Paige Not Found

March 1, 2024
Autistic kids from New York discover they've been part of a billionaire's experiment. Eleven-year-old Paige doesn't know what to think when an email with the subject "Paige Wells Daily Report" pops up on her dad's laptop. She shouldn't read her dad's email, but he's sleeping, and this is about her, after all. The email contains a GPS map of everywhere she's been that day as well as charts showing her heart rate and blood sugar, dopamine, and serotonin levels. She's not going to ask her parents for the truth, especially not after her dad yells at her to "Be a normal kid!" But Paige's best friend figures it out: Paige has a secret experimental chip in her head made by tech startup Nucleus. She didn't actually have her tonsils out when she was 7; instead, they put the mind-controlling Dot in her brain--and it's getting a software upgrade this Friday as part of Nucleus' merger with social media company Homepage. The device is made by Elliot Preston, a contentious billionaire who enjoys Twitter feuds. Is Nucleus controlling her mind? Will it leak her private thoughts and feelings on social media? Armed with a list of other autistic kids who have Dots, Paige sets out to find them and stop Preston from experimenting on and profiting from their brains. This exciting story offers validation, intrigue, and diverse representation. Paige, who's white, is closeted nonbinary and queer. An empowering kids-versus-corporation quest packed full of disability pride. (Science fiction. 8-12)

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April 1, 2024

Gr 5 Up-Paige Wells is almost 12 when she discovers she has a device in her brain that monitors her activity, hormones, and location in an effort to collect data from minors with autism. This has Paige reeling as she begins to question what is real and what else her parents could be lying about. When the company that created the device announces its merger with a social media platform notorious for selling personal data, Paige and her best friend Mara seek out the other children with autism who are part of the program. The group bond as they seek to stop the merger and take down the tech giants. Paige is an unlikely hero, struggling with anxiety, friendships, and gender identity and sexuality questions throughout the story. Her fierceness, bravery, and passion make rooting for Paige irresistible. The premise is dark, and what should feel like science fiction is made all the more sinister because of its realism; the companies and technology depicted are fictional versions of real-life counterparts. The triumphant group of underdogs deliver a swift, clean resolution, keeping the book from veering excessively grim. VERDICT A thrilling story based on real, emerging technology with kids standing up to money-hungry corporations that is, at its core, about acceptance and compassionate portrayal of neurodivergence.-Nicolette Pavain

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