Rebel Genius

by Michael Dante DiMartino

Overview

A new middle grade fantasy-adventure series from Michael Dante DiMartino, the co-creator of the hit animated shows Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra!

In twelve-year-old Giacomo's Renaissance-inspired world, art is powerful, dangerous, and outlawed. A few artists possess Geniuses, birdlike creatures that are the living embodiment of an artist's creative spirit. Those caught with one face a punishment akin to death, so when Giacomo discovers he has a Genius, he knows he's in serious trouble.

Luckily, he finds safety in a secret studio where young artists and their Geniuses train in sacred geometry to channel their creative energies as weapons.

But when a murderous artist goes after the three Sacred Tools--objects that would allow him to destroy the world and everyone in his path--Giacomo and his friends must risk their lives to stop him.

Praise for Rebel Genius:

"Giacomo's lush and intricate world does not disappoint . . . Give this one to fans of Lisa McMann's The Unwanteds." Hansen's peppy cartoons provide an up-close look at all the smaller-than-life action in this high-energy escapade." --School Library Journal

"DiMartino masterfully weaves a thrilling action-adventure epic into an imaginative and terrifying world." --Bryan Konietzko, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

"Rebel Genius is a natural extension of Michael Dante DiMartino's work on Avatar: The Last Airbender: charming young heroes, magical creatures, an innovative magic system, and mysteries galore. There is so much to love about this book!" --Gene Yang, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and author of American Born Chinese

"DiMartino delivers a magical take on the power of art. With a cast that will charm you and an innovative new world to get lost in, Rebel Genius is a gift for fantasy lovers and a treasure for anyone who has ever tried to pick up a brush or a pen and make something new. A lively, thrilling spin on the struggle to create." --Leigh Bardugo, author of the Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows series

"Rebel Genius contains all of Mike DiMartino's hallmarks: an exquisite world dripping with magic and color, a cast of incredible, diverse characters, and artwork that will take your breath away. Get ready to fall in love." --Marie Lu, author of the Legend trilogy and the Young Elites trilogy

"Rebel Genius is a mind-blowing new series, a passionate blend of adventure, mystery, and puzzle-solving that has no end to its imagination." --Soman Chainani, author of The School for Good and Evil trilogy

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250129741
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	01/02/2018
Series:	Rebel Geniuses Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	301,089
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Michael Dante DiMartino is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and the co-creator of the award-winning animated Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel, The Legend of Korra. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife. The Rebel Genius series is his debut prose work.

Editorial Reviews

"Rebel Genius is a natural extension of Michael Dante DiMartino's work on Avatar: The Last Airbender: charming young heroes, magical creatures, an innovative magic system, and mysteries galore. There is so much to love about this book!" --Gene Yang, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and author of American Born Chinese

"DiMartino masterfully weaves a thrilling action-adventure epic into an imaginative and terrifying world." --Bryan Konietzko, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

"DiMartino delivers a magical take on the power of art. With a cast that will charm you and an innovative new world to get lost in, Rebel Genius is a gift for fantasy lovers and a treasure for anyone who has ever tried to pick up a brush or a pen and make something new. A lively, thrilling spin on the struggle to create."--Leigh Bardugo, author of the Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows series

"Rebel Genius contains all of Mike DiMartino's hallmarks: an exquisite world dripping with magic and color, a cast of incredible, diverse characters, and artwork that will take your breath away. Get ready to fall in love." --Marie Lu, author of the Legend trilogy and the Young Elites trilogy

From the Publisher

08/15/2016
In an adventurous children’s book debut, DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender, draws inspiration from Renaissance Italy for an epic tale of art and magic, first in a planned series, in which talented children seek to keep a legendary artifact from falling into the wrong hands. In the Zizzolan Empire, the tyrannical Supreme Creator has outlawed music and art; those who can play music or draw have been driven underground or killed. Twelve-year-old Giacomo is an artist living on the streets after the death of his parents. After a “Genius,” a birdlike creature, links with him, it allows him to manifest his work in strange new ways and brings him into contact with a secret group of rebel artists who train him in the ways of sacred geometry. When they set out to find the long-lost Compass, an item with the power to change the world, they must battle all manner of terrifying threats. While the story draws on a number of well-worn fantasy tropes, DiMartino keeps it fresh with a richly imagined setting, a fast-paced story line, and numerous deftly sketched illustrations. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

08/01/2016
Gr 5–7—The cocreator of the award-winning television series Avatar: The Last Airbender has written his first book for children, and the result is an interesting, if overly long, blend of Renaissance art, sacred geometry, magic, and a hero origin story. Playing with the Renaissance theory that a genius is an actual being who guides talented people in their art, DiMartino introduces readers to Giacomo, an orphan in a world where art has been outlawed. All geniuses were captured by the tyrannical government, but Giacomo, who has been living in the sewers, finds himself in possession of a genius shortly after the narrative begins. His new companion leads him to join a secret group of students learning to use their artistic powers to fight against oppression. The students represent a range of diverse features and skin colors. A highlight of the Avatar series was its detailed setting, and Giacomo's lush and intricate world does not disappoint. The plot hits some familiar notes and does more telling than showing, but readers will be drawn into this highly stylized world. VERDICT Though this series opener is not perfect, the author's famous past works should lead to high interest in most public and school libraries. Give this one to fans of Lisa McMann's The Unwanteds.—Elisabeth Gattullo Marrocolla, Darien Library, CT

School Library Journal

2016-07-20
Giacomo is a 12-year-old orphan on the run from the orphanage he would rather die than go back to. The white lad lives underground in a sewer and survives on what scraps of food he can steal. In his society, art of any kind is powerful and also illegal. All artists are in possession of Geniuses: birdlike creatures that manifest an artist’s creative spirit. Any artist caught with a Genius faces severe punishment. When his own Genius suddenly appears one night, Giacomo now has an extra problem to deal with. To his surprise, he is discovered by a group of young artists who tell him of a safe space for their kind where they can learn to channel their creative energies using sacred geometry. But then, while training, Giacomo learns of a murderous artist who plans to go after the three Sacred Tools—objects that have the power to demolish the world. Giacomo must now, putting his life in danger again, join the mission to stop the artist. DiMartino creates a Renaissance Italy–inspired world and ties history and magic together within it. The artwork that accompanies the story—black-and-white drawings that emulate Giacomo’s—adds an extra dimension to its themes of artistry and creativity. Inspired worldbuilding and nonstop action should hook readers, and they may find themselves spurred to try their own hands at creating. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews