School

by Nathaniel Hardman

On an alien world, beneath twin red suns glowing in an orange sky, a middle school from Atlanta, Georgia appears. Wand-wielding warriors stand in a circle around the school, ready to attack. Inside the school, panic. Jeff is a seventh-grader that's been struggling to be accepted by his peers after skipping a year forward in math. Suzy is his eighth-grade sister trying to break tradition by becoming her school’s first female student-body president. But when the kids' school is transported to an alien planet and held hostage, Jeff's plans to make friends and Suzy's goals to be a leader take on whole new meaning. And while Jeff and Suzy are becoming champions for their school in the fight to get back to Earth, the king of the aliens has plans of his own - plans that could wreak havoc on not one world, but two.

251 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 19, 2021

About the author

Nathaniel has a bachelor’s in Statistics and a master’s in Business. Working in business by day, he has worked by night as an intern at the Les Stobbe Literary Agency and the Apokedak Literary Agency from 2017 to 2020, where he reviewed author submissions and edited manuscripts prior to submission to publishers. He also edited the website freebetareader.com for several years, where he read and edited dozens of manuscripts for various writers.

SCHOOL is his debut novel, but he has been writing since he was child, posting short stories and poems online and once winning a small scholarship from the Utah State University student writing competition, Scribendi. In addition to his own book, Nathaniel narrated his brother Daniel Hardman’s book, Viking.

He used to reside in Alpharetta, GA, but was magically whisked away to Utah, where he lives now.

Reviews

[Library of a Viking · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and solid middle-grade fantasy!

School is a middle-grade fantasy by Nathaniel Hardman. This story follows the siblings' Jeff and Suzie. Jeff is a seventh-grader who is struggling to be accepted by his classmates. Suzie is an eighth-grader, that is trying to become the first female student body school president. However, everything changes when their school is transported to an alien planet, and Jeff and Suzie find themself in a fight to save their school and the Earth.

Although I am not the targetted audience for this book, School is an enjoyable middle-grade fantasy. Jeff and Suzie are fun characters with strong personalities, and I enjoyed getting to know them. Furthermore, Hardman does a great job at making the reader engaged by repeatedly adding new and funny elements to the story. The best aspect of this story is the engagement between Jeff and the aliens. By showing respect and trying to understand the alien’s culture, Jeff is able to build a relationship with these alien creatures. Hardman emphasises the importance of understanding other cultures and how love and respect can build up friendships.

My only criticism is the pacing. Some of the middle parts are a bit too long for a middle-grade fantasy. By making this book 10% shorter, the story would have better pacing and keep the reader engaged throughout the story.

In conclusion, School by Hardman is a solid middle-grade fantasy with great characters and a fun plot. I can recommend this book to anyone in middle-grade.

4 / 5 stars.

My thoughts on the audiobook: Nathaniel Hardman narrates this story, and he does a great job. The characters felt distinct, and Hardman has a pleasant voice.

Thanks to Nathanial Hardman, IBPA and Netgalley for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Nathaniel Hardman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I'm being objective and impartial when I say this is the best book ever written in the history of mankind. Here are the reasons why:

Just kidding!

Obviously I'm not a reliable reviewer for my own book, so I'm going to use this space to tell a little story:

When I finished the book, I polished it up to a point where I thought it was perfect, and I gave it to a 10-year-old boy I knew and asked for his feedback. I fully expected him to say it was the best book he had ever read.

And he did!

But there were some problems. First, he told me he loved it, that it was the best book ever, "But..." he said, "I haven't finished it yet." I followed up a week later. Then a week later. "It's really good. I love it! But I still haven't finished it." After six weeks, his mom finally told me with some embarrassment that he had given up on it, and he was never going to finish. "But he really did like it!" she assured me.

So that was kind of crushing, but I asked where he had given up, and I got to work revising - making it easier to read, clearing up some things that had gotten him confused, and overall trying to make it BETTER. Then I sent it out to more beta readers.

