Bowditch, Eden Unger. The Atomic Weight of Secrets.

Bowditch, Eden Unger The Atomic Weight of Secrets.
Bancroft 2011 342p 14.95 978-1-61088-006-0 ms/hs E-BN


Five brilliant children are separated from their parents and brought to an Ohio farm. They combine their experiments, plan how to rescue their parents and learn to depend on each other.
In 1903, five brilliant young inventors, all children of important famous scientists from all over the world, are taken from their familiar lives by mysterious men in black. The children end up on a farm in Dayton Ohio with a caring teacher. They combine their ideas and produce a model of a powered airplane. To hide it from the men in black, they give their plans to one child’s cousins who happen to be Orville and Wilbur Wright. The children learn to depend on each other and experience friendship. There are many questions haunting the five children. Who are the men in black? What do they want? Are they protecting the children or holding them prisoner? Where are their parents and what special project are they working on? Not all questions are answered in this first installment of a new series, even as the children are reunited with their parents.
The characters of the children are well developed. The action, mystery and questions keep the reader moving forward. An interest in science or engineering will enhance both the understanding of the work of the children and the plot.
There are some errors that hopefully will be caught before the final printing. Fantasy Theal, Joan