Futureland: Battle for the Park

Futureland #1

by H.D. Hunter, Khadijah Khatib (Illustrator)

When an extraordinary flying theme park arrives above Atlanta, one boy must stop a sinister force from stealing the park's tech and taking over the world. An electrifying illustrated series with the Afrofuturism of Black Panther that took the world by storm. Perfect for fans of Miles Morales .

"Hold on tight, Futureland will be the ride of your life . . . and maybe the last!" —Kwame Mbalia, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Welcome to the most spectacular theme park in the world.

Everyone wants a ticket to Futureland, where you can literally live out your wildest dreams. Want to step inside your favorite video game? Go pro in a sports arena? Perform at a real live concert? Grab your ticket and come right in.

Yet with all its attractions, Futureland has always just been home to Cam Walker, the son of the park’s famous creators. And when Futureland arrives at its latest stop, Atlanta, Cam is thrilled for what promises to be the biggest opening ever. . . .

But things aren't quite right with the Atlanta opening. Park attractions are glitching. Kids go missing. And when his parents are blamed, Cam must find the missing kids and whoever’s trying to take down his family . . . before it’s too late.

Genres: Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2022

About the author

Hugh “H.D.” Hunter is a storyteller and community organizer from Atlanta, Georgia. He’s the winner of several indie book awards for multicultural fiction.

Hugh is committed to #ownvoices stories about Black kids and their many expansive worlds.

He loves vegan snacks, basketball, and stories that make you cry -- but make you smile after.

Reviews

[Kiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow. If there is a range of children's literature that gets me the most excited it's the titles coming out of the middle-grade category. This one is a science fiction adventure set in 2048 Atlanta, Georgia. H. D. Hunter pulled on his obvious love for and deep knowledge of the Atlanta community to address matters as individual and personal as new school jitters to broader topics such as ethical issues around privacy and AI technology, gentrification, missing black children, cultural appropriation, and political corruption.

That may sound heavy but the imaginatively splendid worldbuilding of Hunter's words with Khadijah Katib's art made it such a joyful, excited read even when I got a little nervous about how Cameron—the story's smart, imaginative, and vulnerable soft boy protagonist—would figure out how to overcome each new obstacle more intimidating than the last. That theme park was the fully realised tangible creation of a line that rung clearly throughout: The dream is the truth.

Two (of many) highlights that will remain with me:

Cameron's awkward transitioning to public school after being a home schooled kid. I have a special love for Black home schooled kids in literature because certain media would make you think it's just a white religious rural indoctrination system. *loud hiss teeth*

Cameron's parents who treated him like a human being with his own mind and spirit, who instituted a familial practice based on consciously caring for each other. We need more of this writing and we need parents/guardians/elders to read these books the same way they encourage children to.

Readers could start so many great discussions with this book. But at the heart of my reading experience was joy, sheer joy and pure wonder. The dream is the truth!

Thanks to the author for sending me a finished copy. I'm so glad you found me.

[Bevany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story I can't wait to share with my kids! A fun clean book that will keep the reader fully engaged. I was able to binge in a few hours.
Set in our world and time a family has created a floating amusement park that travels the world. They decide to stop for an extended stay in Atlanta to let their son gain some normalcy but things don't go as planned. Now it's up to him and his new Set of friends to save the save the day and futurelands future.
I definitely recommend this book to fun mystery readers, this book emphasizes family and friendship.
My only downside is as it was an arc some of the artwork was incomplete and there were several grammar and spelling issues but not so many as to take you out of the story. However I'm positive these small issues will be resolved by the time it comes to print.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in the world’s coolest amusement park—Futureland—has been great for eleven-year-old Cam. He has had the opportunity to see much of the world all while residing within the protective shell of his parents’ groundbreaking creation. Everything changes, though, when Futureland ports in Atlanta for an entire year to give Cam the opportunity to attend real school for the first time. Despite his trepidations, Cam bravely engages with his human peers and he begins to find a place in a world that somehow seems to exist in a different time. But when elements of Futureland begin behaving strangely and Cam’s parents are caught up in the mess, Cam must lean on both his new friends and his detective skills to sass out the culprit before it is too late.

This action-packed, STEM-centered middle grade novel is the perfect blend of a futuristic reality and the familiar patterns of a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Family is everything to Cam, and when that begins to fall apart, Cam must learn to stand on his own two feet and rely upon all the knowledge he has gained during his relatively short life. The narrative incorporates a variety of textual media, including written interview transcripts, text messages, graphic novels, and play scripts in addition to the traditional narrative. This choice enhances the novel and sets it apart from others in its genre, serving to immerse readers in Cam’s reality from the book’s first moments. This book is expertly designed to launch into a sequel, and readers will look forward to jumping back in with Cam when the next installment is released. Fast-paced, engaging, and filled with mystery and heart, this story is an exciting and multifaceted addition to library collections for middle grade readers.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initial reaction: Aww, I loved this book. Bit of a belated finish. Strong 4 star read. It starts slow, but once the mystery gets going and Cam recruits his friends to figure out what's happening in the park, it takes off. Really loved the artwork in here as well. Can't wait to read more of the series.

