Mezrich Ben - Charlie Numbers and the Woolly Mammoth

Also by Ben and Tonya Mezrich

Bringing Down the Mouse

Charlie Numbers and the Man in the Moon

SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the authors imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons,

living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright 2019 by Ben Mezrich and Tonya Mezrich

Jacket illustration copyright 2019 by Rayner Alencar

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or .

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Jacket design by Krista Vossen

Interior design by Hilary Zarycky

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Mezrich, Ben, 1969 author. | Mezrich, Tonya, author.

Title: Charlie Numbers and the woolly mammoth / Ben and Tonya Mezrich.

Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2019] | Summary: Sixth-grade mathematical genius Charlie Lewis, the Whiz Kids, and new friends follow their hunch that eccentric billionnaire Blake Headstrom is importing mammoth tusks for sinister purposes.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018049877| ISBN 9781534441002 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534441026 (eBook)

Subjects: | CYAC: MathematicsFiction. | GeniusFiction. | Woolly mammothFiction. | MammothsFiction. | SmugglingFiction. | Boston (Mass.)Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories.

Classification: LCC PZ7.M5753 Cm 2019 | DDC [Fic]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018049877

To Arya and Asheryou may be little, but your curiosity inspires us every day in large ways

This third adventure with Charlie was a dream come true for me. Continuing his story with the Whiz Kids would not have been possible without the support and care from my editor, David Gale, and his team at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, especially Amanda Ramirez.

To our agents, Eric Simonoff and Matt Snyder: you shine a bright light on our pathway every day. To my dear friends from dental school who stood by us for Charlies adventures, Elena Friedman, Titi Dang, and Daniel Friedman: you guys mean the world to us. Ellen Pompeo, Chris Ivery, and Laura Holstein at Calamity Jane, we are thrilled to have you bring Charlie to the screen.

To our Boston Familyyou know who you arethank you for believing in Charlie and his message. Especially Dr. George Church for welcoming us with open arms into his lab and life, and Dawn and Harper Oates for being an inspiration to us all. A warm thank-you to my parents, Ron and Fu-mei Chen, who always taught me that science and math were extremely important subjects. I owe it to you for giving me that strong foundation and always putting education first with me and my three incredible siblings, Tree, Oliver, and Sonya.

And last but not least, thank you, Ben, for always believing in me and being my rock and my sounding board, both when times are tough and when times are easy. And to Asher and Arya for inspiring me to chase my dreams and be the best mommy I can be.

T. M.

1

CHARLIE LEWIS BRACED HIMSELF against the rocking of the deck beneath his feet, as the cold metal railing pressed into his lower back. Hed never been great with boats, or, for that matter, water in general. He wasnt much of a swimmer, and he couldnt catch a fish to save his life. The fact that he was now standing on a cargo ship parked at a dockyard in Boston Harbor, rollicking and rolling above choppy waves as high as Charlie was tall, made him question every decision hed made over the past few weeksif not every decision hed made over the past twelve years.

It certainly didnt help that the remaining rays of winter sunlight were shining blindingly down. In the distance, he could barely make out the giant face of the clock tower, rising up above the pincushion of buildings that made up Bostons Financial District. The giant digital display told him it was five thirty in the afternoon, which meant Charlie should have been home from school already, maybe telling his mother about his day, or watching cartoons with his dad. Having professors for parents meant someone was usually home when he got out of his classes, and usually that was a good thing. But sometimes, like when things got seriously out of control, it meant when Charlie got homeif Charlie got homehed have a lot to explain.

Like how an otherwise normal Thursday late afternoon in February had gotten him here, to the very edge of a giant boat, his sneakers inches from the long drop down to the icy water of Boston Harbor.

The briny smell of the waves filled his nostrils as his mind began calculating the drop itself. The math wasnt hardnot nearly as difficult as keeping his balance as each wave pushed against the mammoth boat, sending it bouncing high in the air despite the ropes that tethered it to the dock. It was 60 feet to the water; 720 inches, 1,828.8 centimeters. Given enough time, Charlie could have calculated how fast hed be going when he hit, even how much liquid his body would displace.

Hed always found comfort in the math, the numbers. Numbers were concrete, something you could count, and count on. His affinity for numbers was so well known among his sixth-grade classmates that theyd attached the word to his name. Nobody had called him Charlie Lewis since fourth grade, when hed aced a ninth-grade math test that had been handed out to his class by mistake: It was always Charlie Numbers.

As he stood on the edge of the ship pondering the numbers, he suddenly caught sight of something moving behind a barrel down below, on the nearby pier. He could see the border of a red swing coat under a yellow neon vest and a mop of familiar auburn hair: Crystal Mueller and Jeremy Diapers Draper were hard to miss, despite their best efforts to remain hidden. Crystal, known for her vast knowledge of geology that far surpassed any high school students, was the quasi coleader of the Whiz Kids. That was the de facto name of his squad of friends from Nagassack Middle School, the public school in Newton that served as home to Charlie and more than three hundred other studentsthe worst of whom had granted Charlies best friend, Jeremy, with his inescapable nickname. Charlie would always remember the day his friend had transformed from Jeremy Draper to Jeremy Diapers: The school bully, Dylan Wigglesworth, had tripped Jeremy, whod then inadvertently emptied out his ever-present backpack all over the cafeteria, revealing his baby sisters disposables instead of his science project.