By the end, Lucy has learned some people skills, expanded her world and maybe learned that not everything can or should be calculated. Pretty standard but the book is written so that Lucy is real to me, her challenges aren’t unbelievable, her mistakes are understandable and she seems like a 12 year old. There are a few things I wasn’t sure about – how someone with her well described OCD would endure handling a dog or the fact that she wasn’t truly bullied in this school world where it seems so unfortunately commonplace. I like that there are some unfinished issues when the book closes leaving me to ponder what Lucy’s next choices in life will be and what effect this semester has had on her future. Maybe grandma did know what she was up to after all.

Middle School is hard enough, but it is going to be an even more difficult year for 12 year old Lucy Callahan. Four years ago Lucy was struck by lightning while playing outside. Lucy's heart stopped for a few minutes, but more importantly, it changed the way her brain worked. When Lucy recovered, she had developed Acquired Savant Syndrome for math. Lucy became a whiz with number, doing complex calculations in her head, she could also see math, numbers have a color and a shape. With her acquired savant syndrome also came a few quirks, Lucy now has a germ phobia and has to toe tap three time and do a stand-up, sit-down routine three times before taking a seat or the numbers of Pi will invade her head. With her new skills and quirks, Lucy's Nana pulls her out of traditional school and helps Lucy earn her GED at 12 years old. Now, when Lucy should be looking at colleges, her Nana and Uncle Paul decide that Lucy could use some real world skills and enroll her in Middle School where Lucy is tasked to make one real friend, join one activity and read one book that is not a textbook.

A surprising, fun and unique middle grade story that quickly captured my heart. Even though Lucy is a math genius, her challenges make her relatable to anyone who has ever had to navigate middle school. The writing flows effortlessly and accurately describes a middle school experience. I was also impressed with how well the processes of Lucy's quirks and math logic were described. They did not seem like a handicap, just part of Lucy's life. Lucy's classmates and soon to be friends, Windy and Levi help round out Lucy's middle school experience. With these two very different friends, Lucy is pushed to grow, learn and relate to people in unique ways. When the trio of friends has to take on a service project, Lucy is pushed even farther. I did love that Lucy was able to combine her love of math, Levi's love of photography and Windy's love of pet philanthropy into one project to help a pet shelter. Overall, a distinct and easy to devour book featuring a diverse cast and a great message that middle grade readers to adults will enjoy.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

4 years after being struck by lightning, 12 year old Lucy Callahan is homeschooled, able to do college-level math, and makes friends online on a math-related message board. She is content with her life as it is, until the day that her grandmother enrolls her at East Hamlin Middle School. For the next year, Lucy must go to middle school and try to get to know her classmates a little better. While this transition would be challenging for any middle schooler, Lucy is very aware of both her mathematical ability and struggles with OCD. Even worse is the school's requirement to work on a community service project with two other students: a girl named Windy who is eager to become Lucy's friend, and a boy named Levi, who is not. This story shows that friendship and love takes form in many different ways, even when least expected. Lucy is a dynamic character who readers will root for. Although McAnulty's use of digits instead of words that include numbers (like "2nd" instead of second) may seem distracting at times, the choice serves to illuminate Lucy's narrative. The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is an excellent addition to the growing shelf of books featuring neurodiverse characters, and one that will surely stay with readers long after they finish reading.

Lucy is one lucky girl, but it doesn't always feel that way, especially when her Grandmother makes her go to middle school!
Years ago, Lucy was struck by lightning and instead of killing her, it made her a math savant. Because of that, she decided to home school herself. At a very young age, Lucy has completed all of the graduation requirements and is ready for college, but her Grandma insists on one more challenge: middle school. Lucy was less than thrilled with this idea and did everything she could to get out of it. Once back in middle school, Lucy accomplishes her goals: try one new thing, make one new friend and go to middle school for one year. It turns out much better than she ever could have expected, but it doesn't always come naturally.
As a teacher of highly gifted and talented students, this book touched my heart and I quickly fell in love with Lucy and her situation. I know that this book will help even the biggest outcasts feel as though they have a place if only they will give it a chance. McAnulty has done an amazing job mixing family, friends and middle school challenges into a beautiful, heart print book.

Navigating middle school can be hard under normal circumstances, but protagonist Lucy faces additional challenges that her peers do not have to work through. You see, Lucy was struck by lightning and as a result of her brain injuries, now lives with OCD. As if that wasn't enough, she had been home schooled up to this point, but her grandmother has decided to metaphorically throw her to the wolves so that Lucy may learn to socialize with children her own age. Oh, and Lucy is also a mathematical savant.

