It has been a while since I shared some good ol’ scifi stories. So this week I have some alien invasion tales for you fellow scifi fans. To help shorten my list I’ve cut out some of the more famous alien invasion stories (ahem, H.G. Wells) and more popular series (after all the Animorphs and InvaderZim have graphic novels out now, so they have multiple generations of fans, and the Marvel multiverse is abounding with aliens trying to conquer Earth). There’s a little something for every type of scifi reader in this list. There are the cozy and sweet aliens who turn out to be good friends instead of foes, the humorously inept invaders, and the ones that may have you on the edge of your seat tensely turning pages to find out what happens next. As always, click on the titles to see my full reviews including any content notes and/or trigger warnings.
Bloom (The Overthrow, #1) by Kenneth Oppel
Anaya has allergies so bad she dreams of living in a bubble. Her constantly red nose and itchy eyes and blotchy skin, let alone her dietary restrictions are making her feel ugly and miserable. She wishes she were pretty like her former best friend, Petra.
Petra may have good looks going for her, but she has her own challenges. She is allergic to water of all things. She used to love swimming but now only can do it in her dreams. She longs for the days when she could take a real shower or jump in the pool.
Seth is the new kid at school. He just moved to their Pacific Coast Canadian island due to his most recent foster placement with the older farming couple, the Antos'. He likes the Antos, but history has taught him not to get his hopes up. He usually spends most of his time drawing, but he's willing to give Mr. Antos a helping hand in the fields. Especially after the new weird black grass shows up and starts threatening their crops.
But that black grass grows super fast, its everywhere, and very soon other new black plants start showing up too. While most people start suffering the worst allergies of their lives, Anaya is breathing better than ever before, Petra didn't have a horrible rash when the most recent rain splashed her, and Seth makes it out ok when the attempt to burn the invasive species causes horrible health issues with both of the Antos'. Why are Anaya, Petra, and Seth different? And can they help stop these new and increasingly aggressive species from taking over the world?
This is the first book in an action-packed, high-stakes trilogy that I’ve had multiple students tear through in quick succession because it is so hard to put down.
Target Readers:
Scientific Mystery Fans, Thriller Fans, Scifi Fans, Dystopia Fans, Alien/Monster Horror Story Fans, Young Adult Readers
Dark Energy by Robison Wells
The aliens are here. They've landed in Minnesota. Well, they actually crash landed in Iowa and eventually came to a stop in Minnesota. So far they've yet to make a personal appearance, and everyone is wondering if they are the friendly kind or the disease carrying kind or the world dominating kind. Aly's dad works for NASA, so they are temporarily uprooted from their home in Miami, Florida to chilly Minnesota while her dad and the rest of the science world geeks out over the new visitors. Since her mom is dead and her dad will be very distracted, he enrolls her at a prestigious prep school in Minnetonka. Aly soon finds herself surrounded by trust fund babies, congressmen's kids and most likely future Nobel prize winners in biology and calculus. Thankfully, just because they're rich and/or nerdy does not mean there aren't any potential friend-material fellow students. Aly's roommates turn out to be pretty cool. Nerdy geniuses, but cool. And she almost literally runs into Kurt, a poor little rich Indian (as in from India) boy with a nice sarcastic sense of humor whose parents live on different continents and dump him in boarding schools since they're so busy. So Aly's making some friends and figuring out her new school, and then the aliens emerge from the ship and everything gets way, way more exciting for Aly and her friends...and I can't tell you anything more without ruining some of the fun.
There’s excitement, mystery, boarding school adventures, and some seriously tense moments at the end, ethical questions brought up by the aliens’ arrival for readers to chew on, a respectful look at Navajo culture (Aly’s mom was Navajo and she visits her grandmother at one point), but my favorite part about the whole book was the witty banter between Aly and her father. They're like a dad/daughter version of the Gilmore Girls.
Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, Mystery Fans, Thriller Fans, Boarding School Setting Fans, Multicultural Cast Fans, Young Adult Readers
Fun Fun Fun World by Yehudi Mercado
Captain Minky and his crew have failed in conquering yet another planet for the Queen. They are sure they are doomed, but Minky’s fast talking gets them out of hot water. For now. They’re still probably doomed though because he got out of trouble by promising the Queen he’d conquer Earth for her. It is the one planet his legendary mother couldn’t conquer. And given his mom’s track record versus his…well, let’s just say his crew doesn’t have high hopes. They land in a place that quickly succumbs to their conquest. Yay! But it turns out they just conquered an amusement park that a kid decided to let them conquer in order to get their tech help in refurbishing it. Captain Minky is soon facing mutiny when this is revealed and the much more brutal Captain Vang is on his way to deal with Earth. Meanwhile, the amusement park still needs some work to be up and running again. What will Minky choose? Earth conquest, amusement park rule, curl up into a ball, or something else?
The multiple funs in the title are fitting. This is a very fun and funny read.
Target Readers:
Graphic Novel Fans, Scifi Fans, Amusement Park Fans, Humor Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Invasion of the Unicorns by David Biedrzycki
An alien invader has landed on Earth investigating the potential of Earth for an invasion and humans for subjugation as slaves, and it looks just like a fluffy unicorn toy.
This may sound potentially serious and scary, but it is very sweet and humorous. The artwork is amazing. The story is paced with perfect timing that balances the invasion threat with humor and moments of tenderness. And the family dog is the perfect foil for this invader.
