note: I received an advance copy, and so on, and so forth. God I hate writing these stupid disclaimers!
Part adventure, part sci-fi, and all child-like charm, this is for young readers, but perfect for the young at heart adults. With its irresistible characters, it’s a reminder of a time when you were young and could believe in anything with all your heart, no matter how outlandish it might have been. Simply put, this is magic.
It’s the three pre-teen lead characters, Marvin (code name: Gold Leader), Jace (code name: Baller One) and Nora (code name: Space Cadet) that make the story such a joy. The author clearly knows kids and how to write them, his insights are so good you’ll wonder if the book was written by a teen with advanced writing skills. The main character, Marvin, is the overall focus. He truly believes aliens will one day infiltrate the earth, and spends his spare time searching and preparing for them, along with his less enthusiastic cohorts. Jace and Nora don’t really buy into Marvin’s obsession, but searching the night sky for flying saucers during campouts and building an anti-UFO catapult is fun for them. And, that’s what buddies do: go along with the ideas of each other, in the name of friendship.
Things change when the three of them do find something unusual in the woods that isn’t actual aliens, but…it does somewhat fit into Marvin’s beliefs. The author wisely doesn’t hide the fact that it isn’t an extraterrestrial invasion, but he has Marvin play his role to the end, and that’s where a lot of the story’s charm comes from. It’s hilarious when adults in the book occasionally ask ‘what’s wrong with this kid?’ when Marvin accuses them of being from another planet. The answer is, nothing is wrong with him. He isn’t written as crazy or stupid, but a kid who believes, whole-heartedly, in aliens coming to earth. It makes the character interactions between the three leads more powerful than a laser bolt from Han Solo’s blaster, as Jace and Nora are perfect foils to Marvin. Jace has fun with the whole alien thing but would rather play basketball, and Nora is new and town and just needs a friend.
The storyline is quite good, call it sci-fi light. There are a few weird creatures and a bit of teleporting, plus, of course, an EEEEVIL mastermind behind it all. Somewhat stock elements, but used extremely well. A few characters do get chomped by…something, but nothing messy. This book is perfect for grades four through seven, roughly. (I’m basing that on my teaching experience)
However, since this review is mainly for adults, the overall gist is this is perfect for adults that haven’t let the world dampen the joy of imagination. It’s a good reminder that magic of a sort does exist, if you still believe. Often, that magic is found in the friendships you make, as the book's characters discover during their adventure. Definitely worth the read!
This actually would have made a great Disney Sunday night movie in the 80s. Too bad all they do know are bloated CGI comic book fiascos and politically correct remakes of their animated classics. What a shame. The world changed, and they made the mistake of changing with it.