This is a story of an extraordinary girl Irene Starr, who has the intellect of a genius but looks younger than her biological age. Being unusual is hard but being twice unusual (and in opposite directions) is double hard.
Irene comes to an experimental high school, where very smart teenagers like herself are combined into a âY-Teamâ. The team has the freedom to define their own education: what to learn and how to learn it. It seems like a dream come true for Irene. But being a new student and coming mid-year, she still needs to prove her worth to her new teammates.
This is a story of an extraordinary girl Irene Starr, who has the intellect of a genius but looks younger than her biological age. Being unusual is hard but being twice unusual (and in opposite directions) is double hard.
Irene comes to an experimental high school, where very smart teenagers like herself are combined into a âY-Teamâ. The team has the freedom to define their own education: what to learn and how to learn it. It seems like a dream come true for Irene. But being a new student and coming mid-year, she still needs to prove her worth to her new teammates.
October 3
At admission, there were two ladies â the head of admissions and the head of the gifted program. Both looked through my papers, test scores, and certificates from my math and physics online courses. But the reaction was very different. The admissions lady kept frowning, more and more so, like I was a fraud. But Mrs. Granger from the gifted program was smiling. Tentatively at first, but at the end, she had a broad, warm smile. I think Iâm gonna like her. I wonder, could anyone with such a last name â Granger â be a bad person?
Mrs. Granger collected my papers, said to the other lady, âIâll take it from here,â and beckoned me to follow her.
She brought me to her office on the second floor, showed me to a comfortable plush armchair, and said, âYour portfolio is impressive.â
It wasnât a question, so I didnât say anything.
âWe have an advanced group in each grade, but neither sophomoresâ nor juniorsâ would be advanced enough. You have pretty much covered the high-school program already. Obviously, we need to create an individualized learning plan for you, and we can take two routes there.Â
âRoute number one is to take it easy on math and science, to include just a few college courses, and to focus on other subjects. We have rich programs in sports, arts, and languages. That way you can stay mostly with your age group.
âRoute number two is to place you in our so-called âY-Team.â That program was created for gifted seniors who move faster than others, have finished their high school math and science, and need more challenges. They eat, drink, and dream math and science. Their courses for math, physics, biology, and chemistry are quite intense, and they still need to acquire the necessary credits for arts, sports, and languages.â
âMay I ask, why âYâ? I mean the team name.â
âBecause they love asking that question â Why? â just like you.â
There was no choice, really, in my mind. I need math and physics. My brain gets depressed without them.
Mrs. Granger guessed my choice. She smiled her pleasant smile and added, looking straight at me, âThe drawback on the second route is that they are mostly seniors.â She took a little pause, looking at my reaction. âNone of your age. There are nine of them. All boys.â
Finally! Nine people to discuss math and physics with!
âRoute number two,â I chose without hesitation.
Was I scared of being in the class with big (BIG!) boys two years older? Yes, I was, a little bit. But I didnât have a choice, really. Besides, they would be reasonable boys, right?
Mrs. Granger looked at me seriously and added, âIt will not be easy.â
âI know.â It never was easy for me.
âGood.â She smiled. âLet me know if you have any questions, need help, or anything.â
âI will.â
Then, we discussed what arts and sports I want to take, and Mrs. Granger printed out my schedule. âThese rooms are next to each other.â She pointed to the room numbers next to âY Mathâ and âY Physicsâ in the schedule. âThis wing, first floor, all the way down the hall. Itâs hard to miss.â She smiled. âThey love signs like âDanger,â âRadioactive hazard,â et cetera. Youâll see tomorrow.â
The next day, I found the Y Math classroom with no problem. They do love the signs. The door and walls around it are covered with all sorts of danger signs. In the central place is a classic pirate sign with a skull and crossbones. One bone is shorter than the other, and they cross at such an angle that they look like the letter âYâ. The word âteamâ is written under it. The next door has the same logo and more signs.
 I checked the room number to make sure that it was the right room and stepped inside.Â
I liked the room right away. It had my kind of order. The kind that looks like total disorder for outsiders but actually has everything conveniently within reach.
I came early, just in case, but two boys were already in the room. They were not intimidating. Regular nerdy introverts, immersed in their books and notes.
I said hi; they looked at me, said hi back, and turned back to their books. I picked a desk by the window, sort of in the back. Although there was no obvious front and back. Whiteboards and chalkboards were everywhere around the walls. Individual desks were spread all over the room.
I looked around, noting locations of different supplies and a lot of unusual and cool-looking things, then took out my Speed Cube to occupy myself until the bell.
Soon another boy came in. He looked quizzically at me. I said hi and smiled. He said hi back and took a seat. He kept glancing perplexedly, but I was busy with my cube. Right before the bell, the rest of them came in. At once, the room filled up with people and noises.