Full review:

I am very late in picking up the first book in H.D. Hunter's "Futureland" series, "Battle for the Park". It was such a delightful middle grade book that I ended up recommending it to a friend for her kid to read. The story is set in a futuristic Atlanta, where Cameron (Cam) Walker is the son of parents who own the "Futureland" theme park, a place where everyone's dreams can be made real and offers various attractions to enjoy. But it's not just the fact that Cameron's folks own, build, and run the place - he has a major part in maintaining it too. He lives there too! Alongside him is a Rev (robot) named Dooley who helps him out and doubles as his best friend. We're introduced to Cam as he's suddenly made by his parents to go to "regular" school in the care of his grandmother on the mainland.

But things start going wrong as Futureland opens up to the public. First it's incidental malfunctions across the park and with the Revs there (even Dooley starts acting odd to Cam!). Then his parents start acting weird, his uncle suddenly goes on hiatus, and things to Cam...feel not right. Escalates when kids start going missing around the park. Cam will have to band together with his new friends from school to figure out why so many oddities are happening around the park, even as the danger increases.

The way that this story is told caught my attention from the beginning. Using mixed media (i.e. interview snippets, articles, text messages) and comic/illustrated interludes, I really liked the presentation of the story here. It starts a little slow to establish the park and Cam's relationships/responsibilities, but once the oddities start happening, it picks up the pace. I was invested in seeing how Cam would discover the source of the weird things happening, even crimes. It was fun to see the way Cam sees himself as a detective as well, like he's part of a noir story.

I won't spoil how things end up, but the blend of action, mystery, sci-fi/fantasy and personal stakes that Cam and his friends go through really shined in this respective story. Seeing a funny, strong-willed Black kid and his friends also topple the big bad in their own way was pretty cool to see, especially in terms of how they put the pieces together and figure out details. And I think this provides a firm start to an overarching series while still being self-contained/ending at a good place by tying the respective mysteries and events together well. I loved it and definitely look forward to reading more of the series.

Overall score: 4/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher, but I also listened to the interactive audiobook from my local library.

[Haylee Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A middle grades sci-fi mystery with a Black boy protagonist? Sign me uppppp!! I probably should’ve read this to get the full experience of the illustrations, but I can’t focus on physical books rn so I listened to it

[Keelin Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun - and scary!- middle grade about a boy who teams up with his friends to save his home and family.

[emma perron · Rating 4 out of 5]

excited to work with this one!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Netgalley

**Slight Spoiler in Weaknesses**
Cam Walker is considered lucky by some; in 2048, his parents own the flying amusement park Futureland, and the family lives on site! Futureland travels around to various locations to dock, and Cam's parents have decided to visit Atlanta, Georgia for a year in order for Cam to attend a public school and spend time with his grandmother. His uncle, Trey, also works at the park. Cam is apprehensive about starting school, but also a little excited. His only friend has been Dooley, a "rev" (Biomechanical Fabric-revelation) who has been engineered to look like his sister and is similar to an android. He meets some nice kids at school, Yusuf, Rich, Angel, Earl, and they later come to the park. The roll out hasn't gone smoothly, though; there are gorilla revs that are malfunctioning, and a girl goes missing after the park's opening. Things get stranger and stranger as Cam's parents don't seem like themselves at all, and even Dooley begins to exhibit unusual behavior. The safe mode for the entire park seems to have been disabled! There's a developer in Atlanta, Blaise Southmore, who is trying to work with the Atlanta Disuse and Redevelopment Corporation (not a real life organizaion), but he seems evil, especially after Cam has seen his name on suspicious papers in his parents office. One of Cam's favorite parts of Futureland is the Obsidian Imaginarium, that reads people's minds and uses this information to create a world where they can act out their innermost dreams. Cam doesn't want to run Futureland when he grows up; he wants to be a detective, so there are some graphic novel type pages that show him as a film noir, trench coated detective, and he practices his skills trying to figure out what is going wrong with the park. His grandmother doesn't quite believe him, but since she's about my age, she's seen Westworld and knows that having robots at a theme park is a bad idea! When his uncle is implicated in the disappearance of not one but two Atlanta area girls, Cam steps up his efforts to find out what has happened to his parents and the park. It seems likely that the girls are also hidden at the park, and finding them might give him more insight into what has happened to Dooley. Will he and his new friends, who immediately support him when things go wrong, be able to save the day?
Strengths: Amusements parks are usually very appealing to young people, most of whom have either been to one or heard about them. Here in Ohio, we have both Cedar Point and King's Island within a couple of hours drive. Futureland had the same kind of vibe that Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena had; tweens don't have to save the whole world, but they do have to save a very cool, smaller bit of it. Cam manages to fit into his new school well even though his fellow students are very interested in his connection to the park, and it's good that he has allies for his fight. His grandmother is a fun character, and I rather wished she could have been more involved in helping him investigate. The best thing about the book is the 2048 setting and a really, really cool theme park. The inclusion of the illustrated pages is fun.
Weaknesses: After Dooley meets a bad end, there is a new logo for Futureland of her silhouette. Since she has two Afro puffs, wouldn't this look like... Mickey Mouse? Also, I need more information about the docking. Is Futureland above the city? Parked in a field outside? I just couldn't envision it. Perhaps the description is there and I missed it.
What I really think: This will be a big hit with fans of Mancusi's Dragon Ops and Zhao's Last Gamer Standing and is a great way to introduce readers who love video games to science fiction!

