Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation (Charlie Thorne #1)

by Stuart Gibbs (Author)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
Series: Charlie Thorne

"Fast-paced, smart, and action-packed...a real page-burner." --Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestelling author of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series

A 2020 Texas Lone Star Reading List Pick

From New York Times bestselling author Stuart Gibbs comes the first novel in a thrilling new series about the world's youngest and smartest genius who's forced to use her unbelievable code-breaking skills to outsmart Einstein.

Charlie Thorne is a genius. Charlie Thorne is a thief. Charlie Thorne isn't old enough to drive. And now it's up to her to save the world...

Decades ago, Albert Einstein devised an equation that could benefit all life on earth--or destroy it. Fearing what would happen if the equation fell into the wrong hands, he hid it. But now, a diabolical group known as the Furies are closing in on its location. In desperation, a team of CIA agents drags Charlie into the hunt, needing her brilliance to find it first--even though this means placing her life in grave danger. In a breakneck adventure that spans the globe, Charlie must crack a complex code created by Einstein himself, struggle to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and fight to keep the last equation safe once and for all.

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Publishers Weekly

This adrenaline-charged thriller by Gibbs (the Spy School series) introduces 12-year-old supergenius Charlie Thorne and sends her, with two CIA agents, in search of a world-changing equation developed by Albert Einstein before his death. Charlie is skipping university classes in Colorado to ski forbidden slopes when she is tracked down by agents Dante Garcia and Milana Moon. They need her help to find Pandora, an equation concealed by Einstein that could make both cheap, clean energy and terrible weapons. The Furies, a white supremacist cell, is hot on Pandora's trail, and Garcia believes that only Charlie can solve the clues that Einstein left behind and get the CIA there first. Clues take them to Israel, where both groups run afoul of the Mossad. Bullets fly, bodies fall, puzzles lead to more puzzles, and chases via skateboard and Humvee ensue at a breakneck pace. In addition to all the action, Gibbs slips in a few lessons on cryptography and Einstein, and poses questions about moral uses of power that give this adventure depth. Charlie is a terrific hero--outrageously smart, courageous, and still believable as a kid. After this explosive start, young readers will eagerly await her next adventure. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

2019 Parents' Choice Recommended Seal award winner
Stuart Gibbs
Stuart Gibbs is the New York Times bestselling author of the middle-grade sensation Spy School and Moon Base Alpha series. He has written the screenplays for movies such as See Spot Run and Repli-Kate, worked on a whole bunch of animated films, and developed TV shows for Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC, and Fox. Bruce Wayne: Not Super is his first graphic novel for DC Comics.

Berat Peckmezci is a Turkish-born, London based illustrator with a background as an advertising Art Director. He has previously produced several short stories for DC Comics, but Bruce Wayne: Not Super represents his first, full length graphic novel. Berat brings an impressive sense of humor and visual inventiveness to this story.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781534424760
Lexile Measure
850
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date
September 17, 2019
Series
Charlie Thorne
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
Library of Congress categories
United States
Adventure and adventurers
Adventure stories
Spy stories
Spies
Racially mixed people
Ciphers
Genius
Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955
Code and cipher stories

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