Invasion Of The Blue Lights

by Ruth Glick

When Aaron first saw the strange blue lights on the night of July 4th, he thought it was fireworks.

He watched one light fall into the woods, and the next day he went over to investigate. That day was very nearly his last!

Aaron's close encounter with an alien being was all the more terrifying, because he didn't know what it was; it could change shape!

Had other aliens landed? Where were they?

Aaron, and now his friends, are in terrible danger--all the more, because no one would believe them!

Genres: Young Adult

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Ruth Glick is an American writer of cookbooks, romance and young adult novels. She has written novels under the pseudonym Rebecca York; until 1997 these were written in collaboration with Eileen Buckholtz.

Reviews

[Sue A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still remember standing in my elementary school library looking at this book over and over...picking it up, putting it back down, then going back for it, again and again. When I finally borrowed it out and read it, the book ended up being WAY better than I'd imagined. After that first time, I borrowed it several more and finally, as an adult years later, was able to locate it online and buy a copy for myself. I read it again just a few years ago, and it has certainly managed to hold up over the years, I must say!

The story starts off simply enough...a young boy witnesses what appears to be a battle between two blue lights in the night sky noe evening. The lights appear to crash to the Earth, in different directions, and the boy ends up investigating to see what happened to the one closest to him.

What he finds leads him on a personal journey of discovery - an adventure where not all is as it seems - as he tries to decipher which side of the battle he is really on, now that the blue lights have come upon us.

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute little sci-fi story that would appeal to middle school readers. It's nice to see older children's books making the translation into ebooks (from the cover, it's obviously an older story, and the copyright page reads 1982).

My only niggle with the ebook is that it appears to have been digitized using a scanning OCR program and no one proofed the file prior to publication. Punctuation is odd at times, and there are occasional wrong words that seem to have rendered poorly while scanning.

Still, that didn't detract from the story. It has sci-fi adventure and is well-written, and is still relatable to young readers today. If you know a young sci-fi fan between the ages of 8 and 12, this would be a good recommendation for them.

[Timothy Castaneda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to review these YA fiction books decades after reading them! I loved this book as a 4th grader, but does that mean I rate it a 4 or a 5? My 4's and 5's now are much different than Hatchet, The Outsiders, and Where the Red Fern Grows. I rate Invasion of the Blue Lights as a 4, relative to other similar works meant for young adults and kids. The story is captivating, imaginative, and there are some downright scary moments (again, for a 4th grader who wasn't allowed to play video games). It doesn't have the same impact that Where the Red Fern Grows does, or The Outsiders, for example. However, it's as close to horror as I'd be comfortable with a 4th grader reading.

FYI, in case you're planning on giving it to your own kids without reading it first, there is a scene where the villain uses blood to draw a pentagram on the ground. I think he even tastes blood with a knife (insert shocked emoji). So... do with that what you will.

[Trent Clegg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent teen sci-fi/suspense thriller! Read it in one big gulp on a school field trip to Craters of the Moon long ago. Compelling characters, great plotting, and a thought-provoking conclusion that is more relevant today than it was in the early 1980's just because we still haven't truly addressed the issue. Worth a read, even as an adult if you can still be a kid.

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gets a 4 but one star is for the nostalgia. I remember reading this book on field trips growing up. A group of three of us friends would take turns reading it a loud while on the hour and a half bus rides to the sand dunes or Craters of the Moon. It recently came back to my mind and I had to reread it.

[Jarrod Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a kid, it was one of my favorite books growing up.

[Maddy Toft · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book and loved it when I was really young. Around the age of 12 I read it to my younger sister. She was about 8 at the time. Is that right Katie? She still remembers the book and I still own it, 24+ years later. It was probably the first book that I ever read that was sort of sci-fi and a bit scary.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift from two of my 6th grade teachers. I would never have guessed how much I would love this book--its one of my favorite childhood books that I still no the exact location of because I always keep it in plain sight. I hope, someday, I'll talk one of my kids into reading it.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Aaron first saw the strange blue lights he thought they might be fireworks. When he sees the lights fall in the woods he decides to investigate the nest day. He finds a strange ship and an even stranger alien. Little does he realize what a danger he is in.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice story for middle-schoolers.
Aaron, age 12, sees blue lights in the sky after a Fourth of July fireworks display. But the fireworks are all over.
The next day he goes searching in the woods and finds something interesting.

[elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first novel that my mom published. I re-read it aloud to my older son when he was about 5, and we both enjoyed it.

[Shalimar · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Would you like a piece of pie?", he asked in an Adam Sandler like tone of voice.

[Bizzy Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok for a kids book. not really my kind of thing but quite a sweet story.