[Nadine Keels · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of this middle grade sci-fi novel's cover art (front and back!), and although I forgot exactly what I read in the book blurb last year, I knew I'd found this story's premise intriguing.

The memory of my intrigue kept me going when my interest dipped during several chapters. A story can start to lose me the longer it takes for me to get a strong sense of "what" and "why it matters." About a third of this novel went by before any of the theme park's main attractions and their purpose became clear enough to keep my interest steady.

Then I gradually became more engaged as the story became creepier, like a bad dream. (And I mean that in a good way.) Also, I really liked the illustrations spread throughout the book when, here and there, the action turned all graphic novelly!

However, perhaps partly due to the fact that I did indeed used to have creepy childhood dreams resembling Cam's challenge here, I found it unbelievable that it took so long for him to realize what a certain major problem was. Especially given the fact that he's been around artificially intelligent creations his whole life.

And regarding the AI elements, I couldn't share Cam's emotions for a lifelike computer/robot (a creation called a "rev") friend of his. Nor did a late but key aspect of the story concerning "humanness" and AI creations vibe with me. So, while I was all in during the climax, I didn't connect with the ending.

Still, I appreciate it when stories depict young people in more than passive roles—when they're thinkers who stand up and take positive action as they're able.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review TK, but for now, let me say: You are going to want to read this book. You're going to want to hand it to every young reader you know. You're going to want to hand it to every teacher. So engaging, so much fucking fun.

[Yesha- Books Teacup and Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

review- https://booksteacupreviews.com/2022/1...

4.5 stars

Futureland: Battle for the Park is adventurous middle grade sci-fi that revolves around eleven-year-old Cameron and saving his home and loved ones. The story is about family, friends, struggle of new kid in town trying to find his place, greed, and loyalty along with layers of gentrification, AI technology, corruption, and missing black kids.

Writing is gripping, lucid, and imaginative with first person narrative from Cameron’s perspective. I loved the format that includes text messages, transcript, interviews, play script, posters, and graphics that gives words and setting of Futureland park and Atlanta in 2048 a life.

Setting was the best part. Futureland super amazing mobile theme park that stays hovering hundred feet above the ground, has various exhibits called destinies that allows visitors to experience future, galaxy, doors leading to new places, marketplace, library with books that takes you inside the story of the book, animals that don’t exist anymore, maze-like caves and there are amazing cool gadgets that all kids, and even I, would like to have. It was all descriptive, imaginative, and adventurous and there still might be more in next books of the series.

Mystery isn’t surprising. Villain’s identity is revealed at around middle of the story but all the fun is in hows and whys which are revealed slowly. The motive wasn’t very surprising but I couldn’t guess where all the missing people were until it was revealed. Climax is action packed. It was interesting to see all the puzzle pieces fitting together in this and for a minute I was scared for characters but the end was hopeful and uplifting with a hint of what is to come next.

Why 4.5 stars –

Mine was ARC copy so some pages didn’t have the final art and I didn’t have the map of Futureland but now I see the final book has it. I wish I could see it before I finished the book as it was hard to imagine where all destinies were just by reading words of character without proper map. (I think now that point doesn’t count, does it?) The pace for the first half is a little slow because of build up.

Overall, Futureland: Battle for the Park is fun, adventurous, imaginative, and action-packed STEM based middle grade sci-fi with amazing concept and setting.

[Cheyenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐ CW: missing kids

Battle for the Park by H.D. Hunter is book one in the Futureland series. This was a great scifi coming of age story that takes place in 2948 and briefly touches on the (recent) history of Atlanta. This was also a great mystery! It was a tad predictable, but hey, it's middle grade.

We follow Cameron, a kid who lives in the futuristic amusement park his parents built called Futureland. Futureland has different sections called 'destinies' where you can live out different virtual reality fantasies, like going inside your favorite adventure novel. The park is run by Revs, machines with AI brains that run on programmed stories. One of these revs is Cameron's best friend Dooley. When Futureland arrives over Atlanta, Cameron starts real school for the first time.

Though nervous that everyone at school will think he's weird for living in Futureland, he makes a great group of friends right away. This found family helps Cameron when the revs from the park start acting weird and dangerous. Soon Cameron notices his parents aren't his parents, something is wrong with Dooley, and it's up to Cameron to save Futureland.

This was such a good book! I loved the black futurism and the mystery. I need more black mystery in my life. It was so nice to see Cameron's best friend was black girl sporting afro puffs. I also loved the artwork inside! It was like a mini comic book inside my novel. Kadijah did a great job. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book and learn more about the shady corporation of ADRC.

Thank you to H.D. Hunter for sending me a copy of this book.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Cam Walker is the only child of the Walkers and because of that, he is their main focus outside of Futureland. He has grown up surrounded by the robots, his parents, and an Uncle as they create and expand the Futureland world. All of that changes though when the family takes Futureland to Atlanta, where Cam's parents are originally from. While his parents work on opening up the park and making it even better, Cam is supposed to be going to a real school for a change and staying with his grandma during the week so he can interact with kids his own age. Up until now, his best friend has been a robot that his parents created (she does look real, but at the end of the day she is still a robot).
With Cam only being at the park on the weekends it takes him a while to notice that things aren't going as they normally are. Park attractions keep glitching, as do the robots that are in each of the attractions.
While he doesn't think much of it at first, as time goes on and other things start happening at the park he realizes that things are far worse than he ever could have imagined.

Overall this book was such a fun read and I loved it! Cam was so smart and figured out what was happening while also juggling a social life and dealing with family problems. While he did get these friends involved in helping him figure out what was happening, at the end of the day he was the one in charge and had to come up with the plan and find ways to outsmart the robots and the person who was trying to destroy everything his parents had worked so hard for. The way everything unfolded had me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next because just when you think he's figured it out something else happens that makes you question things again. In the end, the way this book ended was so good and was a nice conclusion to everything that had gone on. We had answers to the mystery, while also being able to look to the future and have the possibility for more books.


I can easily see this being a series and I cannot wait to see what happens next because it has so many possibilities. Futureland itself is a huge park and Cam's parents have so many ideas that this series could potentially go on for a very long time as Cam grows up.

[Jasmine]

"In the story, pitched as Black Panther meets Westworld by way of Artemis Fowl, the 12-year-old son of the famous creators of the traveling theme park phenomenon Futureland must stop an unknown enemy from stealing their cutting-edge technology and using it for sinister purposes, all while attending public school for the first time. " x

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 (why does Goodreads still not have partial stars???) I liked this more than I expected. I did a mix of reading and listening. The narration was excellent. The structure of the text was varied which was a fun addition and also added a different flair with the narration by using different voices. I’m interested in book 2.

[Cathy | A Case Full of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun sci-fi with an intriguing mystery! Definitely a great middle grade read.

But...what does the J stand for?! 😂

[Lauren Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic! Both the 10 year old and 6 year old loved it. Fun mystery with Westworld vibes.

[adoseof.adri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book! I’d have any middle grade kid I know read this. It has a fun storyline with mystery elements and covers friendship and family is such a great way. Excited for book 2

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cam has always thought of Futureland as home, but Futureland is so much more. Futureland can make your wildest dreams come true, at least for a little while. But when kids start to go missing, his Uncle is missing too, then things with Cam and his parents (owners and creators of Futureland) get really weird, Cam knows it is time to do some investigating and his new friends want to help as well. What they find out may be beyond them but they have to at least try to save Futureland and Cam’s family.
This was a wonderful book with the excitement of this futuristic theme park and the suspense of the mystery of the missing, the odd people/robots and what is with this weird guy from Atlanta. But don’t forget the action of Cam and his friends stopping the weird man from stealing their tech and taking over the city, state, country, world? I believe this awesome book will keep even the most reluctant of readers engaged.

[Ceallaigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Jet-Blur pod… passed through the entrance to the Word Locus. …the air filled with the scent of fresh paper and wet ink. We soared over trees made totally of books—from the trunks to the branches to the leaves, and winding trails that led to the Tree Tower—a giant library with hanging bookshelves swaying in the breeze… At the top, the tree divided into three different peaks, each one a library with different kinds of books inside. I looked up at three pulsing signs: ADVENTURE, FANTASY, and HORROR. All a guest had to do was open up their favorite book and be transported to a virtual-reality version of it.”

TITLE—Futureland: Battle for the Park
AUTHOR—HD Hunter
ILLUSTRATOR—Khadijah Khatib
PUBLISHED—2022
PUBLISHER—Random House

GENRE—middle grade sci-fi/speculative fiction
SETTING—Atlanta, GA, in the year 2048
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—family, friendships & trust, following your dreams, Atlanta, futuristic amusement park, fun innovative technology & world-building, abolition & anti-capitalism, child-detective trope

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—I loved that it was set in Atlanta!
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts:
I don’t read a ton of middle grade but sometimes when I’m in a big reading slump like I was in January I’ll pick from a genre that I rarely read from in order to switch things up and detox my brain a little. I saw Hunter’s book being recommended around bookstagram and since it takes place in my home-state, I thought I’d check it out!

I especially loved all of the characters and the worldbuilding of this story. The technology and the amusement park all sounded really cool. I thought that the villain was really scary and I was pleased to see some really heavy themes were treated without fear or hesitation but still honestly and gently. I’m really glad I picked this one up!

“‘See. Shouldn’t have no park full of robots anyway,’ Grandma Ava shook her head, ‘that’s what’s bound to happen.’”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

CW // missing children, kidnapping, extortion, cops (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—
- ROOT MAGIC, by Eden Royce
- Scooby Doo
- Spy Kids

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, 5 stars, 5 stars! This book was amazing, a joy to read and I could not put it down. And I’m grown.

Futureland Battle for the Park follows Cameron or Cam-Cam as his mom calls him. Right off the bat I loved this because he doesn’t get embarrassed by his mom ‘s nickname for him! There was no “ew mom, stop it. I’m grow up, that’s not my name.” yada yada. Nope, he actually liked it. He hugged his mom and didn’t wipe away her kisses. Are you kidding me? More of that please we need these little boys to be allowed to accept loving from their moms and dads. His dad, b y the way, calls him big man which I also thought was cute. And his Uncle Trey is someone who trusts him and trusts his mind. As do his parents.

This is the sweetest, most loving family unit I’ve seen in a long time and I adored it. Absolutely.

Y’all read the book just for the family and you won’t be disappointed.

When it comes to Futureland, it’s a big flying amusement park. Cameron and his family live there because it was created by his two incredibly genius parents. Initially it was supposed to be Futureland Atlanta back when they were younger but it never got off the ground. Something his dad still thinks about.

That was an unintentional pun by the way.

Anyway, aside from his awesome family, we get Doley. An adorable girl with afro puffs and she’s Cameron’s best friend. Except she’s not human. She’s a robot called a rev. The entire park is populated with revs. Some do tricks, some sell food and drinks, others are animals.

Like the gorilla rev that starts giving Cameron’s family problems.

His parents allow him to help with basically everything in the park and he’s got a pretty important job when it comes to the park in general. They need his kid brain to help see if the rides and attractions are good. He’s an active and integral part of the park.

So we’ve got a loving, genius, Black family that runs a huge amusement park. Yes, yes I absolutely loved this.

Now as it is middle grade, the violence and things like that are toned down but that doesn’t mean there isn’t tension. Things start going back really quick, and Cameron’s world is changed when he’s put in school down on the ground. And he doesn’t like it. He tries to be normal until one kid recognizes him from the ads for Futureland and that’s it. His normalcy at school is done.

He was so upset you really feel it. The author managed to imbue every character with real heart and a voice that was so distinct to each. It was like you were watching the workings of real people. With real danger and stakes. I couldn’t put this book down.

I think it does a really good job setting up the main conflict and kids will jump into it. There’s clues for you to follow that aren’t buried too deep. Even I figured out part of it (I suck at mysteries ok, I need somewhere to start) and by the end of the book I was more or less right. It had been such a joy to actually follow along with the characters and figure it all out.

Everything about this book made me happy. Not sure if y’all can tell.

I absolutely think everyone should read it. I will recommend it to everyone I know and random people standing in book aisles.

Five (5) out of five (5) stars.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and the publisher.

Go read this book!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story I could really see exciting the right reader, but I really was not that reader.

It's 2048. Futureland follows Cameron Walker, heir to the ultra-popular floating theme park Futureland. The park is always on the move, but now his parents are having it stay above Atlanta for a year, meaning Cameron is going to go to a real school. However, odd things start happing with the park's revs (which are robots), kids who visit the park are going missing and even Cameron's parents begin to act differently.

I love the main character. I appreciate how loving Cameron's family is, but his parents still act like, you know, parents. Cameron fantasizes being a detective which is a lot of fun & he wants to be normal. I like watching him try to go to school where everyone recognizes him, realizing he doesn't know how to act around non-rev kids, and building friendships anyways. He also has a grandmother who is a super fun character. Outside of that, the characters aren't that great. The friends aren't distinct from each other and the villain is pretty generic.

My biggest problem comes with the way the story transitions from one scene to the next. It's very jarring and gives me whiplash. Like there's one where Cameron is stressed that something is going to go wrong in the park in a few hours, but then we cut to a week later without addressing if something did go wrong. Then, he's talking to his friends about the park troubles and suddenly we're at a rally searching for missing kids and his friend is talking to the whole crowd on a megaphone?

The last issue is that sometimes Cameron acts really dumb. What's going on with his parents is super obvious, but he takes weeks to figure it out, and a few times in the story he walks into obvious traps.

The book also has a lot of odd consistencies . . . either mistakes or things that don't make sense.
-The author has a couple cliche descriptions that he uses constantly, like 'shivers going up my spine' or 'sweat drenched my back'
-The reason why the villain doesn't go after Cameron is flimsy.
-One of the friends, Rich, is described as white but when he's illustrated later he's black.
-That same friend is also super rich but his mom is a receptionist at a government office.
-Even though Cameron's (and Rich's) parents could afford a private school, Cameron is sent to public school in an unsafe neighborhood (one of the kids says that kids go missing in that area all the time).

There's also some racial commentary that I don't think works in this story with this setting. Then there's the concerning fact that of the two white characters, one is the villain, and the other, when illustrated, is black.

The park's sci-fi concept is interesting, the attractions imaginative, and, as I said, the main character is one of my favorites that I've read recently. I could definitely see this resonating for a lot of people and a lot of people not being bothered by what I didn't like, it kind of felt like the story hit all of my buttons.

[Laura Byrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve realized that I really enjoy middle grade futuristic sci-fi, especially when there is a mystery element to the plot. That’s why I was super excited to read Futureland Battle for the Park.

Cam and his parents have developed and run Futureland Park, the most advanced and high-tech theme park in the world. The Park is stopping in Atlanta for its longest stay ever giving Cam his first chance to attend school. He has mixed feelings as he tries to integrate into a world that is so foreign to him. He is also slow to make friends - wondering if he can trust anyone as the kid who lives at Futureland.

Just before the park opens, things begin to go wrong. Computer systems are malfunctioning and Cam feels torn between school and life as a “normal kid,” and helping his parents at the park.

Opening night goes well, but very quickly it’s obvious that something is VERY wrong at the park. Cam isn’t sure it’s a safe place for visitors. As children begin to go missing, he can’t help but wonder if the disappearances are connected to the glitches at Futureland. Cam soon uncovers a sinister plot that seems too big to solve alone. Can he trust his new friends? Can he save the park? Can he even save his family?

I enjoyed the premise of the book as well as the setting (being a Georgia Peach myself). I also appreciated the diversity of the characters as well as the representation of family. There are some relevant questions about AI and the benefits and dangers of developing the technology. These could be some good conversation starters.

I am glad I read this book, but it’s not fantastic, and I think that’s mostly because it felt a bit shallow. It took a while to set up the plot and get into the book. I also felt as though most of the characters weren’t super developed. One of the main themes in this book seems to be the importance of friendship. That being said, I was kind of shocked at how much Cam actually did by himself. I think having more teamwork and having him lean on his friends, and even his family more would have made a stronger story. I really struggled to understand why he was doing so much alone. I also struggled with many of his decisions in general. Several of his choices left me baffled, and he took a painfully long time to catch on to some pretty obvious things.

I also found it interesting that the 1996 Olympic Games were mentioned so much in the book. I expected them to end up being important to the overall plot, but that wasn’t the case. There were a few references to the 1985 Atlanta kidnappings that I was expecting to lead to a big clue, but ended up being more of a side note.

I feel like this could have been a five star book if things had been fleshed out a bit more, but it was an OK read. Younger kids, kids who aren’t really familiar with solving more complex mysteries, or kids who really have no problem suspending reality when they are reading would enjoy this one.

