Studyville Reads: Clues to the Universe

Clues to the Universe by Christina Li
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is not often we find a Young Adult novel that delivers on all we look for in the genre: compelling storyline, empathetic characters, and clean content. So much out there is inappropriate, and young voracious readers find it.

In “Clues to the Universe” two middle schoolers find comradery as one prepares for a science fair and the other continues his quest to find his long-lost father, now a famous comic book author. They learn the value of failure: “But how many failures did the scientists have to see? How many times did the rockets not orbit the planet? . . . Scientists are detectives going to the vast oceans and deep jungles to find the clues to the universe.”

We highly recommend this for all middle school students. Bravo to author Christina Li and publisher Harper Collins for bringing us a book that truly embodies the Young Adult genre. Please give us more!

Studyville’s Reviews

Clues to the Universe

by Christina Li

It is not often we find a Young Adult novel that delivers on all we look for in the genre: compelling storyline, empathetic characters, and clean content. So much out there is inappropriate, and young voracious readers find it.In “Clu…

Admission

by Julie Buxbaum

Though this is a fictional tale of the Varsity Blues Scandal and not modeled off of real life characters, we recognize Aunt Becky in the mix. “Admission” is the ultimate face-palm of a novel, you’re constantly saying “No, don’t do that!”…

Darius the Great Is Not Okay

by Adib Khorram

Darius is a teen struggling with depression, struggling to fit in, and is all too honest and quite frankly lovable as a character. His journey with his family to his native Persia helps him appreciate his heritage, his individualism, and…

The House in the Cerulean Sea

by T.J. Klune

The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story and the experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place and realizing that you can relate deeply to them. You get to meet Linus Baker and how his line turns ar…

The Survivors

by Jane Harper

A return home and a subsequent murder on the beach bring back unsolved mysteries of the past for Kieran, forever marked by his brother’s death by this small coastal town. Setting is in Australia, so teens may need to adjust to the lingo….