The main character is a fourteen year old boy named Nick, who, after his mother dies, moves into a new house in Colorado Springs with his brother and father, which the attic of is full of weird inventions. He makes friends with some local kids, and discovers a link between his attic, Tesla, and a mysterious secret society of white-clad men. The speed of the story only increases as the story progresses, featuring an enormous asteroid, a double agent, and a complex love triangle.
The characters in Tesla’s Attic are painted a little too richly, and are a little bit unrealistic, but Schusterman and Elfman write great reactions to events in the book, that you can almost see about to happen. The characters are predictable, but in a tender way that makes you pleased with the outcome of the story.
The plot of Tesla’s Attic is the definitely best part of the book, and is definitely superior to the other parts, such as the character design and the scene writing. To read Tesla’s Attic is like going on a roller coaster. It has some slow parts that gradually build up to a big plot twist or event and then it slows down again.
Overall, I really think that Tesla’s Attic is a good book, not only because of the richness in it’s writing and the tone which Schusterman sets, but because I think that it is a genuinely fun book to read. I think that the authors are subtly trying to convey that Tesla was an unsung genius who should be credited for more than he is. The 3rd book in the series came out on February 9th and I cannot say how it is because I haven’t read it.
- Christopher, Grade 7, CSCL
