What do you think?
Rate this book
Genius Under Construction
Gabe Carpenter-St. Jude Academy's resident genius-is back for his final year of middle school. Some things have certainly changed from last year: his 'locker-won't-open' days seem to be over, his rolling backpack has been replaced by his grandpa's briefcase, he's now the basketball team's official analyst, and he, along with all of the other eighth graders, are allowed to sit on "The Rock." Other things have stayed exactly the same: Gabe has yet to figure out girls (especially his second best friend and crush, Maya), he's still in that class for gifted students, and his embarrassing bodily functions continue to well, embarrass him.
On the cusp of graduation, this eighth grade status brings some inescapable realities. Gabe, along with all of the other graduating students, must complete fifteen hours of community service. Thinking his talents would be best used in service to others academically, he picks tutoring. But when he finds out he will be working with a student who has a learning disability, things become a bit more complicated than expected.
At home, an envelope with an unfilled application to Carolina Science and Math High School is shoved in the bottom of his closet. With the deadline quickly approaching, Gabe is being pressured by his parents, grandma, and the memory of his dead grandpa to make a decision of whether or not to apply. He loves science, but is he willing to leave his friends behind to go there next year? Leave Maya? At least Gabe can still turn to St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, to help him along the way...
Join Gabe as he finishes up his last year of middle school, discovers how his giftedness can serve others, and follows his academic passion.
Themes include: service, gifts and limitations, friendship.
On the cusp of graduation, this eighth grade status brings some inescapable realities. Gabe, along with all of the other graduating students, must complete fifteen hours of community service. Thinking his talents would be best used in service to others academically, he picks tutoring. But when he finds out he will be working with a student who has a learning disability, things become a bit more complicated than expected.
At home, an envelope with an unfilled application to Carolina Science and Math High School is shoved in the bottom of his closet. With the deadline quickly approaching, Gabe is being pressured by his parents, grandma, and the memory of his dead grandpa to make a decision of whether or not to apply. He loves science, but is he willing to leave his friends behind to go there next year? Leave Maya? At least Gabe can still turn to St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, to help him along the way...
Join Gabe as he finishes up his last year of middle school, discovers how his giftedness can serve others, and follows his academic passion.
Themes include: service, gifts and limitations, friendship.
- GenresMiddle Grade
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
229 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 28, 2016
The boys really enjoy this series.
February 28, 2014
Marilee HaynesMarilee Haynes has done it again! A home run. A "crowd goes wild" moment. I kid you not, this book is just as good as the first book in the series a.k.a. Genius.
AND I want more. No seriously I want her to keep writing these books until they graduate high school. I'm totally into these books (and I'm not prepubescent by any stretch of the imagination. HA!).
I had the honor of reading and reviewing Genius Under Construction by Marilee Haynes., before it is released in mid-March 2014 (I think). Published by Pauline Books & Media, I can state emphatically if you have 5th - 8th graders in your home, you want these books on your shelves.
Gabe (a.k.a. Genius) is back this year with all of his old friends and a few new ones. They are in 8th grade now. They get to sit at the Rock. Rulers of the school!
Genius Under Construction is fictitious with reality mixed in. The nervous braniac who applies to the Science and Math High School and at the height of the interview process, accidentally hands one of the Panel is FLOG (fart log). Shattering! I wanted to cry for him. God bless him, he'd worked so hard. But he found a solution through prayer and family counsel, he went back and explained what happened. He showed REAL GUTS! It was awesome.
The genius in this book is that faith and life and hormones and bodily functions and death and anxiety and so much more - all intertwine to make us who we are. Weeding through all of these things makes these great children better people and better friends. It's loving and angst-ridden. They learn to apply our Catholic Faith to life -- learning about bodies (and bodily functions) and hormones, and stepping outside their comfort zones. They make a difference! WOOHOO!
To me, best part of this book is that being smart is fantastic. Sometimes smart children are ostracized and they end up minimizing themselves and feeling bad about themselves. They know they are different, but they can't do anything about it. But Mrs.Haynes makes smart children heroes. Smart is COOL! Smart is embraceable.
On a personal note, my child is like GABE. He is a genius. In a matter of days, he just read 20 chapters of Math, took four tests and missed two. Believe me when I tell you, his missing two may as well be the end of the world. It's hard to live in their brains until the maturity part catches up! You know? He's ten. He's different. He's the "weird one" in his mind.
I am so thankful that in this book series these children who are so smart are also athletes and pretty girls and that SMART is ok. Sure, their social skills need work. But they are learning to work through their anxieties and learning life is really pretty good. Just like my guy!
And by the way, Christopher (my child) also LOVES these books. It could be because of the FLOG. Why little boys love farting and gas of any kind is beyond me, but they do. It could be because this really smart boy Gabe makes the basketball team coaching staff by showing the coach that the stats he keeps can help the coach pick better players and run a better team. It could be that this year Gabe helps another young boy Harry to feel more comfortable in his own skin and be the best Harry he can be.
We honestly can not wait until the next book. They are that good. Keep writing good family books Mrs. Haynes and we Davis' will keep reading them.
Blessings,
Emily
AND I want more. No seriously I want her to keep writing these books until they graduate high school. I'm totally into these books (and I'm not prepubescent by any stretch of the imagination. HA!).
I had the honor of reading and reviewing Genius Under Construction by Marilee Haynes., before it is released in mid-March 2014 (I think). Published by Pauline Books & Media, I can state emphatically if you have 5th - 8th graders in your home, you want these books on your shelves.
