Gifted kids can be seen throughout the literary world. There's at least one of them in most of the books I write, and the main one I'm working on has them for main characters. Here are some brief little analyses I've come up with from my survey of giftedness in children's literature. I'll try not to be too critical...
Harry Potter
Hermione, Hermione, Hermione: my childhood hero(ine), imbued with a profound love of learning and sense of justice - and literal magical powers. There's practically nothing to criticize here. Hermione is a genius who feels utterly real, and she's also super cool. Maybe she has a little trouble casting a Patronus and sucks at knitting, but aside from that she is Superwoman. Thanks for being you, Hermione!
A Wrinkle in Time
Meg Murray is probably one of my favorite literary characters. Whip-smart and motivated by love for her dad and brother, Meg has the makings of a great heroine, but seems so human through her obstinacy, her impulsivity, her insecurity, her appearance as a kid with glasses and braces. Not necessarily so much anymore, but there was a time where I felt like I practically was Meg Murray (except my dad never went missing, and so I never traveled the universe to find him).
The Mysterious Benedict Society
(Spoiler alert!) I was around 9 when I read this book, and if anything could come close to Harry Potter in my mind back then, this was it. I practically worshipped it. Now, I haven't read it in a long time, but from what I remember and from how much I loved it, I can reasonably conclude that I was able to connect to these kids despite unrealistic aspects of their intelligence (i.e. a two-year-old is so intelligent as to be able to pass for a very small and immature tween for most of the book). Maybe realism isn't the most important part...Then again, though, maybe I liked this book so much just because of the puzzles and the spy stuff. Probably.
Matilda
(Vague spoilers here, I guess. Read on if you dare.) The giftedness poster child of literature, Matilda is a classic Roald Dahl character. I won't read into this portrayal too much because a) it's classic, b) I love this book, and c) all of Roald Dahl's characters are on the eccentric side anyway. There seems to be a trend of gifted kids in literature having superhuman abilities. (I can't complain about that, really, can I?) I learned to read at age 3 just like Matilda, though I definitely wasn't reading Dickens at 5 and I've been privileged with parents who are happy that I exist.
Ungifted
Okay, while this book was a really fun read overall (I like Gordon Korman's work - Restart is great and he is a former fellow child author), there are some issues here. A main thing that bugged me, which I believe a Goodreads reviewer was kind enough to pinpoint for me, was that there is an inverse relationship here between intelligence and creativity - the supposedly "normal" kid has to show the gifted characters what it is to be creative. (I mean, none of you thought to name the robot before this guy showed up? Seriously? You're embarrassing me, people!) Additionally, a few of the characters long to mingle with the "normal" kids, who attend a different school. I guess maybe we just all want what we've never had, but the opportunity I had to attend a college early entrance program with kids like me is one of those opportunities I most regret passing up, even with the knowledge that I would have had a full time honors schedule and little time to socialize anyway. Plus, while we hear from the smart kids throughout the story, the main character is this everyman (boy?) Donovan who mysteriously becomes their hero. Now, he's a nice kid and all, but I just don't quite see why they love him so much.
Millicent Min, Girl Genius
(There are spoilers for this one - read on if you dare.) Like the previous one, I might have read this book with a more critical eye due to my being older and "wiser" at the time. I looked up this book on Goodreads (as I am wont to do) and realized that many reviewers complain that the narrator (the "girl genius" in question) comes across as snobbish and annoying. That kind of hurts, given that I felt this narration from the point of view of a gifted kid was, if not photorealistic, a pretty valiant attempt. Sometimes "normal" people get on our nerves, you know? But I really try to be patient, I do, and not seem too self-important. The author wrote two more books from the point of view of two other characters (telling the same story, might I add), but I don't plan to read them - although maybe I should to get an "outside perspective?" The story was OK. Millicent's frustration with the lack of enthusiasm of her fellow college students and efforts to hide her intelligence from her newest friend Emily are things I can identify with. However, Emily's angry reaction to Millicent's eventual confession seemed unrealistic. I had a pen pal whom I spoke to for over a year before mentioning my college attendance. Granted, maybe she would have reacted differently in person, or if she had a different personality, but she basically said that was "flipping awesome," and our relationship didn't change as a result. Millicent's tendency to spout random facts, a trait common of fictional geniuses, seems slightly exaggerated, as does her use of advanced vocabulary, but it felt good to read something that felt pretty close to the real thing.
An Abundance of Katherines
I know, I'm definitely crossing into YA territory here, but bear with me here. Look, I unabashedly love John Green. Crash Course US History was my best friend throughout my history class a few months back. I plan to check out his and Hank Green's podcast, which looks hilarious (Dear Hank and John). The Fault in our Stars is one of the most amazing books I've read in a long time. This book, though, while funny and candid and clever, feels just a little iffy at times in its portrayal of giftedness. While the main character Colin, a "washed-up child genius," seems way smarter than I am, it's basically stated that "he wasn't one of those college-at-11 types or anything." Maybe I'm just being too humble? Or maybe the world is just a little confused about how smart you have to be to go to college at 11.
Of course, there are other books out there that talk about this. I'm sure that I have yet to read some of the best ones. However, though, these are the ones I've highlighted, and I hope this is revealing about giftedness both from the point of view of the gifted and others. Not that anyone will necessarily read this, though, as this blog only gets so much traffic...
