Water. Water is everywhere. We drink it, bathe in it, we're even made up of it. The average person doesn't think about this common liquid, but after reading new author J. Eric King's "Byron Carmichael Book One: The Human Corpse Trade," every time I take a drink I wonder who drank it before me? Thank about it; the sip you just took could have been the same one George Washington took before he crossed the Delaware or Rosa Parks swigged before she stepped on that bus. Water is the key to our history if only we could unlock it.

As you've probably guessed, water is the center of this tale.

The story takes place in the summer of 2007. Boy uber genius, Byron Carmichael, has just been accepted to a summer program at Brandenburg University where he will join other extremely gifted students to work on an assignment. What he doesn't know is that he will be working on the project his father - who disappeared 15 years earlier - abandoned. Another surprise is that he will be working with the last person to hear from his father, Dr. Vernon Winston, and his children, Nick and Gracie.

Together they will work, not only to solve the mystery of the smart water, but also to solve the mystery of who is running a human corpse trade, Transported back to colonial America, Byron, Nick, and Gracie will have to work together to survive threats, attacks, and the Dark One.

The book started out with quite a few rough patches, which are to be expected with any new writer. To quote Nick, parts were like a corny episode of Scooby Doo, but once things evened out, the book was impossible to put down. At first, I didn't like the fact that it was written in present tense as I have turned down many a book written in the same fashion. I pushed forward instead, and soon this wasn't even present in my mind. Begin stubborn headed can be a good think especially in this case where I would have missed reading what is becoming one of my favorite books.

I'd have to say that the characters were what I liked the most. Byron - who is shy, too bright for his own good, and inexperienced in the area of girls - is easy to relate to the kid who helps you with your math homework. His mistakes and nervousness around Gracie are presented in a way that is both realistic and enlightening. I applaud you, young Master Carmichael, for showing nerds when to turn the smarts off. Nick is not to be forgotten, though. He lends a comical relief to many a situation that would have otherwise been boring and slowed down the fast-paced plot.

King has stepped outside the average teenage mystery novel and brought it to a new level. Through incorporating some science fiction, he has made this book one to be enjoyed by a wide variety of readers. I honestly can't wait to see what happens to Byron and the gang and where the smart water leads them next.