Did I tell you that they were BIG? Yes, they all looked almost adult to me, most of them at least a head taller. In the center of the last âpackâ was a guy who looked the most confident and extroverted. Next to him was a classic Native American guy. I mean, really, he looked like he stepped out of a Western movie, only in regular clothes. And without face painting, of course.
Seeing me, they stopped their conversation and looked, perplexed. More precisely, the extrovert stopped talking and looked perplexed; the Indian was listening with an unperturbed face and kept that face looking at me. He must be good at poker.
âHi,â I said and smiled. âIâm Irene.â
âJim,â dropped the Indian. He looked around and took the next seat by the window. Did I take his usual place? Well, he didnât say anything.Â
The rest of them stood there, still looking at me.
âOh, hello,â said the extrovert. His voice changed to a speaking-to-a-child version. âCan we help you?â
âNo, Iâm good.â I smiled again. I wanted to be nice.
âAre you lost?â
âNo.â
âAre you new?â
âYes.â
âWhat room is your class in? Show me your schedule.â
âThis room.â
âWhat?!â A short laugh escaped him.
âBen,â said Jim, the Indian. His voice was quiet, but everybody could hear it, âIrene looks like she can read her schedule.â
âYes, I can,â I said. âIâm new to this class, to the Y-Team. Nice to meet you all.â
âWhat is this â a kindergarten?â Ben grumbled. âHow old are you?â
All my shyness evaporated. Cold, healthy anger filled my stomach. I didnât answer but turned to my cube. At that moment, the bell rang, and the professor came in.
The professor was much older than regular teachers Iâve seen before. Iâm not an expert on judging peopleâs age by their looks, but his rich mane of hair was more gray than anything else, and he had wrinkles around his eyes and mouth as if he smiled often. Which he did.
Entering the room, he was smiling and looked excited. He was full of energy, which filled the room too. I could tell that the Y-Team respected and liked him a lot.
âWonderful news!â he started right away, without a greeting. âWeâve got a powerful reinforcement in the form of this amazing young lady.â He delicately waved his hand at me. âHer name is Irene Starr.â He wrote my name on the board. âHave I spelled it correctly?â he asked me.
I nodded.
âIrene, welcome to the Y-Team!â He smiled. He had a good, sincere smile. I liked him. Okay, maybe everything is not bad after all.Â
The professor introduced himself. âIâm Eric. Just Eric, no titles.â Then he named all the other students for me, writing their names on the board. The boys raised or waved their hands to indicate themselves. Immediately after that, the lesson started, and we immersed ourselves in math.
Later I learned that Eric had many titles but didnât like using them in class.
I also had Y-physics class that day and met Johnathan, the physics teacher. âAlways Johnathan, never John or anything else,â he said. Cool with me.
Johnathan is younger than Eric and as energetic and positively charged. He dislikes titles too.
Irene Starr is fifteen years old and the shortest person in her class. She has an IQ in the stratosphere and is âdeadly bored at schoolâ in Maria Merlotâs clever and engaging blend of education and inspiration, The Y Team.
Irene transfers to an âexperimental schoolâ with a special focus on âgifted kids.â Here, she decides to join The Y-Team, a program for gifted seniors who move faster than others and need more challenges, especially in math and science.Â
Irene soon discovers that every other member of the Y Team â nine of them â are all boys. All senior boys. So, whatâs fifteen year-old girl to do? Why, roll up her sleeves and dive in, of course. Thatâs exactly what Irene does in this upbeat and empowering story. In fact, Irene gains the teamâs respect when she uses physics, not math, to solve a âteam challengeâ center-of-mass problem that has everyone else stumped.
There are also math-based dancing routines. A science fair. A flying eagle tattoo. Never mess with the Y-team. âGeek Week" to promote math and science. Steering a motorcycle. (Who knew?) Benissimo. Volleyball. Complex impedance. A Grand Tournament. Prom. A supernova. âSo small and so bright. Just like our Irene.â And what happens when another team member fears Irene is smarter than he is?
In the process of solving challenging math and science problems and revving up her volleyball game, Irene becomes a valued team member and earns the teamâs admiration and friendship.
This is a fun read. It has enough math and science to keep it flavorful but not overwhelming. Itâs tightly written and flows smoothly. The characters are three-dimensional, and the dialogue and interactions are credible. It also shows how girls can excel in math and science, as does Irene. Thus, The Y-Team strikes just the right note between education and inspiration. Itâs a skillful balancing act and Merlot pulls it off masterfully.
This bookâs target audience of young adults will enjoy The Y-Team as much as they will be challenged by it.Â