MONSTER’S PROOF

Fifteen-year-old cheerleader Godeliva “Livey” Ell struggles with algebra, while her ten-year-old genius brother, Darby, resembles their clueless mathematician father, absent theoretical physicist mother and wacky great-aunt Ludy, a mathematician who worked on the first hydrogen bomb and developed the “Thingamabob Conjecture.” With the help of Aunt Ludy’s old books, Darby proves the conjecture, unleashing a megalomaniac from another universe, The Alpha Omega Function (“Bob” for short), who relishes the Pythagorean Brotherhood that worships him as well as Skippy Super Chunk peanut butter, sets out to fix the asymmetry on earth (e.g., righting the Leaning Tower of Pisa) and wreaks untold havoc. A ridiculous chase to capture this genie-like monster ensues, with Darby and Livey aided by a seraph and a rebel angel and the FBI on everyone’s heels. Despite the unique math angle, the only thing this slow, convoluted thriller consistently proves is its unappealing qualities to teens: stereotyped characters, false voices, failed attempts at humor, Livey’s undeveloped romance with the rebel angel and religious undertones that border on didacticism. Skip to the next problem. (Fantasy. 12-16)