The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

“I don’t remember the moment that changed my life 4 years ago. Call it a side effect of being struck by lightning. That bolt of electricity burned a small hole in my memory. It also rewired my brain, transforming me into Lucille Fanny Callahan, math genius.”

The story’s protagonist, Lucy, neatly sums up her predicament: A bolt from the sky turns her into a numbers savant and overturns her childhood. She must now learn how to be a typical student despite her astonishing mental power.

“When people meet me, they expect Einstein or Maryam Mirzakhani (if they’re familiar with recent mathematical geniuses). But instead, they get the 1 and only freaky-strange Lucy. The girl who can’t sit down without making you stare at her because she needs to do it 3 times. The girl who would rather calculate your age down to the hour than talk about your hobbies. The girl who never leaves the house without a supply of Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer.”

Lucy enjoys her new power, but she’s obsessed with it, which causes problems, especially when she’s with other people. Her obsessive-compulsive behaviors also make people uneasy. She’s well aware that, though the lightning bolt gave her a gift, it also took things away.

“‘Friends?’ ‘Um…’ This is actually a hard answer to calculate. What makes someone a friend? A shared interest? Is there a minimum amount of time you need to spend together? Does the other person need to call you a friend, too?”

After four years of being a homeschooled math genius, Lucy is behind in her social skills. She doesn’t want any more people in her life, other than Nana and Paul because they understand her quirks. Lucy struggles with how to approach other people and friendships because she cannot find a solution to this issue as easily as she can solve math problems.