Forsaking her background in medieval studies, Krista Johansen, the New Brunswick author of the Pippin picture books, moves into the near future for this digital-age adventure.

Computer whiz Jordan and his friend Helen are having a boring summer being babysat by Jordan’s older sister Cassie, who is preoccupied with finishing her thesis at the local university. For fun, and to prove he’s as smart as his sister, Jordan creates a supercomputer that spreads a virus through the Internet to gather information.

Things get out of hand when the virus – named Cassandra – begins to think for itself and develop a moral sense. Two agents from a sinister government department try to steal Cassandra, and Jordan and Helen must struggle to protect a computer program that is rapidly becoming their friend.

The idea behind The Cassandra Virus is excellent and brings up some interesting questions about artificial intelligence, invasion of privacy, and morality in cyberspace. Unfortunately, these questions aren’t pursued, and the story becomes a simple tale of smart kids outwitting dumb villains.

Jordan and Helen are both a bit geeky, and Johansen overdoes a running gag in which they address each other as Igor. The bad guys, particularly the university administrators, are cartoonish and their main purpose seems to be to annoy the heroes, as when they accuse Helen’s dog of “befouling” university property. Perhaps more problematically, there is no strong, exciting climax and the story peters out at the end.

The Cassandra Virus will probably appeal to young computer fanatics, although, since most of them will be able to set up video and voice communications through their own computers, they will wonder why, in a near future with 128-bit processors and lie-detecting robots, Jordan has to communicate with Cassandra through an old-fashioned keyboard.