Middle School is hard enough, but it is going to be an even more difficult year for 12 year old Lucy Callahan. Four years ago Lucy was struck by lightning while playing outside. Lucy's heart stopped for a few minutes, but more importantly, it changed the way her brain worked. When Lucy recovered, she had developed Acquired Savant Syndrome for math. Lucy became a whiz with number, doing complex calculations in her head, she could also see math, numbers have a color and a shape. With her acquired savant syndrome also came a few quirks, Lucy now has a germ phobia and has to toe tap three time and do a stand-up, sit-down routine three times before taking a seat or the numbers of Pi will invade her head. With her new skills and quirks, Lucy's Nana pulls her out of traditional school and helps Lucy earn her GED at 12 years old. Now, when Lucy should be looking at colleges, her Nana and Uncle Paul decide that Lucy could use some real world skills and enroll her in Middle School where Lucy is tasked to make one real friend, join one activity and read one book that is not a textbook. 

A surprising, fun and unique middle grade story that quickly captured my heart. Even though Lucy is a math genius, her challenges make her relatable to anyone who has ever had to navigate middle school. The writing flows effortlessly and accurately describes a middle school experience. I was also impressed with how well the processes of Lucy's quirks and math logic were described. They did not seem like a handicap, just part of Lucy's life. Lucy's classmates and soon to be friends, Windy and Levi help round out Lucy's middle school experience. With these two very different friends, Lucy is pushed to grow, learn and relate to people in unique ways. When the trio of friends has to take on a service project, Lucy is pushed even farther. I did love that Lucy was able to combine her love of math, Levi's love of photography and Windy's love of pet philanthropy into one project to help a pet shelter. Overall, a distinct and easy to devour book featuring a diverse cast and a great message that middle grade readers to adults will enjoy.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Lightning Girl is 12 year-old Lucy Callahan’s screen name in the math forum she loves. Ever since she was hit by lightning at 8 years old, she’s been a math genius. She’s also been homeschooled due to her academic differences and her OCD tendencies. When Lucy’s beloved uncle visits, he and Lucy’s Nana realize that, as smart as Lucy is, she’s missed out on part of her childhood. And so Nana insists that Lucy drag herself away from her computer and experience normal life for 1 year. Lucy’s germ phobia and repetitive sitting behavior don’t make fitting into middle school easy, but luckily, she quickly makes one friend who doesn’t seem to mind her oddities. As Lucy navigates the tricky middle school social world of cafeteria tables and group projects, she will eventually learn the meaning of true friendship, and find out just how far out of her comfort zone she’s willing to go for a friend.

This books greatest strength is in the main character’s voice, which, along with the snide, age-appropriate humor, quickly endears the reader to a character that might otherwise be a little hard to like.

I love this book. It's simple and to the point. It's about how all girls, despite the color of their skin or how able their bodies are or how feminine they choose to be, are beautiful. It shows girls through the stunning illustrations created by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff that being a girl is wonderful. Stacy McAnulty wanted to portray that girls can do anything! They can be into sports or the sciences or the arts! They can be feminine or masculine. They can do whatever they want and that, in and of itself, is a beautiful thing.

I love this book. It has become one of my favorite picture books. And I highly encourage you read this book! This is good for everyone to read! I do mean everyone! It will encourage little girls to become who they want to be and it will educate little boys that girls are their equal. So please share this book with someone in your life. It's truly a beautiful one.