Margot and Mateo Save the World: A Hilarious Middle Grade Novel About Alien Slugs for Children

by Darcy Miller

A hilarious—and slimy—alien adventure (set on Earth) that the bestselling author of Zombie Chasers, John Kloepfer, calls "fast paced, out-of-this-world fun!" Selected by the Wisconsin Library Association for Outstanding Achievement in children's literature.

When Margot Blumenthal removes a bright blue slug alien attached to Mateo Flores’s back, the school play co-stars know it’s definitely not going to be a regular day at West Cove Middle School.

They reluctantly team up and soon discover that the mayor and countless other adults, including Mateo’s dad, are infected—which means that West Cove, and possibly all of Earth, is in danger.

What will they (and their new scientist friend) do? Ditch class and protect humankind, of course—because one unexcused absence doesn’t matter when the world is at stake!

This stand-alone middle grade novel is fun, silly, and full of adventure. Young readers will speed through it…if they can stop laughing long enough to turn the page.

LITA Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable List / Eleanor Cameron List Selection * 2020 Rhode Island Children’s Book Award Nominee

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

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 3, 2018

About the author

Darcy Miller is the author of ROLL (Winner of the 2018 Burr/Worzalla Award * A CCBC Choices 2018 Pick * A Bank Street Best Children's Book of 2017) and MARGOT AND MATEO SAVE THE WORLD (Booklist Starred Review). She lives with her librarian husband and two small children in Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dying to know what Sarah Rutthead's nick-name was in the 5th grade. I suppose some mysteries will have to remain mysteries. Perhaps it will be addressed in a sequel?

[Pop Bop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Touches All of the Bases

This is a cheerful, surprisingly funny, occasionally edgy, and fast paced alien invasion school daze adventure that features two appealing and resourceful heroes and a more interesting than usual cast of supporting characters.

Margot, the loner and new girl at school notices Mateo, a popular regular guy, acting oddly, (irritable and aggressive), and finds he has a slimy blue alien thing attached to his back. She pulls the thing off of him and the story takes off from there. Naturally, it's an invasion of body snatchers and it's up to Margot and Mateo to make peace with each other and then save the world. This doesn't break new ground, but it's a perfectly honorable frame for a middle grade actioner.

Here's the good part. Margot and Mateo get stuck with a goody-goody classmate sidekick who ends up being a very funny sendup of, well, goody-goody classmate sidekicks. They also fall in with Calvin, a sad sack NOAA scientist who provides clumsy guy comedy relief, and provides alien physiology exposition whenever needed. Since most of the snatched bodies belong to teachers and other authority figures there's a lot of opportunity for mild mocking of adults, which has a fine middle grade tone.

We get a light mini-romance, and both kids have to overcome separate mildly sad/drama backstories and issues in order to grow up a little, but none of this is heavyhanded and it turns out to be fairly upbeat. And whenever we need a change of pace Calvin gets hit in the head with something, so there's that.

This turned out to be a fine middle grade diversion. The writing is crisp and clean, (Mateo starts out a little too moody for my taste but that goes away after a while), and the plot is serviceable and the pace is zippy. Both kids are positive, resourceful and competent. So all in all this was a nice find.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the snark. Margot's little asides tickled me. The realistic reflection of tweens interacting and developing friendships was spot on, like Chelsea is along for the ride, (it's not HER fault).

This was such a fast read for me, the pacing was perfect, there weren't any spots where it dragged on. The characters were decently developed and nuianced.
I love how Margot is a flawed person, but was the heroine who drove the story forward and Mateo was more of a sidekick.

Adults were helpful and also flawed, like in knowing how to drive stick versus being good at Doing it. There were a few characters that remind me of Umbridge, the personification of undesirable traits in a real person, rather than an evil and somewhat sentient being (in comparison to Tom Riddle).

I love the names. I thought it was funny her mom was Sarah and there was another Sarah with a nickname in the 5th grade.

I love the beginning timeline. I wish it was more consistent throughout, it lost that aspect, but it probably would have been over bearing and tedious to keep playing that back on repeat.

I thought it was strange to have Romeo & Juliet as the middle school play when there are other comedies that would have been a better choice. But I like that M&M eventually made it their own thing.

There are problematic spots for me as an adult (that they trust strangers so easily), make some poor choices, and the use of some things to solve the problem were a little out there.

I would reccomend it to kids who want a light scifi comedy that had quick chapters and a brisk action packed pace.

[Kristin Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margot and Mateo become unlikely allies when Margot notices Mateo's unusual behavior and a rippling tentacle "snaking slowly up his neck." With all but one adult either infected or unapproachable, they realize they have to solve this problem on their own...together.
Margot and Mateo features strong, intelligent kids, quick moving adventure, and keeps readers attention right up until the very last page. I, for one, am hoping for a sequel!

