Elixir by Ted Galdi

From Goodreads

Meet 14-year-old Sean Malone. He has an IQ above 200, a full-ride scholarship to one of the country’s top universities, and more than one million dollars from his winning streak on Jeopardy. However, Sean wishes he could just be normal.

But his life is anything but normal. The US government manipulates him, using him as a codebreaker in pursuit of a drug lord and killing innocent people along the way.

For reasons related to his personal security, Sean finds himself in Rome, building a new life under a new name, abandoning academics, and hiding his genius from everyone. When he’s 18 he falls in love. The thrills begin again when he learns that his girlfriend is critically ill and it’s up to him to use his intellect to find a cure, a battle pitting him against a multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical company and the demons of his past.

Elixir is a story about identity, secrets, and above all, love.

 

My thoughts

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great debut YA book.  Mr Galdi manages to hook you in from the first page to the last, as you're taken on a roller coaster of a ride.

What if we had an above average IQ and were able to help the one we love, wouldn't we all want to help regardless of what trouble this mght cause us.

Sean Malone is that young man, he has an above average IQ and an analytical mind. It's due to his ananlytical mind that he finds himself in another country along with his Aunt, with new identites for them both.

Sean/James has reverted to being a normal young man and tries to downplay his intelligence. Sean/James meets and falls for Natasha a young woman. As a mystery illness befalls her it's down to finding a remedy that will help her recover.

Can Sean/James find a remedy in time and if so, what repercussions might this have for himself and others?

I enjoyed this book and thought the premise was a good one. I think most of us would love to be able to help our loved ones and whilst Sean/James had the ability to do so, he was putting himself at risk by stepping in.

I will be looking forward to see what Mr Galdi comes up with next.

It's a thriller, with lots of secrets to be revealed with a romance at it's heart.  I gave it a 7/10.