A Problematic Paradox

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Book cover for A Problematic Paradox

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Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in this wild, warm-hearted, and hilarious sci-fi debut about a brainy young girl who is recruited for a very special boarding school.

"It's like Harry Potter, but with science instead of magic. Nikola is exactly the smart female protagonist that the sci-fi genre needs." --HelloGiggles


Nikola Kross has given up on living in harmony with classmates and exasperated teachers: she prefers dabbling in experimental chemistry to fitting in. But when her life is axially inverted by a gang of extraterrestrials who kidnap her dad and attempt to recruit her into their service, she discovers he's been keeping a world of secrets from her--including the school for geniuses where she's sent for refuge, a place where classes like Practical Quantum Mechanics are the norm and where students use wormholes to commute to class. For Nikola, the hard part isn't school, it's making friends, especially when the student body isn't (entirely) human. But the most puzzling paradox of all is Nikola herself, who has certain abilities that no one understands--abilities that put her whole school in greater danger than she could have imagined.

*"A glorious cacophony of wildly inventive gadgets, gags, and action." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"An amazing and often hilarious world that feels like a blend of A Series of Unfortunate Events and Harry Potter, but with futuristic inventions rather than magic." --School Library Connection, starred review

"Smart, energetic, and original . . . Readers will willingly jump with Nikola into the nearest wormhole and next adventure." --School Library Journal
  • ISBN10 152473845X
  • ISBN13 9781524738457
  • Publish Date 23 January 2018
  • Publish Status Remaindered
  • Out of Print 9 August 2023
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
  • Imprint G.P.Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers'