Review: Ultraviolet Catastrophe

ULTRAVIOLET CATASTROPHE
Jamie Grey
Young Adult/Sci-fi
350 pages
Self-published
Available now
Source: author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Quantum Electrodynamics. String Theory. Schrödinger's cat. For sixteen-year-old Lexie Kepler, they’re just confusing terms in her science textbooks, until she finds out that her parents have been drugging her to suppress her outrageous IQ. Now Branston Academy, a school run by the world’s most powerful scientists, has tracked her down and is dying for her to attend - as a research subject.

She takes refuge at Quantum Technologies, a secret scientific community where her father works as a top-notch scientist, and begins her new life as girl genius at Quantum High. But the assignments at her new school make the Manhattan Project look like preschool - and Lexie barely survived freshman algebra.

Her first big assignment – creating an Einstein-Rosen bridge – is also her first chance to prove she can hold her own with the rest of QT's prodigies. But while working with the infuriatingly hot Asher Rosen, QT’s teen wonder, Lexie uncovers a mistake in their master equation. Instead of a wormhole, the machine they’re building would produce deadly ultraviolet rays that could destroy the world. Now Lexie and Asher have to use their combined brainpower to uncover the truth behind the device. Before everyone at Quantum Technologies is caught in the ultraviolet catastrophe.

MY THOUGHTS
With a synopsis full of hugely intimidating words like “quantum electrodynamics”, we can’t help but enter into this story a bit wary, wondering if Lexie’s aptitude for the more mathematical sciences and her enormous IQ might leave us eating her mental dust, overwhelmed and struggling with what comes so easily to her. Despite the aforementioned daunting words tossed around on occasion however, Lexie’s story is an easy one to settle into, her hurt and confusion over her parents’ dishonesty slicing through any hesitancy we might have had before cracking the spine like butter, instantly having us up in arms and ready to do battle on her behalf.

Not only do we quickly find ourselves at Lexie’s back–ready to deliver a verbal blow or two to parents who put her at a serious disadvantage with regard to both Quantum High and her understanding of who she is–but we also share in her nervousness in starting at a new school where she’s already monstrously behind. She therefore feels like a friend from the get-go, and while there is a bit of a push-pull between her and her parents wherein she gets angry at them and then seems to forgive them easily in turn, her reactions are understandable given the extent of her parents' lies, even if their intentions were honorable. Her attraction to Asher feels genuine and progresses at a deliciously slow place as they both find themselves distracted with very complicated scientific projects, giving us a nice balance between flirtation and mystery to ensure we’re invested in every chapter.

Though the ultimate bad guy is fairly easy to detect early on, the characters and the scientific aspect of the plot are extremely engaging, making Ultraviolet Catastrophe a book that easily fits into the category of a one-sit read. There’s some character backstory with both Lexie and Asher’s parents that could have been poked and prodded a bit more until it coughed up their secrets, but all in all, our time with the two of them is time well-spent and we close the back cover with a complete story and a satisfied grin in place.

Rating: 4/5
 

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This book was sent to me by the author free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.