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Set in Shanghai and Seattle, Calculated is a gritty, modern day blend of the Count of Monte Cristo + Mission Impossible.
She has many names – Octavia, Double 8, Phoenix, Josephine. She’s a math prodigy, a calculating genius and everyone wants her.
In seventeen-year-old Jo River’s complicated world of numbers, there’s no such thing as coincidence. When she is betrayed by someone she loves, kidnapped by the world’s most wanted smuggler, and forced to use her talent to shore up a criminal empire, Jo deems her gift a curse—until she meets Red.
Fellow captive and unlikely sage, Red teaches Jo to harness her true potential, so she can do more than just escape. Before he dies, Red reveals a secret about her enemies and makes her vow to right his wrongs. But Jo has a vow of her own.
With help from Chan, a bitter billionaire, and Kai, his off-limits son, Jo rises into a new role, ready to take down those who ruined her life. Until a mathematical error comes back to haunt her with a threat much more dangerous than the criminals on the loose.
To beat the odds, Jo must decide who she really is and if risking everything is worth it.
After all, history is not made—it’s calculated.
With themes of revenge and forgiveness, loss and identity, brainpower versus brutality, and the triumph of right over might, it will resonate with readers everywhere.
Tropes present
Biblical prophet guest appearance Jo wasn’t exactly sold into slavery by her family, but what happens is similar enough to the Joseph story from Genesis that it’s clearly an allegory.
Teen genius Jo can solve just about any kind of problem there is with her superior mathematical skills, including making huge amounts of money with investments.
Found family As Jo escapes and rebuilds her life, she forms deep bonds with a “bitter billionaire” and his son, creating a new support system.
Fake identity baggage Jo uses several different names throughout her journey—including Octavia, Double 8, and Phoenix—representing her evolution and different roles in the story. The narrative follows Jo’s struggle to decide who she really is outside of her utility to others.
Revenge quest Much of the plot focuses on Jo rising into a new role to take down those who ruined her life, mirroring classic revenge tales.