NONFICTION

Smash!: Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe with the Large Hadron Collider

by Sara LATTA
illus. by Jeff Weigel. 72p. Graphic Universe. Apr. 2017. Tr $33.32. ISBN 9781467785518; pap. $11.99. ISBN 9781512430707.
COPY ISBN
Gr 7 Up—An accessible look at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and particle physics. Nick, an aspiring comic book creator, visits his cousin Sophie at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, where her parents work as physicists. Nick doesn't know a lot about science but is looking for superpower ideas for his characters. Sophie enlightens Nick with help from a pair of graduate students. Nick learns about forces, quarks, neutrinos, and more. The text conveys the excitement surrounding the 2012 discovery of the Higgs Boson and concludes with the mysteries of dark matter that have yet to be cracked by science. Principles of particle physics may seem hard to grasp, but Latta uses humor and real-world examples to keep readers engaged. The illustrations will go far in making concepts understandable.
VERDICT This title will be sought out for both pleasure reading and report writing. For all middle and high school science collections.
Reviewed by Allison McLean, Elkhart Public Library, IN , Jan 01, 2017

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