Hannah Saves the World: Book 1: Middle Grade Mystery Fiction

by A.M. Luzzader, Chadd VanZanten (Illustrator)

Hannah Saves the World is a children’s mystery adventure for ages 8-12!

(Lexile 840L)

Hannah’s got a funny feeling that it’s up to her to save the entire world, but before she can do so, she and her skeptical best friend Mia have to figure out what they’re saving the world from! As the girls’ detective work proceeds, they uncover a chain of clues that might unravel the children’s mystery of the vandalized town playground, but what about the massive space cruiser parked high in the stratosphere, and the aliens inside who are laying plans to invade Earth? Can a pair of middle-school detectives really save the world? Find out in this funny book for tweens!

A.M. Luzzader, author of middle grade fiction books, including the Mermaid in Middle Grade series, debuts a new middle school mystery novel, Hannah Saves the World (Book 1: Middle Grade Mystery Fiction), to add to her collection of middle school literature and fun books for tweens.

This book is perfect for kids who love science fiction, kid detective books, tween books for girls or boys, and children’s mystery adventure books.

A.M. Luzzader describes Hannah Saves the World (Book 1: Middle Grade Mystery Fiction) as “a middle school mystery novel, a kid’s detective book, and a kid’s humor book. It’s a great book for girls or boys, and I think even adults would enjoy it!”

Educational  Friendship for kids, vocabulary, spelling, logic, deduction, honesty, self esteem, humor, personality, individuality, and writing devices such as palindromes, alliteration, consonance, and dissonance.

For kids ages 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 and all who love mystery books for kids and funny books for children.

3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction

123 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 13, 2020

Reviews

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

How I read this: Free ebook copy received from author

Oh, this was such a brilliant little gem! I adored the tone of the story from the very first pages. It's kind of like a... A little bit like Hitchhiker's Guide, but for children? I just can't put my finger on it, but the tone of the prose is something like it, and immediately captivates you with its charm. (That, and the book is full of tiny little Easter eggs, and not only from The Hitchhiker's Guide. Chuckled every time.)

I especially loved the main character, Hannah. And what a character she is! Colorful, imaginative - just the kind of character I know I would have loved to read as a kid (guess I haven't changed much, huh.) In contrast to her more sober-minded friend Mia who is shy and reserved, they make such a great team together.

The best thing about the whole story for me was that it's sort of two stories in one. The girls make light work of the naughty aliens who want to take over the Earth without even knowing they're dealing with these aliens, because they're busy solving other mysteries. And what the aliens are experiencing are some real Home Alone situations. It was absolutely hilarious. I really want to read the other stories in this series now.

I thank the author for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

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[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, a hunch is all one needs to begin an epic adventure. Despite their differences, middle schoolers Hannah and Mia have been best friends since Hannah moved to their little town of Cardwick a few years earlier. One day, Hannah is overcome by the feeling that the world needs to be saved. When she learns about an act of vandalism at the local playground, she is immediately drawn to investigate the situation, bringing Mia along with her. Little do they know that a pair of overworked aliens are trying to remove the oxygen from Earth’s atmosphere in order to make the planet hospitable for their alien friends. It is up to these two girls to get to the bottom of the vandalism mystery and hopefully save the world in the process.

This lighthearted adventure is enjoyable to read both independently and aloud. Much like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the narrative often addresses the reader directly, especially when translating the aliens’ unfamiliar language. Many of the words in this foreign tongue are nonsense words, made more enjoyable by clever use of sounds that will make readers laugh. Occasional illustrations within the book give readers a sense of what certain elements of the story might look like, though they do not interrupt the flow of words on a page. While this book is best suited to confident middle grade readers because of the complexity of ideas and the dominance of words on each page, younger readers will also fall into the story if it is read aloud. Middle grade readers who enjoy comical antics and unlikely events wrapping up a message of being responsible members of society are sure to enjoy this book.

I received a copy of this book from the author and am choosing to leave this review.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter who is 9 read the book. Here thoughts:
I like that the girl is ready to make things happen.
She is fun and I like her on the cover.
It took awhile to read it.

[Wendy Foote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this aloud to my 9 year old daughter. I was seeking out fun adventure books that feature girls taking the lead, and I really wanted to love this book. The story itself was interesting, but the writing itself needs some polishing. One of my pet peeves when reading middle grade novels aloud (which I've read many as an educator) is the overuse of "said". This book falls in that trap. The other things that really stuck out and were distracting from the story itself were the frequent use of emdashes, overuse of alliteration with character names, and the ridiculousness of them (Jellycake?), and the alien language which felt more like a kindergarteners "secret language ". I could not read "Rimple dimple, Zarko foo man choo!" without getting distracted from the story. If the gimmicky alien language and wacky names had been toned down, it would be a more enjoyable read. There's a great & funny story underneath all the distracting goofiness.

[Jesse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe I started this one in 2022. I have tried over and over to get into this book but between the character and the writing I am giving myself permission to DNF. I know this was marketed as middle grade but really felt like it was aimed at younger kids - just not engaging

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and zany middle grade mystery. I almost didn't get to finish it because my kids kept stealing it to read.

[Nola 33 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a REALLY good book with an outstanding ending and great content! whenever I read it, I was in a whole other world! It brings my imagination to the rooftop.