The World Divided by Piper

With complexity and warmth, Carter (Fifty-Four Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers) centers a seventh grader with big plans for her future, none of which involve growing up. Gifted 11-year-old Piper Franklin, inventor of a new branch of mathematics that quantifies and explains emotions called Metaphorical Math, can’t wait to attend an elite summer program for winners of the Children’s Academic Decathlon. Piper has no doubt she’ll win—until her mother announces that it’s time to stop her puberty blocker treatment, which she began following her “precocious puberty” diagnosis at age six. Not only is Piper certain that experiencing periods will distract her from the decathlon, but she’s not eager to deal with the disrespect she’s witnessed adult women endure. As the competition looms, Piper must explain her desire for blockers without admitting her deepest secret: that she doesn’t want to grow up to be like her mother. Brainy, transgender ally Piper’s lack of context for gender-based discrimination sometimes feels forced, and subplots with friends from marginalized communities seem to only serve in helping Piper to understand and contextualize systemic oppression. Competition drama adds excitement to this relationship-driven story that’s interspersed with pages from Piper’s Metaphorical Math notebooks. Piper reads as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Kate McKean, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Mar.)