Gabe (a.k.a. Genius) is back this year with all of his old friends and a few new ones. They are in 8th grade now. They get to sit at the Rock. Rulers of the school!
Genius Under Construction is fictitious with reality mixed in. The nervous braniac who applies to the Science and Math High School and at the height of the interview process, accidentally hands one of the Panel is FLOG (fart log). Shattering! I wanted to cry for him. God bless him, he'd worked so hard. But he found a solution through prayer and family counsel, he went back and explained what happened. He showed REAL GUTS! It was awesome.
The genius in this book is that faith and life and hormones and bodily functions and death and anxiety and so much more - all intertwine to make us who we are. Weeding through all of these things makes these great children better people and better friends. It's loving and angst-ridden. They learn to apply our Catholic Faith to life -- learning about bodies (and bodily functions) and hormones, and stepping outside their comfort zones. They make a difference! WOOHOO!
To me, best part of this book is that being smart is fantastic. Sometimes smart children are ostracized and they end up minimizing themselves and feeling bad about themselves. They know they are different, but they can't do anything about it. But Mrs.Haynes makes smart children heroes. Smart is COOL! Smart is embraceable.
On a personal note, my child is like GABE. He is a genius. In a matter of days, he just read 20 chapters of Math, took four tests and missed two. Believe me when I tell you, his missing two may as well be the end of the world. It's hard to live in their brains until the maturity part catches up! You know? He's ten. He's different. He's the "weird one" in his mind.
I am so thankful that in this book series these children who are so smart are also athletes and pretty girls and that SMART is ok. Sure, their social skills need work. But they are learning to work through their anxieties and learning life is really pretty good. Just like my guy!
And by the way, Christopher (my child) also LOVES these books. It could be because of the FLOG. Why little boys love farting and gas of any kind is beyond me, but they do. It could be because this really smart boy Gabe makes the basketball team coaching staff by showing the coach that the stats he keeps can help the coach pick better players and run a better team. It could be that this year Gabe helps another young boy Harry to feel more comfortable in his own skin and be the best Harry he can be.
We honestly can not wait until the next book. They are that good. Keep writing good family books Mrs. Haynes and we Davis' will keep reading them.
Blessings,
Emily
April 8, 2017
Genius Under Construction was the third book I have read by Marileee Haynes and because I loved the other two, a.k.a. Genius and Pictures of Me, so much I had very high expectations for this book. I really like this book, it is a great read, but because it is so focused on one of the three friends from the first book, it just did not hit as high for me. It is a great book about and for kids. It really captures inner struggles, discerning your path, and the transition from middle school. And it does a wonderful job of some of the frustrations of trying to learn when you have a learning disability. It is in the genre of realistic fiction. It is a story about kids that you could know, the brain, the one who wants to be an athlete, the smart girl, and the one struggling in school.
This story focuses more on Gabe, and what he is doing. We see changes in Maya, clothes, make up, and changed behavior. We also have Linc trying to convince his parents to allow his to engage in sports. Gabe has a lot on his plate, peer tutor to a boy who is getting 0 on his spelling tests. Trying to become the team statistician for the school’s basketball team, figuring out what is up with Maya, and biggest of all, his application to Carolina Science and Math High School. That is a lot of plates to keep spinning for a young man, weather he is a genius or not.
Gabe loves numbers and while doing his in person interview for his application to the Carolina Science and Math High School, he intends to share his basketball stats and how he has helped his team. But because he is flummoxed by Maya, and seeing her kiss Linc he messes up and ends up handing over the workbook with his basketball numbers, but by mistake he also passed over a notebook tracking his farts, for Gabe struggles with being odoriferous and is trying to use his brain to solve that problem also. But he did not intend to share it with two professors from the school he is hoping to attend.
But to find out how Gabe deals with his mistake, his best friends kissing, and helping someone else learn how to do better on spelling tests you will need to read the book.
This is another great read from Pauline Books and Media and written by Marilee Haynes. It deals with friendship, using our gifts, serving others, friendship and changes at the body and mind starts to develop and change during puberty. I highly recommend it and if you have not read a.k.a. Genius read it first. I really hope we get to see more of the gangs adventures as then enter High School!
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Marilee Haynes.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2017 Catholic Reading Plan!
This story focuses more on Gabe, and what he is doing. We see changes in Maya, clothes, make up, and changed behavior. We also have Linc trying to convince his parents to allow his to engage in sports. Gabe has a lot on his plate, peer tutor to a boy who is getting 0 on his spelling tests. Trying to become the team statistician for the school’s basketball team, figuring out what is up with Maya, and biggest of all, his application to Carolina Science and Math High School. That is a lot of plates to keep spinning for a young man, weather he is a genius or not.
Gabe loves numbers and while doing his in person interview for his application to the Carolina Science and Math High School, he intends to share his basketball stats and how he has helped his team. But because he is flummoxed by Maya, and seeing her kiss Linc he messes up and ends up handing over the workbook with his basketball numbers, but by mistake he also passed over a notebook tracking his farts, for Gabe struggles with being odoriferous and is trying to use his brain to solve that problem also. But he did not intend to share it with two professors from the school he is hoping to attend.
But to find out how Gabe deals with his mistake, his best friends kissing, and helping someone else learn how to do better on spelling tests you will need to read the book.
This is another great read from Pauline Books and Media and written by Marilee Haynes. It deals with friendship, using our gifts, serving others, friendship and changes at the body and mind starts to develop and change during puberty. I highly recommend it and if you have not read a.k.a. Genius read it first. I really hope we get to see more of the gangs adventures as then enter High School!
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Marilee Haynes.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2017 Catholic Reading Plan!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews