The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius - Book Review

*The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius - Kristine Barnett - I loved this book!

Kristine Barnett’s son Jacob has an IQ higher than Einstein’s, a photographic memory, and he taught himself calculus in two weeks. At nine he started working on an original theory in astrophysics that experts believe may someday put him in line for a Nobel Prize. Last summer, at age twelve, he became a paid researcher in quantum physics.

But the story of Kristine’s journey with Jake is all the more remarkable because his extraordinary mind was almost lost to autism. At age two, when Jake was diagnosed, Kristine was told he might never be able to tie his own shoes.  Kristine decided that she was going to home-school Jacob and set up the curriculum with what piqued his curiosity.

For many years, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.  By the time Jacob had mastered all the high school math books she brought him, and wanted to take college courses, she knew he was doing what he loved. The local university let him sit in on an introductory class as long as he promised not to disrupt the other students. Soon, he was asking questions that the professor could not answer, and was allowed to continue into the more advanced classes.

This is a story about a gifted child.  But it is also a story about a mother who recognized that though her child was very different from other children, he was still a child and needed love and guidance.

*To be published April 2013 by Random House ISBN 978-0-8129-9337-0