The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day

February 1, 2019
Maisie Day's life stops on her 10th birthday--or perhaps it begins. Combining theoretical astrophysics and sibling dynamics, Edge (The Jamie Drake Equation, 2018, etc.) weaves another science-based tale. Maisie is "academically gifted," curious about how the universe works, tutored at home after a bad school experience, and doing university-level studies in math and physics online. Her resentful 15-year-old sister, Lily, follows a more usual path, facing high school exams and peer pressures. Chapter by chapter, Maisie's first-person, present-tense narration alternates between versions of her 10th birthday: the morning before a fatal accident and the disorienting experience of waking up in a virtual reality that begins with the same day. The disorientation is echoed in the reader's experience as the ending of each chapter seems to lead into the beginning of the one that follows--but in a different existence. In the story, the experience of passing through a black hole is likened to the gradual destruction of a computer game from the inside, with time and space stretching; passing through the singularity at the black hole's heart allows entrance into a different reality. An author's note will help readers think about the science concepts introduced. These white-presenting girls are not particularly convincing characters, and the description of public education is uninformed, but the fact that the science-obsessed protagonist is female is positive.A thought-provoking speculation about the nature of reality. (Science fiction. 10-13)

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Starred review from March 1, 2019

Gr 4 Up-It's Maisie Day's 10th birthday and she comes down the stairs expecting everything to be perfectly normal-her father making breakfast, her mother planning her party, and her older sister being her usual grumpy self. Instead, she seems to enter an alternate universe; no one is in the house and when she opens her front door, a gaping black abyss appears before her. Told in chapters alternating between what seems to be Maisie's "real" world and an alternate universe, readers will be drawn into this intriguing, suspenseful story with the intrepid Maisie in the lead. The fascinating plot will keep readers at the edge of their seats as they try to guess what happens next. The last few chapters have an explosive twist that will have readers shedding a tear or two-and flipping pages back and forth to reread earlier chapters. The complexity of the relationship between young Maisie and her older sister will linger with readers. Kids who love A Wrinkle in Time and other stories which play on the theories of physics and mathematical puzzles will enjoy how Edge weaves the nuances of scientific theories into a well-told narrative. An author's note at the end explains the science behind the fantasy. VERDICT A suspenseful yet poignant science fiction novel that deftly weaves scientific theories with the equally complex relationship between two very different sisters.-Evelyn Khoo Schwartz, Holton Arms School, Bethesda, MD

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 27, 2019
“Some people say that everything began with a Big Bang, but for me, that’s the last thing I really remember,” begins this layered and sometimes dizzying story of sisterhood, physics, and fringe science. It’s Maisie Day’s 10th birthday, and she hopes to receive a nuclear reactor from her parents so that she can unravel the science of cold fusion. Instead, though, a rift with her 15-year old sister, Lily, lands her in a baffling conundrum: Maisie is caught in a seemingly infinite loop, reliving her birthday again and again while a Vantablack darkness encroaches. Academically gifted with an interest in “how the universe works,” Maisie guides readers through the mystery of her endlessly repeating birthday, defining scientific theories and jargon in simple, relatable terms. In demonstrating entropy, for example, Maisie shatters eggs, illustrating that, while the same atoms exist, they are now disordered and chaotic. As in previous novels, Edge (The Jamie Drake Equation) skillfully weds advanced scientific theories with buried emotional trauma, this time crafting a moving story about sibling relationships, trust, and forgiveness. Ages 10–up.