Target Readers:
Unicorn Lovers, Scifi Fans, Humor Fans, Sweet Story Fans, Art Lovers, Picture Book Readers
Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner
Mr Wuffles is a cat. Therefore, anything small and moving of its own free will is considered fair game to play with. The tiny aliens piloting the space ship Mr Wuffles has battered around aren't so fond of the play time. Their ship is damaged, and they are in danger from a huge furry monster! With the help of some friendly insects (who also have had rough encounters with Mr Wuffles), the aliens are able to get their ship repaired and escape the clutches of the furry terror. Much to the dismay of Mr Wuffles, who rather liked his new toy.
Ok, so it is up for debate whether or not the aliens in this are invaders or explorers since it is a wordless story, but I couldn’t resist including this cute picture book today.
Target Readers:
Cat Lovers, Wordless Book Fans, Scifi Fans, Humor Fans, Art Lovers, Picture Book Readers
Sparks! (Sparks, #1) by Ian Boothby, ill. by Nina Matsumoto
Two cats who are escapees from an evil scientists whose experiments changed them in extraordinary ways use their new abilities to do superhero rescue work in a dog suit they’ve created. (They’ve gotta protect their identities somehow! Who would ever suspect the dog to have 2 cats inside?) But the evil alien scientist is still at work trying to use animals to take over the Earth. Can they save the Earth and the other animals, or will their trauma from their time in the scientist's evil clutches have them cowering under the couch?
So far there are two more books in this series of unlikely superheroes that is much more funny than intense.
Target Readers:
Graphic Novel Fans, Cat Lovers, Animal Lovers, Superhero Story Fans, Robot Fans, Humor Fans, Middle Grade Readers (though approachable to some Lower Grade Readers)
This Town Is Not All Right (This Town Is Not All Right, #1) by M.K. Krys
After the tragic death of their older brother, Beacon and Everleigh's dad has decided they all need a fresh start in a brand new town. He's moving them pretty much as far away from LA as possible to a small town in the middle of nowhere New England. Beacon is trying to be as positive as possible about the move in order to compensate for his twin's extra negativity, but he really has to work to find good things about Driftwood Harbor. Their car breaks down for no good reason as soon as they cross into town. The inn where they are staying until they can find a house looks like it's all ready to be the town Haunted House for Halloween. Beacon swears he sees a girl drowning in the ocean the first night, but no one believes him and the girl is fine the next day. And the rest of the kids at school are...odd. They are the perfect students, and don't so much as whisper even before the bell has wrung. It feels eerie. And then the school calls Beacon and Everleigh down for vitamin D shots their first day at school saying it is required because of the heavy cloud cover. Beacon hates shots so he manages to evade it that day, but Everleigh gets it and suddenly goes from the girl who loves to pretend to be sick to skip classes to work on cars to the pink skirt wearing goody goody who suddenly follows all the rules. And no one but Beacon seems concerned about his sister's radical change in behavior or all the weird things going on in town except a kid named Arthur who tells him the strange things are related to a UFO crash in town in the 1960s which he's trying to track with his homemade alien energy tracker... Who does Beacon believe? The town outcast, his gut, or the adults?
This was amazingly well done with the way the mystery and character development are paced and balanced, and I was very glad I had book 2 on hand since it ends in a bit of cliffhanger. And if you, like me, are a bit of a wimp when it comes to horror stories let me reassure you that this veers much more to the scifi mystery/suspense realm than the supernatural make-you-sleep-with-the-lights-on realm.
Target Readers:
Thriller Fans, Scifi Fans, Horror Fans, Mystery Fans, Twin Character Fans, Characters Wrestling with Grief Fans, New England Small Town Setting Fans, Middle Grade Readers (though this is engaging enough Young Adult Readers will likely enjoy it too)
Unplugged and Unpopular by Mat Heagerty, ill. by TinTin Pantoja & Mike Amante
In the near future, people use their phones and technology for everything. Erin Song is no different. Her world revolves around her popularity rating and how to improve it, so when the most popular girl at school asks her to help her on a test, Erin agrees. If it boosts her popularity, it’ll be ok. Right? Well, her teacher and parents think differently when she’s busted. Her parents take away all her devices, and it is pretty much the end of the world. Erin thinks she’s starting to see things because of the stress when a weird creature appears outside of the library. But soon the old librarians clue her in to the fact that that isn’t the case. There’s an alien invasion, but the aliens are using devices to control what people see so only those who are unplugged know what is going on. Can a girl and some old dudes save the world from an alien invasion no one else believes is happening?
Erin and the senior citizens are a most unconventional army, but they are lots of fun to follow around. And I love the intergenerational friendships that form.
Target Readers:
Graphic Novel Fans, Intergenerational Friendship Story Fans, Humor Fans, Scifi Fans, Tech Unplug Encouragement Story Fans, Asian American Character Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Weird Kid by Greg Van Eekhout
Jake knows that he's an alien. His parents found him as a blob in Arizona after he crashed to Earth, but when they touched him he became an adorable human baby and they adopted him. They've never regretted it. But this summer Jake's alien side is making his life unpredictable. He's started losing control of his form and suddenly sprouting wings and such. He's been hearing this strange hum that makes him lose control. There's also weird sink holes popping up all over town, and slime much like his baby form crawls out. His new friend at school, Agnes, thinks they can figure out what is happening and save the town. But Jake doesn't know if he can even make it through a school day without a major issue that will put him in some government lab. Could he really save his town and himself?
Agnes is quite the character, and Jake's dog is a grumpy comic relief. They help lighten the mood in what could otherwise be a seriously scary alien takeover story, but doesn't quite venture there. It definitely does venture into the new weird genre territory, though (think Twilight Zone-ish plot).
Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, New Weird Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Adopted Character Fans, Horror Fans, Arizona Setting Fans, Middle Grade Readers
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