The Incredible Space Raiders from Space! - Hardcover

King, Wesley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1481423193 ISBN 13: 9781481423199

Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman, 2015

Synopsis

Lord of the Flies meets Star Trek in this outer space story of adventure, mystery, and fantastical fun from the author of The Vindico and The Feros.

When Jonah wakes up on the Fantastic Flying Squirrel, he's a bit confused. One second he is in his family's living room doing his homework, and the next he's sitting on a very cold floor on a very cold ship with a very strange-looking girl staring at him. Her name is Willona the Awesome, and she's here to welcome him to The Incredible Space Raiders.

Now that Jonah is on board, the Incredible Space Raiders can set off on an important mission: to venture into the Dark Zone and save the universe from the Entirely Evil Things. But when Space Raiders start to disappear, Jonah realizes that if he's going to make it to the Dark Zone alive, he's going to have to step up and figure out what's going on.

Join the Space Raiders aboard the Fantastic Flying Squirrel for an unforgettable journey where imagination and truth collide somewhere deep in space!

About this title

Review:

One minute Jonah is doing homework in his perfectly normal world and the next minute he is aboard the Fantastic Flying Squirrel, a spaceship filled with some very odd characters. The ship is on a mission to a distant galaxy to fight the Entirely Evil Things. Through a series of events, normally timid Jonah finds, much to his astonishment, that he grows into his new Space Raider name and assumes a leadership role. This story, set in the year 2156, is filled with adventure, heroic deeds, evil monsters, and more that young readers will devour. The Space Raiders are children with real fears, insecurities, and needs that young readers will relate to. The text is perfect for young lovers of science fiction, space travel, and a good story. I predict that readers will be begging for more adventures from Jonah and the Incredible Space Raiders.--School Library Connection "September 2015 "

Full of exciting chases and clever battle strategies. If readers wanted to describe this book in Internet terms, they would be emoticons: wide-eyed surprise, tears at a few late revelations and many smiley faces at the end.--Kirkus Reviews

Space travel is common in the year 2156, but Jonah is still shocked to wake up aboard the Fantastic Flying Squirrel, a spaceship piloted by dangerous pirates and home to the Incredible Space Raiders, a band of children fighting extraterrestrial EETs (Entirely Evil Things). Jonah, a shy boy with few friends back home, is unsure why he was chosen to join the ISR, but he begins training and tries to fit in. The more Jonah learns about the ISR, however, the more he senses that something isn't quite right, starting with the fact that his fellow raiders are all orphans. When the other children discover that Jonah has parents, they resent him and soon everyone is wondering whether he truly belongs on the mission. King (The Vindico) weaves action, suspense, and mystery into a well-crafted coming-of-age story. Readers will relate to Jonah as he struggles to define himself in an unfamiliar setting, while questions about the true plan for the kids aboard the Flying Squirrel will keep them turning pages.--Publishers Weekly

Readers seeking a swift-moving, exciting romp through a giant spaceship full of cool (and creepy) nooks and crannies will be sucked right in.--The Bulletin

About the Author:

Wesley King is the author of the Edgar Award-winning OCDaniel, which Booklist praised as "complex and satisfying" in a starred review. It was also named a Bank Street Best Book of the Year and received Canada's Silver Birch Award. King's first middle grade novel, The Incredible Space Raiders from Space!, was called "a well-drafted coming-of-age story" by Publishers Weekly. King is also the author of The Vindico and its sequel, The Feros, which were both Junior Library Guild selections, and Kobe Bryant's New York Times bestselling Wizenard series. He lives in Nova Scotia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1481423193
• ISBN 13: 9781481423199
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 293