The Jamie Drake Equation

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Jamie’s first-person narrative will draw readers into the story and surprise them with twists along the way as its space-age realism bends toward science fiction.”— Booklist My instant reaction is that this book does for middle grade fiction what the Big Bang Theory does for sitcoms – it brings science to life. In fact, the book is bursting with scientific and mathematical concepts. Even the title of the book brought a smile to my face with it play on an existing scientific concept. Now some of the concepts introduced are quite complex, but Edge’s narrative presents these in an easy to understand manner. As such, I can see children being enthralled by concepts such as the Fibonacci Sequence and Drake’s Equation. My only real complaint was with the characterization. Jamie is a pretty generic character. We don't get to know him beyond some basic stuff, such as his relationship with his dad and the fact that he's bad at math. Because of this, he is easy to project yourself onto, which I suppose is useful for younger readers trying to see themselves in Jamie's story, but it also made it seem like Jamie could have been replaced by really any other sixth-grade boy. I was also hoping for more of a friendship to develop between Minty and Jamie, but she really didn't serve much purpose in the story at all. Overall, it felt like a very interesting plot plugged in with a bunch of random people.

This was great!! I liked how it had the science behind the book at the end (the infinite lives of Maisie day also had that, which is the other book I've read by edge)...it's a nice addition for actual kids reading this as well as a refresher for adults. Or maybe new stuff to adults, who knows. I was kind of surprised to recognize the Fibonacci sequence before the book told me 😂 look at my brain pulling random memories from the depths of my school days, lol. Combining action and adventure with cutting-edge space exploration and a compelling emotional core, this is truly awesome storytelling.

From the author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright comes another cutting-edge cosmic space adventure for anyone who's ever looked up at the stars and wondered about the universe. An exploration of the constellations, an appreciation of the courage of astronauts, and a loving father-son story. Perfect for fans of Scott Kelly's Astrotwins series. Nominated for the 2018 CILIP Carnegie Medal. Shortlisted for the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award, the Haringey Children’s Book Award and the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award. I once read in my physics book that the universe begs to be observed, that energy travels and transfers when people pay attention. Maybe that's what love really boils down to -- having someone who cares enough to pay attention so that you're encouraged to travel and transfer, to make your potential energy spark into kinetic energy. Maybe all anyone ever needs is for someone to notice them, to observe them." That being said, this book was full of fun STEM-iness. We learn about the Jamie Drake Equation, we learn about the fibonacci sequence and more space science. But there is also the sci-fi element of the alien’s and Jamie’s interactions with them.

After the amazing The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, Christopher Edge would easily be forgiven for a less ambitious follow-up. Instead, he has written a novel easily as good as the one before, filled with his trademark combination of wit, pathos and hilarity. Booktrust When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.

Edge balances the eerie and the emotional to offer accessible science fiction even when the science itself is inexplicable.”— The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

This book was used for one of the literacy units while on SBT2 in year 5. I read the book regularly with the class both within literacy lessons and at the end of the day. The children loved the book and were very engaged. The storyline was fast-paced and exciting as well as not being predictable.This book is very emotional for a middle school read. That’s not a bad thing, but there’s this almost Armageddon feel to the end and I really don’t want to make the kids cry! We also deal with serious themes like divorce and separation, moving, fear and more. Although Edge moves well into science fiction to resolve the disaster facing Jamie's dad in space, the conclusion is both heartwarming and satisfying. Jamie's relationship with an alien being he names Buzz is reminsicent of E.T. It turns out Buzz is an alien life form that calls itself the Hi'ive. They had to choose between their bodies and their minds, moving beyond the physical world, becoming energy. In this form Buzz can both help Jamie and be helped by Jamie. With solid science and believable family conflicts, this will be very satisfying to readers whose wishful thinking can suspend disbelief. Kirkus, starred review With his dad gone, Jamie doesn’t know who to turn to and decides to investigate himself. But when something goes wrong with his dad’s mission, Jamie knows it is up to him to save his dad from space and all of it’s dangers. Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.

From the author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright comes another cutting-edge cosmic space adventure for anyone who’s ever looked up at the stars and wondered about the universe. Jamie Drake’s dad is famous. He’s an astronaut, and he’s currently orbiting the earth on the International Space Station, about 400kms above the planet’s surface. Soon he will launch a series of tiny interstellar probes, which will search the galaxy for signs of alien life. What could possibly go wrong?

I especially loved the professor Jamie meets as well as his teacher at school. I think I just like when adults in books are good examples to kids and also don't treat younger people like they're stupid. That one part when the professor starts explaining complicated math to Jamie and is like, you follow me, yeah? And he's like (LOL NO) yeah yeah, so what's next? 😂 She just goes on like surely this small child understands my explanation of advanced math. Moving on. I don't think I'm explaining this well, but I definitely liked it. And I liked how his teacher finds lots of encouraging things to say to her students when they're doing creative projects! Plausibility issues made it difficult for me to fully engage with the story. If you’re going to set your story in the real world, your science better be right. But it was not.