The Improbable Theory of Ana & Zak

Reviewed by: Patricia Temple - Long Island Community Library, Long Island, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 17, 2015

Review

Circumstances bring A+ student Ana, her wiz kid younger brother Clayton and sci-fi enthusiast Zak together on a school trip to Seattle for a Quiz bowl competition. Zak would rather be spending his weekend at a sci-fi convention across town and talks up the event to the extent that 13 yr old Clayton sneaks off to the con after the team wins their first round of quiz bowl. Ana is forced to enlist Zak's help to find her brother at the enormous convention. Along the way we learn why Ana is compelled to be perfect academically and socially as well as why Zak has created his own family from among his sci-fi gaming friends. The race against time to locate Clayton and return unnoticed give Ana and Zak one wild night among countless zany characters and surreal situations. By morning they have launched a friendship and gained valuable insight about themselves. Fast moving scenes full of humor, interesting secondary characters and plot twists propel the story to a satisfying ending. This will appeal to a broad range of readers, male or female, and fans of both science fiction and realistic fiction.

Overall Book Score: very good