McAnulty managed to create characters and situations that feel genuine and deftly portrays how Lucy overcomes each of the challenges she encounters in her way.

I love this cover and was so excited to read this book when I read the blurb!
This is a tale about a girl who is struck by lightning and is a mathematical genius. When Lucy’s grandmother decides that she should go to middle school to find friends and develop a sociable outlook on life, Lucy is basically thrown to the wolves that are teenage middle school girls. Reading this took me back to my own middle school nightmares and my heart went out to Lucy. Lucy struggles to fit in and find her way through fake friends and even attends the dreaded sleepover where you don’t really fit in and don’t feel welcome. The way the story is written is so true to the reality of being a middle school teenager, that I believe anyone who reads it can appreciate and learn from the story.
I commend the author for making the story very up-to-date and giving Levi two moms which is very relevant in today’s world. This simple sprinkling of outside of the box love on a normal basis will go a long way to keeping minds open. I cannot wait to share the story with my sons!
This book hits home a little personally for me because I have four sons who are way above average math whizzes (though they were not struck by lightning – they just inherited a love for math from their father!) and one of them has a hard time fitting in and being openly sociable. I worry about him going to middle school next year with his tender heart. So, I will be buying a copy of this book for our household as I know they will enjoy it!
Thank you for allowing me access to this title! I thoroughly enjoyed it and will highly recommend it to anyone who loves middle grade stories and rehashing life lessons!

E ARC from Netgalley



Lucy lives with her supportive grandmother, and frequently sees her uncle Hondo, who is young, fun, and a bit misguided. Lucy has been homeschooled, but her grandmother decides that it is time for Lucy to acquire the social skills that middle school will provide. Why? Lucy was struck by lightning when she was young, and because of the resultant brain damage is now a mathematical savant but also suffers from OCD and social anxiety. Her grandmother's idea of sticking things out for one year and making one friend seems all but impossible, since Lucy can't even sit in a chair without repeating the action three times. Lucy is socially savvy enough to realize that her mathematical abilities will not win her any friends, and she tries very hard to do just enough to get A- grades, but an early attempt puts her on her teacher's radar for cheating with a boy named Levi. Levi struggles in math, but is accepting of Lucy and her quirks. When the class has to participate in a social service project-- in a group-- Lucy is not sure how she will do. Luckily, she and Levi are able to work together, along with Windy, to help out a local pet rescue, Pet Hut. Lucy runs the numbers and works out a formula she can use to tell which dogs will take longer to be adopted, so that those dogs can be featured on the web site. In the meantime, her grandmother is considering enrolling her in a school for the gifted, and of course, nothing in Lucy's life runs smoothly. Her friendship with Windy is a good one, until Windy's past friendship with mean girl Maddie complicates things. Will Lucy be able to survive middle school?

Strengths: This had an excellent balance of unusual and usual middle school challenges. Readers who enjoy problems novels because they make their own lives seem better will find Lucy's OCD and social difficulty interesting, while the problems with group projects and friends will appeal to everyone. Lucy's grandmother was wonderfully supportive and no-nonsense, and her attitude contributes greatly to Lucy's resilience. Lucy's problems are not downplayed, but are handled in a realistic way. The pet rescue story line was intriguing, and Lucy's talents in math actually are very valuable to the organization-- I think Lucy may have a really good career ahead of her as an actuary!

Weaknesses: Occasionally, the number one was written as "1" instead, and for some reason, this distracted me. I understand why this was done, but it happened infrequently enough that it took me out of the story.

What I really think: Loved this. Great cover, great story, STEM connections, pet rescue, and group project drama. There should be more books about middle school projects and their resultant drama! This is right behind Landis' Private Nobody, which also involved projects, as my second favorite book of 2018.

Lucy was a normal girl until she was struck by lightning, which caused her to become a genius, especially in Math. Living with her grandmother and missing her brother who is serving in the military, Lucy has been teaching herself while being homeschooled, and her friends consist of those she interacts with on Math chat rooms and tutoring sites. Lucy's grandmother realizes she is not growing socially, and makes her go to public school for a year and challenges her with a set of tasks such as making friends and joining an extracurricular activity. Middle school is.....middle school; i.e., not pleasant for anyone. Lucy's prickliness and desire to not socially interact is breached with a group community service project at a local dog shelter. The greatest strength of this book is that McAnulty stayed true to Lucy's character. She did not miraculously start enjoying middle school, although she realized the importance of having a friend and some social interaction in life. The story does not wrap up nice and tidy with a perfect ending and bow on top, but instead, is realistic. Another strong offering for upper elementary and middle school students who want or need to read about differences, strengths, and weaknesses in their classmates. I expect to see this on several state reading award lists.

