New Book Alert: The Adventures of Ruby Pi and The Geometry Girls: Teen Heroines in History Use Geometry, Algebra, and Other Mathematics to Solve Colossal Problems by Tom Durwood; Intelligent YA Series That Encourages Girls to Study STEM Subjects
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: What Tom Durwood's previous series, The Illustrated Colonials was to History, his current series The Adventures of Ruby Pi and The Geometry Girls is to Mathematics. It takes a certain subject and creates a brilliant series with memorable characters that make a fascinating learning guide.
The book involves five girls from different eras using their expertise in engineering, code breaking, architecture, statistical analysis, and economics to solve problems around them. These stories show the different ways mathematics plays into our lives sometimes without us knowing. If Readers (like me) have trouble with math, the concepts and theories are easily explained and the characters are proactive enough to make the book interesting.
The five stories are:
"Ruby Pi and the Case of the Old Carthusians"-The super genius of the pack is Rupashana Lal Pyradhakrishnan AKA Ruby Pi, the eponymous protagonist of this and the other books in the series. Ruby is a prodigy in various areas such as mathematics, engineering, botany, and various other fields. She shows high intelligence and observation skills to solve mysteries.
In this story, Rupa is put in charge of overseeing the reconstruction of the Charterhouse Cathedral. However, while watching the building and growing concerns about payroll, Rupa stumbles upon a bigger mystery that dates back to the Boer War revealing the cruel realities of war, prejudice, and a deadly pact.
This is one of the strongest stories in the book because it shows Rupa solving mysteries and how to solve engineering problems with reason and fact. However, she can't solve the problems of hatred and war that are found in the human heart. The only thing that she can do as an Indian woman is to prove the white Englishmen's assumptions about her wrong.
"Simone and the Mean Girls"
While war was a backdrop in the previous story, it is upfront in this one.
Set during WWII, Simone is a French volunteer nurse. She is working in the middle of a bombing raid with other nurses, most of whom aren't very friendly towards her. However, Simone is able to decipher a code that could turn the tide on the battle and possibly the war itself.
This story is suspenseful as Simone and the other nurses strive to keep working amidst bombing and terror. There is also a strong sense of character development as Simone is able to break through the other nurses' antagonistic feelings towards her by using her gifts and talents to aid them.
"Isoke and the Architect"
One of the underlying themes in this book is the women using their intelligence to break through barriers closed off to their gender, race, or country of origin. One of the ways that they do this is to cultivate alliances. No story is that more prominent than in "Isoke and the Architect."
Isoke, a woman from Benin, is highly skilled in geometry. When Isoke's geometric gifts allow her to save her queen, Nala, from an assassination attempt, the queen gifts her books of geometry and engineering. Isoke then designs buildings and weapons, overcoming flaws in original designs.
While this is another great story of a woman showing her brain power in a mathematical capacity, what is particularly notable is the relationship between Isoke and Queen Nala. Isoke has a lot of intelligence but very little opportunity to show it until Nala befriends and encourages her. Nala needed someone that can think differently and to build a legacy for her.
Like all friendships, each woman filled a need in the other's life. Sometimes it is important for a genius to be recognized and patroned.
Also this story places this book in the same universe in Durwood's previous series, the Illustrated Colonials by showing a cameo from one of the latter books's characters. This part allows these young women's actions to be recognized on a wider global scale.
"Yan Li and the Numerators"
This story and the next one demonstrate that even in an alternate universe, certain things are fated to happen. They also show that sometimes genius isn't recognized in one's lifetime.
Yan Li, a Chinese woman is able to read the statistics of upcoming crops and analyze that the country is heading for a famine. Unfortunately, she has to contend with Mao Zedong's government and his stubborn insistence to not listen to a perfectly reasonable warning.
This story shows how leaders often become full of themselves to the point that they don't listen when someone points out the flaws in the system. Yan Li shows courage by standing by her prediction even to the point of being threatened.
"Shawnee and the Visitor"
This is another story where a great idea is trampled upon by the realities of history.
In 1968, Shawnee, an expert in finance, was approached by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She gives him an interesting proposal that could provide long term financial assistance for the poor by creating a banking system that specifically caters to African-Americans and impoverished people.
This idea impresses King, unfortunately he has to go to Memphis to give a speech and the next day have a rendezvous with destiny because of one James Earl Ray (and possibly others).
Like "Yan Li and the Numerators," this story shows the potential ideas of a better world becoming shattered by the reality of history. Though unlike Yan Li's case, it's not because of the personality of the leader but by the outside forces of racism and hatred resulting in death.
Shawnee presents the opportunity for people like her to be financially independent, despite those outside forces that created stumbling block after stumbling block for her and her people. Unfortunately, they aren't done yet.
The good news is that as long as there are courageous women like these, restrictions can't and won't last forever.
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