About the Author:
Greg Leitich Smith grew up in Chicago and graduated from a science magnet high school. He went on to complete degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Texas at Austin, and a University of Michigan degree in law.
Greg drew on his own Japanese-German American and adopted background in crafting Elias's and Shohei's families. He now lives with his wife, children's author Cynthia Leitich Smith, and their four cats in Austin, Texas.
From School Library Journal:
Grade 6-8-Friends since grade school, Elias, Shohei, and Honoria are smack in the middle of a rather sticky phase of their lives. Elias is entering his exclusive private school's science fair with about as much enthusiasm as a prisoner walking the plank over shark-infested waters. Shohei is the Japanese-born adopted son of parents who are force-feeding him bits and pieces of his native culture and slacker partner in Elias's science-fair project. Honoria is a serious participant in the fair and has undertaken the extraordinary task of trying to teach a pair of piranhas to prefer bananas over meat. She is also trying to figure out how to tell Shohei that she likes him as more than just a friend. Each of these characters must navigate through personal minefields made up of family and emotional time bombs in order to survive "That Which Is" life. Smith uses a diary format for the chapters, each of which reveals part of the story from a different character's perspective. A fresh, unusual story of friendship and honesty, riddled with wit, intelligence, and more than a few chuckles.
Donna M. Knott, The Lovett School, Atlanta
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