I really liked this story about Lucy who was struck by lightning and developed extraordinary math abilities as well as OCD. Lucy's grandmother and guardian decides she needs more socialization so Lucy ends up in the local middle school where she tries to hide her math abilities so the other kids won't think she's a freak. Lots of kids are going to be able to see themselves in Lucy and have an opportunity to think about how they treat kids who are different. I can't wait to put this one in my library!

Many thanks to Random House Children's Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute, quick read about a girl who is different and ends up going to middle school to learn one of the greatest (and most true lessons there is): everyone has problems. And not all problems are easy to solve. I will say that at first I wasn't sure if this would hold up to the other books it has been compared to (Rain/Reign, Counting by 7s ) but by the end, I think it does. The main character, Lucy, grows on the reader and shows promise by the end. Her group of friends are there for her when she needs it. And she becomes more mature.

Lucy is a mathematical genius. She was struck by lightning when she was 8 and when she woke up, she was a genius. A complete genius about all things math and number-related. Since then, Lucy has been homeschooled and has passed all the requirements for a GED. She thinks she is ready to start college classes, on-line of course, because she doesn't really like to leave the house. She doesn't like new people, and doesn't really care about getting to know them. As she says later in the novel, geniuses don't need normal people's help. But, her Nana and her Uncle Paul think it's time for her to go to school, she she gets enrolled in 7th grade at the local middle school. There she struggles to fit in and decides to hide her math abilities and stay under the radar. Of course, the school's service project gets in the way of that. Lucy's group decides to help out at a local animal shelter, and there's one dog who is "unadoptable." So Lucy has to figure out what to do when a problem doesn't have a solution. And how to let go of something you didn't know you wanted in the first place.

Highly recommend. This is a great middle grade read, perfect for kids who like stories like Wonder & Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus .

I love Lightning Girl!! Such great character development combined with a unique special need. The students in my library will devour this book! I'll be back to add a link from my blog post.

I loved like vied loved this book. Great representation of the disability and the issues that come with it. Well done. My students will love it too. I am just sad I have to wait to get a copy for them. Top of my wish list. I will be nominating it to be considered for our state children's fiction award as well.

This hit a lot of good buttons for me: unconventional families that are all healthy and accepted, discussions of friendship and difference without being preachy, and a middle school main character with a mental illness. Lucy's character and narrative voice were strong, and her development was positive and realistic without being saccharine.

When lightning strikes 8-year-old Lucy Callahan, she is transformed into a math genius who spends her days at home taking online college courses, participating in math forums and avoiding people and germs. However, before Lucy's grandma will allow her to start college she challenges Lucy to survive 7th grade at East Hamlin Middle School.

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is a sweet middle grade novel that explores the painful moments of middle school. I loved that Lucy opens herself up to making friends, trying new things and taking care of animals in need. I think this book will find readers amongst fans of Counting by 7s and Wonder.

Lightning Girl is 12 year-old Lucy Callahan’s screen name in the math forum she loves. Ever since she was hit by lightning at 8 years old, she’s been a math genius. She’s also been homeschooled due to her academic differences and her OCD tendencies. When Lucy’s beloved uncle visits, he and Lucy’s Nana realize that, as smart as Lucy is, she’s missed out on part of her childhood. And so Nana insists that Lucy drag herself away from her computer and experience normal life for 1 year. Lucy’s germ phobia and repetitive sitting behavior don’t make fitting into middle school easy, but luckily, she quickly makes one friend who doesn’t seem to mind her oddities. As Lucy navigates the tricky middle school social world of cafeteria tables and group projects, she will eventually learn the meaning of true friendship, and find out just how far out of her comfort zone she’s willing to go for a friend.

This books greatest strength is in the main character’s voice, which, along with the snide, age-appropriate humor, quickly endears the reader to a character that might otherwise be a little hard to like.


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There was a lot I liked about this book. It was a cute premise and many people will be able to relate to wanting friends and questioning if who they really are is good enough. It was nice that she made both a girl and guy friend.
There were several literary elements that irritated me and almost kept me from finishing the book. Once we learned that the lightning left her with synesthesia such that she relates every number to a color and then every time a color came up we read in parenthesis what number is that color. It was too much. The other thing that annoyed me was the use of the number 1 instead of "one" through out the book.