BOOK NAME: Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo
AUTHOR: Greg Leitich Smith

Have you ever thought about how you met your best friend? Was it normal, or was it wacky – like how Elias met Shohei? Pulling a boa constrictor snake named Mathilda out of your backpack can make a remarkable first impression! This book is about three best friends Elias, Honoria, and Shohei, who are united against “That Which Is The Peshtigo School”. Their goal is to make it through the annual school science fair, but things don’t always go as planned.

Elias is part of a family made up of science fanatics who would do anything to win a science fair. Elias isn’t exactly what you’d call the ambitious type, especially when it comes to science fairs. So he becomes like Galileo and “retests” one of his sibling’s past projects. Honoria loves to be ambitious, especially when it comes to being a legal counsel extraordinaire. But when she faces a bigger challenge than beating Goliath Reed or getting a piranha to become vegetarian, she doesn’t know if she can make it. Shohei is an all around slacker who tries to mooch off Elias instead of creating something on his own. His adoptive parents are constantly encouraging him to start “hearing” his ancestors. His mom has even turned Shohei’s room into what looks like a walk-in Japanese museum exhibit!

This book is laugh out loud hilarious and the more you read, the more exciting and unexpected it gets. I love the title on this book because it really made me laugh and want to read the book. I also like how people so different from one another can be such close friends. There is not much excitement in the beginning, but it builds up very quickly. So if you like that type of story, then this is the book for you.