The Thirteenth Circle

Connelly, MarcyKate and Holmes, Kathryn. The Thirteenth Circle

January 30, 2024 by Feiwel and Friends

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

After being out sick, Dani is not happy to find that she is partnered with Cat for a science fair project. Even worse is the fact that Cat has already turned in the application for the McMurray competition, and wants to study the local phenomenon of the Weston Farm Circles that appear every 13 years. Cat is that "weird" girl who wears science t shirts and believes in aliens, and Dani is beside herself that her scholarship to ScienceU summer camp could depend on Cat's help. Dani decides that she will work with Cat, but take a different approach to the project, concentrating more on proving that the circles are a hoax, rather than finding proof of alien presence. Cat has a lot of great scientific equipment because her father works for NASA, but ever since her parents divorced and he moved to Houston, he supplies her with equipment for her lab out of guilt. The girls manage to work together and get along for the most part. They gather a lot of information about crop circles, look into the history of the phenomenon, and even spend nights at the farm testing soil and wheat. They think that they have seen something forming a circle, and test the wheat samples, even microwaving some and hypothesizing that the circles are perhaps formed by some sort of microwaves. Things get even stranger when agents (whom they dub "Men in Black") show up at the farm and limit access, and even use an electromagnetic pulse to scramble all of the equipment in the area. Cat's mother is NOT pleased that Cat's phone and several pieces of equipment have been ruined, no matter whose fault it is. The girls don't always get along, and as their research hits snags, there are some tense moments. When their research is stolen from Cat's room, things look even more serious. When the competition is no longer their biggest concern, and the girls are actually put into danger, will they be able to see their project through to the end? (Don't want to give away all the twists and turns!)

Strengths: I liked that there was a lot of great scientific inquiry represented, and Cat even manages to accurately map out the next location of the crop circles, which was very cool. While both girls really enjoy science, there is some realistic push back by some of Dani's friends about her new pursuit. I also liked that Dani's parents are more into art (they run a summer camp called Artistikids) and would prefer that she take dance classes. Dani envies Cat her more scientific parents, who give her freedom and resources to put together a helpful lab in the attic. The different parenting styles were interesting to see. A good balance of scientific descriptions and middle school friend drama makes this an engaging and compelling read. 

Weaknesses: This could have been a little shorter; there's a lot of information to process with the mystery. It's well developed, but eliminating some of the nonessential elements (although I loved Robbie and his tinfoil hats) would have made this easier for readers who aren't quite as strong to manage. Also, I knew right away who the villain was. 
What I really think: I liked this better than Keller's Jennifer Chan is Not Alone, which had some similar elements. This would be a great book for science teachers to use in the classroom!