I’m glad I read it, but it’s not one of my favorites.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Futureland: Battle for the Park

Author: H.D. Hunter, Khadijah Khatib

Book Series: Futureland Book 1

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Black MC and characters, Hispanic character, Character in foster care

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, sci-fi, attacking robots, westworld

Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Genre: MG Sci-Fi

Age Relevance: 10+ (bullying, grief, slight violence, some scary moments)

Explanation of Above: There are very short scenes involving some bullying towards the MC. There is some grief shown on page. There is some very slight violence against robots and there are some scary moments.

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Welcome to the most spectacular theme park in the world.

Everyone wants a ticket to Futureland, where you can literally live out your wildest dreams. Want to step inside your favorite video game? Go pro in a sports arena? Perform at a real live concert? Grab your ticket and come right in.

Yet with all its attractions, Futureland has always just been home to Cam Walker, the son of the park's famous creators. And when Futureland arrives at its latest stop, Atlanta, Cam is thrilled for what promises to be the biggest opening ever. . . .

But things aren't quite right with the Atlanta opening. Park attractions are glitching. Kids go missing. And when his parents are blamed, Cam must find the missing kids and whoever's trying to take down his family . . . before it's too late.

Review: I loved this book so much! It was a fun Westworld-feel book and would be perfect for beginning sci-fi readers or older ones. I loved the concept of a park ran mostly by AI and I loved the world building that went into the book. The character development was superb and the writing was very well done. The book is also a mixed media format read, with comic portions and emails and such. The book is just a fun read and I’m intrigued to see what happens to the characters as the saga continues.

The only issue I had with the book is that I felt like the beginning was a bit rushed and it felt like I was being dropped into the middle of a saga instead of the start of one.

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is out and ready to read - and what a fun read it is! Eleven year old Cam Walker lives with his parents in Futureland - a multi-world, mobile amusement park that brings the park, and access to your greatest dreams, right to your town. But when Cam's parents bring Futureland home to Atlanta for an extended stay (and perhaps some normalcy for Cam), things go off the rails and it's up to Cam to save the park, his friends and his family.

This book is exciting and engaging from beginning to end. I really enjoyed the format. It's written mostly as a standard book, with interview excerpts and graphic segments interwoven throughout.

For such an action-packed book, it's pretty character driven. Besides all the action, there's the underlying story of Cam trying to find his place in the "real" world as he attends public school and makes friends for the first time. Cam is instantly likeable and I found myself pulling for him throughout the story. While all of the other characters are secondary to Cam, they were all multi-faceted and interesting. That was key, because every character was essential to the progression of the story. (I do wish the author had fleshed out Grandma Eva's character a bit more, because she was a favorite.)

There were a couple of small things that kept this from being a five-star read for me. First I wish the worlds of Futureland had been drawn in more detail. There was so much potential for world-building, but it sometimes got lost in the action. I want to know more about what Futureland was like. The other thing that I would have changed is I wish the author had introduced the hourglass house at the beginning of the book, maybe as a prologue, rather than as a flashback at the end. I feel like that would have given readers an opportunity to solve the mystery themselves, rather than just presenting the reader with the solution at the end. But this was minor, and did not keep me from getting completely enmeshed in the world H.D. Hunter created. This middle-grade book is great for kids with big imaginations, kids who love action, kids who think they don't like to read - because H.D. Hunter may just prove them wrong.

Thank you Random House Children's and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

[Herolee · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up!

First off, the design of this book is awesome. I love that they put so much attention to how this story visually looks on the page, from having little images and electric circuits on each page all the way to having fully designed letters, news articles, flyers, and graphic novel style comic strips! Kids are going to love this, especially with the age this book targets.

The authors writing style is great and pulled me into the story instead of being an obstacle I needed to overcome to enjoy the story. I really enjoyed it, and it made me curious to check out his YA novel to see how his MG voice is different from his YA voice.

While the story is imaginative and awesome, the story did drag a bit. It took a pretty long time (for me) to get really going into the meat of the story. But kids might not care at all because there are cool STEM things going on throughout that are bound to keep a kid's attention. There are some tiny things with the worldbuilding that made me wonder what was going on. For instance, this park is huge and has 10 worlds within the park. But they parked it only 200 feet above Atlanta. That has to be a huge shadow covering a large chunk of the city right? Imagine picking up 2-3 Disney worlds and parking it over a city. And there were other tiny things like a grandma reading a newspaper on the train. But we are in 2043 I think? People barely read newspapers now. But I kind of just assumed the grandmother was reading the newspaper with some kind of high-tech device and kept it moving.

A kid will love this book, especially a kid that already loves STEM. Well done!

I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley for an honest review.

