THE SKY TOOK US

In Bonato’s YA SF novel, a teenage prodigy must crack an alien mathematical code to save the world.

In a Toronto suburb in July 2035, 16-year-old prodigy Kris Argentia has just discovered a proof for the Riemann hypothesis, the most challenging problem in advanced mathematics. She shares the news with her doctoral adviser, Dr. Nate Wallace. The next morning, a floating black orb appears downtown, attracting a crowd that includes Kris’ mother, Sarah, who was shopping nearby. The orb is covered with lights that blink and flash in repeating patterns that Kris quickly recognizes as mathematical (“it was a structured pattern, despite the chaos”). After 90 minutes, it turns red and emits a blinding flash, and everyone within a mile of the object simply vanishes. Soon, a second orb appears in New York City’s Times Square, and major cities around the planet order emergency evacuations. Kris realizes that the orbs are messages from an unimaginably advanced alien culture, and that the fate of the world depends on humans’ ability to break their code and respond. As Kris and her older sister, Antoinette, an aspiring musician, argue about how they might try to rescue their mother, Nate shows up with intelligence agent Ajinder Toor. They bring Kris to a base outside New York City to join an international team of elite mathematicians working against the clock to crack the alien code before human society descends into chaos, with Antoinette tagging along. The author, a mathematician, describes the narrative’s advanced math concepts in a way that’s easy to follow and not intimidating to the math-phobic. Kris grows as a character, struggling to balance her desire to feel like a normal teenager with commanding the respect of the world’s top adult mathematicians. The book vividly portrays Antoinette as well as Yolanda Choi, a teen internet superstar who befriends the sisters. A few details stretch credulity—security at the team’s secret military base seems unusually lax, for instance—but overall, Bonato’s novel offers an engaging and satisfying read.

A coming-of-age tale with strong female characters and an intriguing SF premise.