GENIUS: THE GAME, by Leopoldo Gout

The story: Two hundred of the best--geniuses--have been chosen to compete in teen tech billionaire Kiran Biswas's Game. Rex, Cai, and Tunde all have a reason to need to be there: Rex is desperately searching for his lost brother, Cai is trying to find who's corrupted her Chinese businessman father, and Tunde is trying to keep his family and village out of the hands of an African warlord. Working desperately to solve the puzzle and stay in the Game, they come to realize that they've been maneuvered right into a trap and that to stay alive, solving the puzzle is no longer enough. Now they'd better stay one step ahead of The Game...or it may be their last step ever.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (complex conspiracies; misuse of technology in order to take over the world) PG-13; overall rating PG-13--mostly due to the very tech-dense narrative that is simply too hard for most MS readers...unless they're GT types like the kids in the story.

Liz's comments: This is a Dan-Brown type thriller featuring super-smart kids doing what they do best. There's the occasional moment of inability to suspend disbelief that kids could perform this kind of technological wizardry...but maybe that's where the "Genius" part of the title comes in. If you're wanting to believe that kids are going to save the world someday, you'll enjoy this one.