[jess (bibliophilicjester) · Rating 4 out of 5]

yesssssssssssss to everything about this book!!!! 4.5 stars!! = )

i've had so many meh reads already this year, and this was just delightful. i need alllllllllll the scifi and fun future technology. idk if we'll have stuff this awesome by 2048, but i definitely need to visit a real life futureland. immediately. please and thank you.

some parts of this story were so unexpectedly creepy, which i absolutely adored. bc creepy things are happening! tension! (it's 1am okay, idk what i'm saying)

i loved these characters and all their interactions, and it was so nice to read dialogue that felt like things actual people would say in life. seriously, after coming off a pretentious-toned ya this afternoon, i really needed cam and his family and friends. i noticed the bio says the author is from atlanta before i started reading, but you can TELL. there's love and respect for the city, its people, and its history, but you also get to see the good and the bad. i really loved all the crazy future tech grounded by actual normal people. really, so much about this book is just perfectly balanced. i LOVED all the differently formatted things (interviews, comics, articles) - it was a fun way to play with the pacing and get you asking questions about what's *really* going on, you know?

there are always going to be awful people trying to ruin what's good, but people are also capable of creating amazing things! a lot goes wrong in this book, but there's so much hope. so much worth fighting for. and it makes me SO happy knowing a book like this exists to inspire kids to dream = ) that's my sappy adult moment for the day lol

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Futureland is just such a fun book about a young man who is trying to figure out where he fits in the world. Cam loves his family. They have created family rules that make him feel loved and included. Yet when Cam’s family arrives in Atlanta, he feels out of place. Most of his life he has lived with his family inside the amazing Futureland. It is a one-of-a-kind amusement park where his parents have imagined and dreamed up one-of-a-kind experiences. While Cam loves the park and his family, for the first time ever he is going to be able to go to school, and make real friends. Yet when mysterious things start to happen in the park, Cam has to figure out who he can trust and hope that he is able to save the park and his family in time.
This is a really fun fast paced book. Cam is able to develop as a character who at first is confused about his future to one who realizes that he doesn’t have to have his future totally figured out. He does need however the support of friends and family. With their support anything is possible and his future still is unwritten. You just learn to love the characters in this book. It is a bit obvious where things are going, however you get so swept up in the story that you don’t really care. I also love how the story has interviews, and graphics intertwined with the story. I have always enjoyed this type of story telling and I think it really helps growing readers feel more invested in what is going on, and gives them a small glimpse into the other side of the story’s point of view.
Thank you so much to Random House Children and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Look, you'd probably think I was the luckiest kid in the world...because I live on top of it. No, seriously. Literally. Well...more like above it, if I'm being precise--vocabulary word!

Premise/plot: Cam Walker, our protagonist, lives IN an amusement park, part time at least. Futureland is unlike any other amusement park. The year is 2048. And Futureland is a traveling amusement park. For the first time, however, it will be remain above Atlanta for an extended period of time. Cam's parents thinks its important--for once--that Cam attend a regular public school. He'll also be getting to know one of his grandmothers. Futureland is due to open very soon...after the novel opens...but not all is going smoothly. Some of the technology, well, it's glitching. And as Cam discovers, these glitches [or mishaps] aren't accidental but intentional. Can Cam figure out the mystery behind these bizarre and dangerous events??? Perhaps with a few real-life friends he can.

My thoughts: I read this in one sitting. It was packed with action and adventure. It's set in the future. And not just the future...but an amusement park celebrating THE FUTURE. It also had plenty of suspense and mystery. There's definitely something sinister going on...and the creepy vibes are front and center. 

I enjoyed this one so much. It kept me hooked into the now of reading the book. I wasn't questioning much about the plot or the characters or the relationships. Just had to keep turning pages.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cameron J. Walker wants to be a detective and he certainly seems sharp enough when things start going wrong in his parents's futuristic floating theme park. But he's not quite there yet and not quite as quick on the draw as he needs to be. It takes him too long to recognize that people close to him have been replaced by revs (this book's word for "android") or to connect that dots about recent changes.

Still, he's a boy, just 11 years old. So it makes sense that he's not quite the Sherlock Holmes he wants himself to be. He gets help in picking apart the mystery from regular children. But the powerful denouement doesn't feature any of them, only one of the revs. So I found that scene a bit lacking. It had a powerful emotional resolution, filled with pathos. But it emphasized Cam's near-constant isolation from everybody except his immediate family and the revs that run the park.

(This is mere nitpicking on my part. But the book states that Cam has a star-shaped birthmark at the corner of his left eye. But cover shows it at the corner of his right. This is an ARC so the final cover may fix this error.)

This is the first in a series so perhaps future installations will feature a closer bond among Cam and his new flesh-and-blood friends. It also contains ominous notes that the park's problems are not over by a long shot. This novel will appeal to tweens who crave adventure, mystery, fantastic vistas and science fiction elements.