Theodore “Mead” is smart. So smart he has been pushed through school younger than most. His mother overbearing and his father keeps to his funeral business. The only family member that treats him normal is his cousin Percy. Mead starts college away from all his family. Just as he is about to graduate Mead breaks from the pressure of everything, his school, his future, friendships, and mysterious past.

I am not usually into dramatic contemporary books but I did like this one. In some ways, I related to Mead’s breakdown. He is learning who his without others telling him who they want him to be. I like the back and forth through time. It kept me interested in the story and made the mystery all the more mysterious.

The ending was not horrible but not great either. It was an ending I did not see coming. A lot of the book I could not predict and that usually makes for a good book.

I thought for the first book from an author the book was well written and kept my attention. I am curious about her next book if there is one. ( )

I think the reason I got this is the main character, Mead, is the son of an undertaker/furniture store owner in the 1970s. Mead is a genius and goes to college at 15 and at 18 is ready to prove the Rieman hypothesis, a mathematical equation that has mystified academics for 150 years. It turns out he might be ready for college academically but certainly not emotionally- he ends up trusting someone he may or may not have. It is a book that ends with this question unanswered. ( )

LIFE AFTER GENIUS begins as the protagonist, Mead Fegley, returns home a few days before he's supposed to graduate from college. Not just graduate from college: a few days before he's supposed to give a colloquium on an important mathematical theorem he's proven before an audience of the country's eminent professors, when his absence could cost him his academic career. To top it off, Mead is just 18; he's a boy genius, and his early graduation from college should have been his crowning achievement.

Mead skipped town because another student and supposed friend, Herman Weinstein, had tried to force him into declaring Herman the co-author of the paper he was set to present. Herman is not only rich and charming, he's a malicious schemer – by bribing the head of the math department with gifts and even sleeping with him, Herman has transformed the professor into a tool he can use against Mead. Once Mead would rather sacrifice everything than give Herman a free ride.

Once home, he has to face other troubles: his mother, a cold and demanding woman, the prospect of working in the family business at the morgue, and the anger of his uncle, who blames Mead for his son Percy's death (Percy died in a car accident, on his way to meet Mead).

Mead is a very unsympathetic character. His narrative voice is a litany of complaints – mostly he complains about how hard it is to be a genius, skipping grades and being teased; but he also finds time to complain about his family, his friends, his professors, and just about anything else. Mead is quiet and passive on the outside, but full of anger and resentment on the inside. Many of Mead's problems would be solved if he talked about them with his friends, allies, or family – but instead he keeps his mouth shut and stews in his bitterness.

The novel ends without offering any real closure. It's not clear what Mead's academic future will be, if he'll continue with mathematics or stay in his home town, and he hasn't solved much where his family is concerned, either. The reader sees an increase in self-awareness from Mead, and some growth, but the changes are not dramatic. While LIFE AFTER GENIUS is well-written, it lacks the philosophical heft of a good literary novel and the fun of light fiction. ( )

The beginning of the book really drew me in and I ended up reading more than half of it in an evening. Then the ending came about and I closed it with a disappointing "oh...."

I wanted something more after that crazy storyline, but instead the ending felt like a cop-out. ( )

This was a weird one for me. I liked the story, even though it was a bit odd, but I didn't really connect with the main character. But the mystery of why Mead came home was pretty engaging. I just wanted to know why. The story jumps around through different times in Mead's life. It got to be a bit confusing at times, as Mead also seems to be having a bit of a nervous breakdown throughout the story. But the jumping around really adds to the mystery of what happened and if Mead really is starting to loose his mind.

Mead appears to have had a rough social life growing up. Being so smart and so much younger than the kids he's in school with made him a bit of a target for bullies and such. So it's really no surprise that once Mead goes to college young he's still an outcast. Herman, Mead's best friend/mortal enemy tries to befriend Mead for a while and has to take a HUGE step to get Mead to really open up. But as the story progresses we learn that while Herman seems to have been born with the silver spoon his life wasn't really all that easy.

Even though I didn't particularly care for either of the main characters there was something about this story that I couldn't walk away from. It was so out there at times and yet so "normal". It's so hard to describe. Even the ending was a bit odd, and it left more questions than it answered. But at the same time most of the really important stuff is cleared up before we get to the end. Like I said it's hard to describe... ( )