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still trying to decide if I liked it quite as much as I liked Roll, but I totally enjoyed this. You will never see me turn down an epic adventure where friends defeat alien slime monsters with the help of an overly-enthusiastic scientist with a tendency for head trauma. It was hilarious and heart-warming at the same time. Man, I love Darcy Miller.

[Alecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very funny and made me laugh. I thought the part when they were at the dead Whale was the funniest when they were talking about Rock, Paper, Scissors and they both didn't know how to say it!😝
- Written By A Fifth Grader

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is adventurous and SALTY! And not just because they’re by the ocean. Margot & Mateo ate unlikely heroes because they aren’t even friends in the beginning of the book (although they are starting in Romeo & Juliet together). This is a hilarious middle grade novel, just for the plot!

[Chris Garth · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Margot and Mateo arrive at school they have no idea what is about to transpire. But two new friends work together to save each other, their families and perhaps even the world when they learn to work together.

[Christopher Garth · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Margot and Mateo arrive at school they have no idea what is about to transpire. But two new friends work together to save each other, their families and perhaps even the world when they learn to work together.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the pacing and character quirks in this book. The premise is silly and so fun for kids. I don't want to give too much away, but as an avid reader of the MG adventure genre, this was an A+ book for me and I hope it gets a chance to shine on more shelves!

[Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious -- and slimy -- alien adventure on Earth!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, funny, and fast-paced with a sweetness buried inside.

[Sara-Zoe Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun alien killing sci-fi lite with two interesting and unique characters.

[Jarrett Lerner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book like a ravenous, goo-coated alien queen. Pitch-perfect, furiously paced, fantastically exciting, and just HILARIOUS.

[Michael Knolla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Invasion of the Body Snatchers for Kids. A nice way to start introducing a kid to weird fiction. My son loved it.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonstop action. And Dr. Smalls looking up "foot cancer" made me lawl. This will be an easy sell to get kids reading RICBA books.

[Bexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun story. I enjoy the way Miller writes her female characters. I enjoyed the male female friendship with no need to make it awkward. Very good read for middle schoolers.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The cover makes it look more action-y than it is." "It's fine, I guess." That's my son's review. He read it to himself.

[Zenobia Cofer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margot and Mateo Save the World is a humorous, sci-fi ride geared for middle schoolers and young adults.
Margot is a recent transfer to the school. She is known for being a know-it-all and has a wrestling background. Mateo is the popular kid in school, and both have the leading roles in the school production of Romeo and Juliet.
Mateo's arrival at school one day, distracted and the victim of a mind-controlling alien attached to his back, sets up the story for how these two will recognize how aliens are trying to take over their small town.
This book is incredibly enjoyable and introduces science accurately, albeit with a horror movie edge. The characters were well developed, although there were multiple levels of Hallmark level tropes of sentimentality, and a predictable amount of slapstick humor.

[Laura Mossa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special thanks to author Darcy Miller for sending an ARC to my #bookexcursion group. All opinions are my own.

Blue-streaked haired Margot Blumenthal is a newcomer to West Cove Middle School.  Considered a lock for the United States national freestyle wrestling team, she is intimidating to both students and teachers.  On the way to school, Margot notices her school play co-star Mateo Flores acting erratic.   She confronts him and finds a bright blue slug attached to his back and courageously removes it.  Little did Margot and Mateo know that the slug is actually an alien that has also infected other people in town including the mayor and Mateo's father.  The two hesitantly join forces along with scientist Calvin Biggs to stop these alien slugs from taking over the town and in the process, they learn more about each other's true selves.  Will their alliance save the world and ignite a real friendship?

While the novel is hilariously entertaining as Margot and Mateo reluctantly work together to combat the aliens, their partnership shows an honest depiction of the perils of navigating middle school. Being a new student, Margot may appear to have a tough exterior and content with being on her own but, in reality, she wants to make friends and be included.  Mateo, on the other hand, has lived in West Cove his whole life and is liked by everyone.  He though is a people pleaser and doesn't always speak up for himself.  Saving the world prompts them to each discover who they really are.

[Claire Hart-Palumbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, clever, cute. A boy and a girl heroes with obvious flaws and insecurities, multiple ethnicities, and funky space aliens. What's not to like.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Big thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the review copy.*

What a cute and fun read! I’m really digging quirky middle grade sci-fi adventures and this was one of the best I’ve read so far. The pacing was fast which was perfect for the story and there were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. There were spots that were snort out loud funny but it also dealt with themes of family, friendship and being who you want to be.