Dragonfly Girl by Marti Leimbach

Happy Friday! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things Tours for Marti Leimbach's YA debut, Dragonfly Girl!

Kira Adams is smart. Science smart, that is. Real world stuff and even high school English sometimes seem to be beyond her. 

But when she wins a prize that takes her to Sweden, everything starts to turn around. She catches the attention of one of the scientists at a prestigious research facility and lands a job there in spite of the fact that she's still only a junior in high school. 

And it's there that she makes a literally life-changing discovery. But Kira's work has been noticed by others as well and it's not necessarily the kind of notice one would consider healthy. 

Wow! I really loved this book!

Dragonfly Girl is a quick read with a main character who immediately drew me in. 

Kira is gifted, so much so that she's able to place in a competition meant for those who've already earned their PhDs. So, professional scientists who work in professional labs and have traditional, professional training. Kira is only in high school. 

But even though she's that gifted, Kira's prospects aren't great. Her mom is sick and has racked up debt with a local loan shark—debt Kira planned to use her prize money to pay off. So college isn't exactly in her immediate plans. 

And unfortunately for Kira, she's outed at the competition. 

But, it kind of works in her favor as well considering she leaves with two different job offers. One kind of shady and one very appealing. 

You can probably guess which offer she takes, but it doesn't keep her out of trouble. That and the science involved in the book, along with Kira, of course, make this a truly page-turning read with massive cross-over appeal!

Dragonfly Girl has everything you want in a great read—action and suspense, a heroine you can root for, and, on you might not think of, science that doesn't entirely go over the reader's head!