The next batch of readers said similarly glowing things about it. "Super funny!", "Really creative!", etc., etc. And they finished it! The feedback was still taking several weeks, but they were finishing it and saying nice things. So it must be good! That's what I told myself.

Eventually I sent it to Sally Apokedak, a writer herself, and a literary agent I've worked with for a few years. She read it and gave me some really painful feedback specifically about pacing - how compelling it is, how compelling it should be, and how to make it more URGENT. I did a bigger re-write/edit than any previous, and I sent it out again to new kids to beta read. And here I noticed a difference.

Like my very first beta reader, this new batch of kids told me they loved it. These are some of the real quotes kids gave me:

"Best book I've ever read" - Felix, age 12
"Pretty much my favorite book" - Brandon, age 10
"Better than Harry Potter" - Isaac, age 11
"Perfect. I wouldn't change anything" - Nephi, age 13

So again, very flattering, and their hyperbole makes me blush. But what made me really excited was how FAST I got those reviews. Where before I had been getting feedback in a month, now I was getting feedback in DAYS. For a couple of my young readers, I printed out a copy of my book and asked them to write in the margin the time and date each time they picked it up, and then each time they put it down. And I was flabbergasted at the results. These kids were putting it down at 10:00, 11:00, even midnight, and then picking up again early the next morning before school. They were knocking out my 350ish page book in three days. More than any of the words they said, that was feedback that thrilled me and made me believe in my book.

So in conclusion, I love my book, and I hope you do too. I know it's better than that first draft. And to all the beta readers I had that helped make it better (even by giving up because it was too slow), THANK YOU. You guys are the best.

[Cerenela (Cherry Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho la historia, es diferente de otros libros middle grade de ciencia ficción que haya leído y fue genial descubrir a este autor.

Mi personaje favorito fue Suzy, realmente la amé. También me encantaron todas las referencias a Harry Potter.

Espero poder leer futuros trabajos de este autor.

Thanks #NetGalley for the free audiobook.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

School, written and narrated by Nathaniel Hardman is a middle grade sci-fi book about a school that gets transported to another planet. A plant with three headed dogs and other unique lifeforms.
The two main characters are 7th grader Jeff and his 8th grader sister Suzy. The story starts with them locating a 3 headed dog in their home, on Earth. While they do agree this is an oddity, Jeff is determined he can win the dog over and make friends. Yeah, a bit far fetched. I guess this is a middle grade book, but I would not recommend it for someone who is older middle grade or maybe a bit mature for middle grade. I just could not stay interested even by listening to the audiobook. Mr. Hardman did a really good job at narrating, but the book was just not for me. I like sci-fi, but these really lacked anything that grabbed me. I am giving this a 2.5 rounded to 3.
Thank you for the author, NG and the publisher for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

[Laura L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good sci-fi for middle school level readers. Hardman did a good job building the world and magic system. I do think it was a bit longer than it needed to be, but overall a good book.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This magical alien fantasy is skillfully built up for a seamless experience. The characters are real and dynamic. The story is fun and thought provoking. It is a bit too dependent on Harry Potter references. (There are people who haven't read Harry Potter, right?) The action is intense and interesting. I love the secret puzzle of the alien language. It was painful to put it down, and I am excited for a sequel!

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to this book. I found the story likable and the narrator enjoyable. There were a few slow parts but overall it is a good book..

I received the audio form of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review.

[Susan Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science Fiction read of a school held hostage on another planet. Not my cup of tea.

[OjoAusana · Rating 3 out of 5]

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Very scifi for my taste but interesting anyways, ended differently than i thought but still pretty good i guess lol

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a fair amount in this genre, and I expected something fluffy and fun. What I got instead was a deeper, more satisfying story.

There's definitely the sort of fun that young readers can relate to (the banter between brother and sister is pretty believable, and had me laughing a lot; the Harry Potter references brought a smile).
But there is also a somewhat deeper level of story as some siblings learn to like each other, and to be courageous, and as they come of age.

The ending has a nice payoff, and the language puzzle is a unique and clever feature. Very well done.