The Fellowship for Alien Detection

Gr 5–8—Haley's an eighth grader in Connecticut with a theory about the mysterious disappearances she discovers on the Internet. On the opposite coast, Dodger is a confused boy who gets radio messages from the past in his head. Both kids win an "alien detection" fellowship and travel with their families to conduct field research and do deeper investigation into extraterrestrials. When it turns out that their projects point to an actual alien invasion, the two finally meet and join forces. Intriguing brief interludes describe another girl who is trapped in an endlessly repeating day, which is also part of the aliens' secret scheme. Details of the aliens' malicious mission emerge carefully and sometimes subtly, drawing readers in. Dates and times are given at the beginning of each chapter, but the year is withheld, a clever touch as it lets readers realize that the repeated day sections actually take place in the past. The pacing slows at times, especially in Haley's opening section, which takes up the first third of the novel. The abrupt shift to Dodger's story stalls momentum for a bit, but the action accelerates as he discovers he has amazing powers and finally unites with Haley. There's more to both protagonists than their alien-hunter roles. Dodger feels like an outcast from his family and Haley has ambitious career goals. However, ultimately neither one resonates as a truly memorable figure, and the supporting characters are generally two-dimensional. Still, the premise is engaging, and final revelations about the invasion are mostly satisfying and surprising.—Steven Engelfried, Wilsonville Public Library, OR