A Girl Named Digit

Title: A Girl Named Digit

Author: Annabel Monaghan

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date: June, 2012

Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel

Goodreads Summary: Farrah "Digit" Higgins may be going to MIT in the fall, but this L.A. high school genius has left her geek self behind in another school district so she can blend in with the popular crowd at Santa Monica High and actually enjoy her senior year. But when Farrah, the daughter of a UCLA math professor, unknowingly cracks a terrorist group's number sequence, her laid-back senior year gets a lot more interesting. Soon she is personally investigating the case, on the run from terrorists, and faking her own kidnapping-- all while trying to convince a young, hot FBI agent to take her seriously. So much for blending in . . .

What I Think: I love a book with a strong, smart female protagonist. It helps if the story is thoroughly entertaining as well. This book fits that mold. Farrah is nicknamed Digit because of her insane aptitude for numbers. She's never really fit in because of her brains, so when she went to a new school, she decided to hide her intelligence so she can hang out with the popular kids; however, she cannot completely block out her mind and ends up cracking a code to a terrorist plan. Now, she is FBI's only hope for stopping these criminals who are not afraid to kill others and die doing so. Now, she gets to embrace her genius and help save the world. 

     This book is one that will definitely find readers in many classrooms and has a great protagonist for girls to look up to. 

Read Together: Grades 9 to 12

Read Alone: Grades 8 and up
Read with: Secret Letters by Leah Scheir, Trash by Andy Mulligan

Snatch of Text: "I smiled, a little embarrassed, and started scanning the alley for nothing too, while I thought about my new favorite word: either. He could have just said, "I'm not just a pretty face." But he added either. Either can be an adjective (I could lean over and kiss either his neck or his lips), a pronoun (His neck or his lips? Either will do), or, like here, an adverb following a negative subordinate clause (I'm not just a pretty face either). I wondered if it could be a name. We could have a daughter and call her Either." (p. 54)

Mentor Text for: Grammar, Puns, Voice, Suspense

Writing Prompts: Think of a time when you tried to hide something about yourself because you were embarrassed. Thinking back, what advice would you had given your past self about not hiding your true self. 

Topics Covered: Ecoterrorism, Fathers, Role Models, Geniuses, Fibonacci, Math

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