greg Leitich Smith: Tofu and T-Rex and Santa Knows
Main Characters: Shohei - lazy, adopted, Japanese hertiage, parents are Irish. At some points in the book, he tries/his parents want him to get in touch with his roots
Honoria - the girl in the group of friends, competitive, always gets second place at the science fair, gets picked on/teased by Goliath Reed (male classmate)
Elias - Forced to do science pair project by his father. father seemed strict, Elias had older, intelligent, successful siblings
Key Issues: science terms, science, friendships, growing up, understanding cultures
Other interesting information: If you liked this book, here are a couple more by Greg Leitich Smith: Tofu and T-Rex and Santa Knows
April 30, 2011
I enjoyed this book. My boyfriend picked it out as an audio book for a recent trip and we both laughed and found it to be a nice, fun listen. The book is told from alternating viewpoints of three middle school students, and the audio book has a different narrator for each character, which is nice. My favorite subplot involved Shohei, a boy adapted from Japan by Irish parents. His parents think it is important to get in touch with his Japanese heritage, and his protest is particularly amusing and colorful (there is neon-green hair dye involved). I found the science teacher to be a bit too much of a caricature of a mean teacher to be believable. The librarian character starts out as a nice break from the stereotype, but then she makes some decisions I found to be not in line with the character I had met earlier, so that was a bit confusing to me.
Reading Scavenger Hunt: Stuffed animal (It was just a mention, but it was there. And it was a porcupine!)
Reading Scavenger Hunt: Stuffed animal (It was just a mention, but it was there. And it was a porcupine!)
July 5, 2010
This story appealed to me. Three kids in a science magnet school are stuck in an odd love/friend triangle while trying to compete in a science fair. There are struggles with culture, with grades and parental expectations, with unreasonable teachers and jerks. I liked how the bits of story came together, how the ending was reached just as it should be, but still had some twist, and the characters were kids I related to.
I think that readers who enjoy realistic fiction might like this, readers who are themselves feeling the pressure of expectation and the temptation to cheat. The love triangle is told more from a boy's perspective (two-thirds boy, one-third girl), so it's not the typical girl languishing for boy story. I think this would be a good all-around read for middle school students.
Academic dishonesty. Animal rights and protest.
I think that readers who enjoy realistic fiction might like this, readers who are themselves feeling the pressure of expectation and the temptation to cheat. The love triangle is told more from a boy's perspective (two-thirds boy, one-third girl), so it's not the typical girl languishing for boy story. I think this would be a good all-around read for middle school students.
Academic dishonesty. Animal rights and protest.
June 6, 2015
This book was so much fun and also addressed the multicultural heritage quandrys raised by many many second generation children of immigrants. The way cultural heritage was presented was respectful and dead on. It is rare to find a book that addresses it so plainly from the point of view of the children who have to decide what to embrace of the cultures that they are stuck between. The culture of the characters, well, ok, I felt like the first chapter was my golden ticket to Geek Heaven but that is not a bad message for young readers- being smart and crazy about bugs should be okay. Even if you also spill cow hearts on your mom's Oriental rug while feeding your pet pirahnas for the science fair.
Read
September 6, 2016Good for teachers to use with their class(es) to reinforce point of view, humor, and to coordinate with the science teachers when doing the science fair.
September 13, 2009
An English teacher suggested this title when I asked her about a book that would go well with a 6th grade unit on the scientific method. The book has lots of humor and involves science facts that would lend itself well to classroom discussion. The students sound a bit mature for middle school. I'm going to suggest it to my Science teachers and see what they think.
December 1, 2009
This book was very VERY funny and can relate to anyone in the 8th Grade or High School. It is about this small group of friends that wants to fit in. They try to become popular until they find out about something more important. One of them wants to become School President and they work on a campaign together, but will this competition ruin their close friendship?
June 18, 2011
Interesting read but the writing style was meant for someone younger than me (even though I read it a few years ago), so while kinda funny, it was mostly amusing (as in, awww that's cute) for the most part. Wish I could write more but I don't really remember much about the story other than the fact that it was good. =P
October 20, 2011
Elias, Shohei, and Honoria are best friends at Pestigo School in Chicago. However, things aren't like they used to be. Elias's father is forcing him to enter the science fair and he like Honoria as more than a friend, but Honoria likes Shohei. Shohei is dealing with his family forcing him to live his Japanese heritage, and Eli is about to be in big trouble with the science teaher . . .
August 25, 2009
The characters in this book are supposed to be in middle school,
but it seemed like it was more like high school. I thought it was
entertaining, but more suitable for middle/high school students than elementary students.
but it seemed like it was more like high school. I thought it was
entertaining, but more suitable for middle/high school students than elementary students.
September 18, 2010
Not sure why I wasn't into this story - but I really didn't like it all that much. i thought it had an interesting format - told in a diary/journal format from the perspective of three different characters. But it just didn't hold my attention.
January 14, 2015
This book was interesting and face paced. It involves a 'love triangle' and a science fair. Smart and tame enough for me, and my two boys. Perfect for tweens, they really seemed to relate to the characters.
April 15, 2008
Cute enough young adult tale that explores the friendships that connect three young people as they grow up in an insulated group of gifted kids and well meaning parents.
April 7, 2008
fun and very well written the story though was sort of boring
which was a surprise than again i was reading it with a 102 fever.....so who knows
which was a surprise than again i was reading it with a 102 fever.....so who knows
February 18, 2009
I have to say this is the book I've liked (and my students have liked) best out of the tradebooks we're read so far this year. We are currently reading Wolf Rider, by Avi, which is pretty good.
December 11, 2008
This book is okay.
January 9, 2009
good book!!
January 20, 2009
A funny story for kids!
January 18, 2010
read on London trip
February 10, 2010
book 9 for 2010. A funny, clever MG novel sure to appeal to both boys and girls!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews