A Problematic Paradox

Thirteen-year-old Nikola Kross is a genius and self-described “weirdo,” which has made her an outcast in her small North Dakota town. After her scientist-inventor father is abducted by a girl with unusually long limbs and sharp teeth, Nikola is brought to “the School,” a town-size institution that educates part-alien “parahumans” (and the occasional human student) in such subjects as xenopsychology and practical quantum mechanics. (Her father is one of its most celebrated human alumni.) The school and its students are threatened by Nikola’s father’s captors: the Old Ones, ancient interdimensional creatures that seek to destroy the Earth. When the school’s defense system is breached, Nikola attempts to uncover who is behind it. Nikola’s blunt wit makes for entertaining reading (she describes her father’s kidnapper as “a charming young lady... with the arms of a gorilla and all the charisma of a rubber boot filled with refried beans”) in debut author Sappingfield’s frenetic SF comedy. The school’s fantastical elements are inventive and fun, but it’s Nikola’s longing for friends that forms the heart of the story. Ages 10–up. Agent: Josh Getzler, Hannigan Salky Getzler. (Jan.)