The Jamie Drake Equation

Product Information

Overall, the Jamie Drake Equation is a well written short novel, ideal for younger readers who might be interested in science, aliens and space travel. Edge includes lots of science tidbits for young readers to chew on and includes short chapter called The Science of The Jamie Drake Equation where he examines some of the science in the novel. Plausibility issues made it difficult for me to fully engage with the story. If you’re going to set your story in the real world, your science better be right. But it was not. Nimbly intertwines science, math, and fiction. Fiction entertainingly edges out science . . .in a fantastical finale. —Publishers Weekly

Jamie Drake’s dad is famous. He’s an astronaut, and he’s currently orbiting the earth on the International Space Station, about 400kms above the planet’s surface. Soon he will launch a series of tiny interstellar probes, which will search the galaxy for signs of alien life. What could possibly go wrong? Nominated for the 2018 CILIP Carnegie Medal. Shortlisted for the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award, the Haringey Children’s Book Award and the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award. I am not going to tell you how this story ends. But I want to mention the episodes in the book in which fantastic science facts are hiding. Also the author depicts the destruction of the International Space Station, which gets hit by an immense solar storm and plummets to the earth. As a space nerd I was honestly aghast at this development. And a little miffed at the author’s cavalier treatment of it.

Space Oddity

Astronaut Drake launches “Light Swarm Probes” that can travel almost as fast as the light. The prototype for the Swarm probes is the Starshot project. It is currently just the idea to explore space using nano probes on laser beam sails . The project is open to the public and experts. We are all welcome to help solve the technical difficulties and make the technology real! This story reminded me very much of Tim Peake while he was in space. His interactions with school children created a lot of excitement. The author successfully portrayed this and the main character’s conflict with this new-found fame. That being said, this book was full of fun STEM-iness. We learn about the Jamie Drake Equation, we learn about the fibonacci sequence and more space science. But there is also the sci-fi element of the alien’s and Jamie’s interactions with them. The Jamie Drake Equation could be enjoyed by readers who like tales of science fiction, space travel, aliens, maths, defunct heavy metal bands called Death Panda, science and family drama, probably in the 9-12 age range.

But when something goes wrong with his dad’s mission, Jamie is reminded that space is a dangerous place. He decides it’s time to prove that he’s a hero too. My only real complaint was with the characterization. Jamie is a pretty generic character. We don't get to know him beyond some basic stuff, such as his relationship with his dad and the fact that he's bad at math. Because of this, he is easy to project yourself onto, which I suppose is useful for younger readers trying to see themselves in Jamie's story, but it also made it seem like Jamie could have been replaced by really any other sixth-grade boy. I was also hoping for more of a friendship to develop between Minty and Jamie, but she really didn't serve much purpose in the story at all. Overall, it felt like a very interesting plot plugged in with a bunch of random people.The Jamie Drake Equation was one I was considering for my 4-6th grade STEM book club. It was a good read and would have given us a lot to talk about but I just didn’t think we had enough copies in our library system to make it work. This was great!! I liked how it had the science behind the book at the end (the infinite lives of Maisie day also had that, which is the other book I've read by edge)...it's a nice addition for actual kids reading this as well as a refresher for adults. Or maybe new stuff to adults, who knows. I was kind of surprised to recognize the Fibonacci sequence before the book told me 😂 look at my brain pulling random memories from the depths of my school days, lol. With solid science and believable family conflicts, this will be very satisfying to readers whose wishful thinking can suspend disbelief.