It took me ages to get around to this one. My niece and nephew weren't interested (unusual, they usually read just about anything), so it was up to me this time and I already had a lot of other books going. Anyway, the plot is described by many reviewers and from the ones I read, "trying to be Harry Potter in sci-fi" is the best overall synopsis of the idea. It definitely has a very standardly designed plot flow and you can anticipate the ups and downs like it was a WWE wresting match. That's not to say it is bad, just not very original as far as plot design and character archetypes. It was still a fun little adventure with decent world-building. I would definitely recommend for middle ages getting into sci-fi, especially over some fan favorites (like Ender's Game) that have some problematic issues. Very pg fun sci-fi spin on space school. ( )

While I have some gripes with this book due to its large number plot holes and scientific inconistancies, I did find it an enjoyable as a whole. The plot boils down to a kid winning a ticket to a future moon city where he escapes his wacky family and gets to attend a school that works alongside his interest in science. He and his friends inadvertently discover something sinaster is brewing within the moon's city when they come across an imprisioned baby alien, hidden in a secret tunnel at the lowest level of the moon. Apparently evil time consuming aliens, Melkorks, are the reason planets like Mars have no signs of life...and Earth is next on their list. Low and behold one of these evil doers has infiltrated the city and tries to destroy it. Surprise! An eleven-year-old saves the day, but not without ending up in a coma. While the author does hint that something fishy is up when the moon's president bribes him to keep the ordeal hush-hush and later reveals that he was the one with the key that had entrapped the baby alien, we're still left uncertain about what's really going on between the city's officals. The set up was basically a take on Noah's Ark, where the moon is the ark and the foretold alien invasion is the flood. ( )

This Sci Fi book tries to emulate Harry Potter but is totally unsuccessful in matching the quality. In the story, Leo enters a contest to attend a lunar academy against his father's wishes. After he wins, his father won't let him go. Instead Leo has to do manual labor for a company his father knows. This is at the age of 10. I hope our child labor laws do not disappear and allow something like this in the future. 10-year-olds can not work for any reputable businesses. After proving how hard-working he is, Leo is suddenly allowed to attend the lunar academy. His father was impressed with his work ethic. This change of heart came after Leo's dad sold the ticket to attend the academy for next to nothing so they had to use the new money earned to pay for it. The dad is stuck in the past and plays with old gadgets such as a TV. Apparently TVs are long gone, but they were able to get a random signal. This is scientifically inaccurate. The whole dad character development was weird. He was a total butthead but in the end I think the author wanted us to like him. Another scientific problem I had was the contest. There is obviously plenty of well developed space travel in this time and it is not something they need future scientists working on, but the contest was about designing rockets. That's like asking kids of today to design a TV instead of a robot. At one point a college educated character says "I done got me a college education." It was obnoxious. There are lots of baby talk and baby sounding terms in the story and it was way to cutesy wootsy. The author over uses caps. THERE IS YELLING WITH TEXT CAPS ON ALMOST EVERY PAGE. Over use of something that is supposed to show emphasis ruins the emphatic effect. One of the characters seems to be trying to be Hermione and the boarding school uses points for homework and classwork to help win a competition. None of that was original. I was never gripped with the plot because I was too annoyed with characters and background. ( )

This is a fun read for middle grade with a surprise ending. The plot is set hundreds of years in the future, but Leo's parents still acts like it is present day. This causes tensions between parent-child, and Leo gets a punishment of helping a neighbor stop trees from disappearing. But then Leo finds out what the cause of the threat to humanity is! This is recommended for any 4th-5th grader who likes light sci-fi/fantasy (like Percy Jackson) with a little bit of mystery. ( )

I got this book from a First Reads giveaway and my kids ate it up! Excellent choice for any fifth grade library as it hits on all of nerves and excitement of starting a new school, which for the main character is school on the moon! Very fun and easy to recommend. ( )