Harry Potter
Hermione, Hermione, Hermione: my childhood hero(ine), imbued with a profound love of learning and sense of justice - and literal magical powers. There's practically nothing to criticize here. Hermione is a genius who feels utterly real, and she's also super cool. Maybe she has a little trouble casting a Patronus and sucks at knitting, but aside from that she is Superwoman. Thanks for being you, Hermione!
A Wrinkle in Time
Meg Murray is probably one of my favorite literary characters. Whip-smart and motivated by love for her dad and brother, Meg has the makings of a great heroine, but seems so human through her obstinacy, her impulsivity, her insecurity, her appearance as a kid with glasses and braces. Not necessarily so much anymore, but there was a time where I felt like I practically was Meg Murray (except my dad never went missing, and so I never traveled the universe to find him).
The Mysterious Benedict Society
(Spoiler alert!) I was around 9 when I read this book, and if anything could come close to Harry Potter in my mind back then, this was it. I practically worshipped it. Now, I haven't read it in a long time, but from what I remember and from how much I loved it, I can reasonably conclude that I was able to connect to these kids despite unrealistic aspects of their intelligence (i.e. a two-year-old is so intelligent as to be able to pass for a very small and immature tween for most of the book). Maybe realism isn't the most important part...Then again, though, maybe I liked this book so much just because of the puzzles and the spy stuff. Probably.
Matilda
(Vague spoilers here, I guess. Read on if you dare.) The giftedness poster child of literature, Matilda is a classic Roald Dahl character. I won't read into this portrayal too much because a) it's classic, b) I love this book, and c) all of Roald Dahl's characters are on the eccentric side anyway. There seems to be a trend of gifted kids in literature having superhuman abilities. (I can't complain about that, really, can I?) I learned to read at age 3 just like Matilda, though I definitely wasn't reading Dickens at 5 and I've been privileged with parents who are happy that I exist.
Ungifted
Okay, while this book was a really fun read overall (I like Gordon Korman's work - Restart is great and he is a former fellow child author), there are some issues here. A main thing that bugged me, which I believe a Goodreads reviewer was kind enough to pinpoint for me, was that there is an inverse relationship here between intelligence and creativity - the supposedly "normal" kid has to show the gifted characters what it is to be creative. (I mean, none of you thought to name the robot before this guy showed up? Seriously? You're embarrassing me, people!) Additionally, a few of the characters long to mingle with the "normal" kids, who attend a different school. I guess maybe we just all want what we've never had, but the opportunity I had to attend a college early entrance program with kids like me is one of those opportunities I most regret passing up, even with the knowledge that I would have had a full time honors schedule and little time to socialize anyway. Plus, while we hear from the smart kids throughout the story, the main character is this everyman (boy?) Donovan who mysteriously becomes their hero. Now, he's a nice kid and all, but I just don't quite see why they love him so much.
Millicent Min, Girl Genius
(There are spoilers for this one - read on if you dare.) Like the previous one, I might have read this book with a more critical eye due to my being older and "wiser" at the time. I looked up this book on Goodreads (as I am wont to do) and realized that many reviewers complain that the narrator (the "girl genius" in question) comes across as snobbish and annoying. That kind of hurts, given that I felt this narration from the point of view of a gifted kid was, if not photorealistic, a pretty valiant attempt. Sometimes "normal" people get on our nerves, you know? But I really try to be patient, I do, and not seem too self-important. The author wrote two more books from the point of view of two other characters (telling the same story, might I add), but I don't plan to read them - although maybe I should to get an "outside perspective?" The story was OK. Millicent's frustration with the lack of enthusiasm of her fellow college students and efforts to hide her intelligence from her newest friend Emily are things I can identify with. However, Emily's angry reaction to Millicent's eventual confession seemed unrealistic. I had a pen pal whom I spoke to for over a year before mentioning my college attendance. Granted, maybe she would have reacted differently in person, or if she had a different personality, but she basically said that was "flipping awesome," and our relationship didn't change as a result. Millicent's tendency to spout random facts, a trait common of fictional geniuses, seems slightly exaggerated, as does her use of advanced vocabulary, but it felt good to read something that felt pretty close to the real thing.
An Abundance of Katherines
I know, I'm definitely crossing into YA territory here, but bear with me here. Look, I unabashedly love John Green. Crash Course US History was my best friend throughout my history class a few months back. I plan to check out his and Hank Green's podcast, which looks hilarious (Dear Hank and John). The Fault in our Stars is one of the most amazing books I've read in a long time. This book, though, while funny and candid and clever, feels just a little iffy at times in its portrayal of giftedness. While the main character Colin, a "washed-up child genius," seems way smarter than I am, it's basically stated that "he wasn't one of those college-at-11 types or anything." Maybe I'm just being too humble? Or maybe the world is just a little confused about how smart you have to be to go to college at 11.
Of course, there are other books out there that talk about this. I'm sure that I have yet to read some of the best ones. However, though, these are the ones I've highlighted, and I hope this is revealing about giftedness both from the point of view of the gifted and others. Not that anyone will necessarily read this, though, as this blog only gets so much traffic...
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