About "Millicent Min Girl Genius" . . .

"Can a smart girl play dumb? This funny book will have you laughing with and feeling for Millicent as she tries." -- Washington Post (Book of the Week)

"... we can all enjoy her story in this hilarious first novel . . . Admittedly anal retentive, an overachiever and a compulsive perfectionist (''like those were bad things,'' she says), her social skills need work. Concerned about her social ineptitude, Millie's parents construct a summer that forces their prodigy to be normal . . . Millie does finally make a friend, and learns the only lesson she hadn't yet mastered: How to be a Kid." -- Miami Herald

"Millicent Min, Girl Genius" is Lisa Yee's first novel, and it is an utterly charming debut, as well as being the kind of tour de force that leaves one breathless." -- Boston Globe [read whole review]

"Book designer Elizabeth B. Parisi has pulled the book's themes into a wonderful package." -- Dallas Morning News

"... through the first-person narrative, Yee also masterfully conveys how Millicent is a girl so very smart, and yet so very clueless . . . Millicent's Chinese-American heritage is a subtle aspect of this sparkling novel."
-- Wisconsin State Journal

"Readers considerable older than Millicent's eleven years will enjoy this strong debut novel." -- Voice of Youth Advocates

"Yee brings alive Millicent's intellectual appetite and zest."
-- USA TODAY - Critic's Pick

"Wow, this is so great. I can't believe you wrote it." -- Kate, Lisa Yee's daughter

"Readers don't have to share Millicent Min's IQ to empathize with the 11-year old genius narrator featured in this energetic first novel. Millicent breezes through high school and collage classes, but when it comes to making friends her own age, she's at a loss . . . Millicent's unique personality -- a blend of rationality and naivete -- makes for some hilarious moments as the young protagonist interacts with a cast if colorful characters including her athletic, down-to-earth mother, her laid-back father, and her beloved grandmother, who borrows sage advice from the television show, Kung Fu. Yee re-examines the terms "smart" and "dumb," while offering a heartfelt story full of wit." -- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Here's a smart novel about a 12-year-old girl who's book-smart enough to be finishing high school but is having trouble socially. A potential friend does turn up, as does the pressure to fit in. Great supporting cast includes a doting Chinese family and their friend's geek of a son." -- San Francisco Chronicle

". . . With the help of her wacky grandmother, a new best friend and a boy she thought she hated - not to mention a volleyball team she joined under great duress thanks to her parents - young Millicent proves that in spite of her out-of-the-world IQ, she's really just a regular kid with all the angst and joys on the journey toward adolescence. A fast, fun, brainy read." -- AsianWeek

"Millicent Min may be a girl genius, but outside of academics, she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed . . . Readers will laugh and groan at her ultra-geeky efforts to fit in and will share her relief when she finally does make a friend . . . In Yee's smartly funny debut novel, the young narrator's voice -- amusingly formal, ridiculously rational, stubbornly objective -- is sustained throughout . . . An interesting variant on the unreliable narrator, Millicent often uses her scholarly, impartial voice as a cover for her true feelings; even nongenius readers will see through her -- and feel a little smarter for it." -- The Horn Book Magazine

"From Yee's first sentence -- 'I have been accused of being anal retentive, an overachiever, and a compulsive perfectionist, like those are bad things'-- this perfectly captures the humor, unique voice, and dilemma of Millicent Min, its wunderkind heroine . . . Funny, charming and heartwarming, with something to say about the virtues of trust and truth telling, this deserves an A." -- Kirkus Reviews

". . . Full of wonderful characters, sly humor, snappy one-liners, and tons of insight into the true meaning of friendship, this book is the real deal. Run, don't walk, to your library or bookstore for a copy -- you won't regret it." -- DISCOVERY GIRLS magazine

"Mommy, you are the best author in the world . . ." -- Benny, age 6

"I just loved it! Funny and touching from beginning to end. Lisa Yee has created a wonderfully memorable character in Millicent Min -- and not just Millicent, but many others, kids and adults. I can't wait to read her next book." -- Paula Danziger, super famous author

". . . Yee does an excellent job of showing both Millie's grown-up brain and her decidedly middle-school problems. Even if they can't relate to her mastery of Latin, most kids will readily follow as Millie struggles through a world where she's smarter than everyone but still sometimes clueless." -- Booklist

"It is rare to find a book in which you cannot manage to turn a page without laughing . . . Millicent is the valedictorian of the intermediate reading list." -- www.planetesme.com

" . . . a smart new novel about a 12-year-old who is so smart she's in high school . . . Millicent's effort to fit in, despite her super smarts, make for a super tale."
-- Detroit Free Press

"Can a smart girl play dumb? This funny book will have you laughing with and feeling for Millicent as she tries." -- The Washington Post (Book of the Week)

"Author Lisa Yee's first novel shares her (Millicent's) genius in this rollicking, never-a-dull moment enlightenment of a summer in the life of a rising star".
-- Children's Literature, Barbara Troisi

"Yee masterfully conveys how Millicent is so very smart, yet so very clueless, not only about friendship but also, much to Millicent's surprise, a number of other things as well. Millicent's Chinese American heritage is a subtle aspect of this sparkling novel."-- Cooperative Children's Book Center (Book of the Week, and CCBC Choices of 2004 - Best Books of the Year)

"Yee handles the subject of Millicent's genius with grace, placing her challenges in the larger thematic context of acceptance and belonging, which any reader can relate to." -- Riverbank Review

". . . her (Millie's) trials and tribulations result in a story that is both funny and heartwarming. A universal truth conveyed is that honesty and acceptance of oneself and of others requires a maturity measured not by IQ but by generosity of spirit." -- School Library Journal

"I love the book so much, I married the author" -- Scott, age 40- something, Lisa Yee's husband

 

Want to write to Lisa Yee and tell her about what you think about Millie, or ask her a question? E-mail to millicentmin@magicpencil.com

 

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