Giveaway: Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby

Another wonderful book that I reviewed last year, Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby, is out this month in paperback. I really enjoyed this one! (Click here for my review). And I have five copies to give away!

Theodore Mead Fegley has always been the smartest person he knows. By age 12, he was in high school, and by 15 he was attending a top-ranking university. And now, at the tender age of 18, he's on the verge of proving the Riemann Hypothesis, a mathematical equation that has mystified academics for almost 150 years. But only days before graduation, Mead suddenly packs his bags and flees home to rural Illinois. What has caused him to flee remains a mystery to all but Mead and a classmate whose quest for success has turned into a dangerous obsession.

At home, Mead finds little solace. His past ghosts haunt him; his parents don't understand the agony his genius has caused him, nor his desire to be a normal kid, and his dreams seem crushed forever. He embarks on a new life's journey -- learning the family business of selling furniture and embalming the dead--that disappoints and surprises all who knew him as "the young Fegley genius."

Equal parts academic thriller and poignant coming-of-age story, LIFE AFTER GENIUS follows the remarkable journey of a young man who must discover that the heart may know what the head hasn't yet learned.

~Synopsis from the publisher

The Reading Group Guide will soon be available here and find out more about the book and the author at her website.

Valerie at Hachette Book Group has provided five copies for me to give away (Thank you, Valerie)!! To enter, leave me a comment here. Winners must have a US or Canada mailing address (no PO Boxes) and will be drawn at random. Enter through midnight eastern on October 28th. Below are some ways for you to earn extra entries. Please leave ONE comment for each thing you choose to do. You can combine your comments together if you like but please do not leave multiple comments for the same extra thing (for example, one comment if you fave at Technorati or subscribe via Feedburner, not three). Anyone who already follows, subscribes, or has faved at Technorati still gets the extras, just mention it in your comment! Thank you for visiting and entering!

+1 become a follower
+1 tweet giveaway on twitter or blog about it (note that you did in your comment)
+3 fave this blog at Technorati (click on the little green box on the left sidebar)
+3 subscribe via Feedburner
+1 leave a comment on my review

Review: Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby (plus GIVEAWAY!)

What could drive a brilliant young man to leave college eight days before graduation, without his degree, and return to his hometown to work in the family Mortuary business?

Being a genius is a difficult thing. For Theodore Mead Fegley, it has brought him nothing but grief. He started high school at the age of twelve, finished in three years, and started college at the age of fifteen. He has always been younger and smaller than everyone else. And, of course, the victim of taunts, ridicule and pranks for his entire school career. He is thrilled to go to college, where he thinks he will be among equals, learned individuals who will value his intellect. Poor kid, how wrong he is.

To facilitate the brand new start Theodore feels he is getting with college, he starts to go by his middle name, Mead. Unfortunately, the very first day he is reminded, yet again, that he is different from everyone else and does not fit in. Girls are too old for him, he is too young for drinking and partying, he has little in common with other young men on campus. His life is lonely and friendless. His only real friend, his cousin Percy, is off pursuing his dream of baseball glory. Percy sends a constant stream of postcards to Mead, letting him know what is going on in his life. But since Mead has no friends he doesn't really know how to BE one, so he never responds to Percy's postcards.

Mead excels at mathematics and spends his college career working on solving the Riemann Hypothesis, a 150 year old mathematical theory. When Herman, a wealthy and attractive fellow math student, befriends Mead it seems a little strange to him that this guy would want to spend time with him. But Herman offers to help Mead on the Riemann Hypothesis so, against his better judgement, Mead allows himself to go along with Herman's schemes. The results will force Mead to change, come to some important realizations about life and to see his parents and family through new eyes.

With Life After Genius, M. Ann Jacoby has written a wonderful story about the process of growing up. It is not enough to be smart, maturity lies in the ability to put aside your selfish concerns and do what is better for others, both people you love and people you may not like very much. She reminds us all about the discomforts of our school days when all we wanted was to be included, be liked, be part of the "in" crowd. You will fall in love with Mead Fegley, a sweet and awkward boy who learns the most important part of being a man.

If you would like to win a copy of Life After Genius, please leave a comment here with a short note about why you would like to read this book. You will receive two additional entries if you blog about this contest and link back here. One winner will be drawn at random. Contest will run through 11:59 pm eastern time on November 8. Winner must have a mailing address in the US or Canada (no PO Boxes). Make sure you leave an email address if you do not have an ID that contains contact information!

Many, many thanks to Miriam Parker at Hachette Book Group for including me in the Early Birds Blog Tour for this book and for providing the copy for the giveaway!!

Visit M. Ann Jacoby's website here.

Order Life After Genius from Amazon