The Fellowship for Alien Detection by Kevin Emerson

Premise: Hayley and Dodger have some pretty compelling evidence that aliens are involved in strange cases of missing time, vanished people, and a lost city. They travel the country, interview witnesses, get chased by creepy maybe-aliens, and ultimately discover the truth.

Title: The Fellowship for Alien Detection
Author: Kevin Emerson
Length: 432 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Stand-Alone or Series: Stand-Alone
Content appropriate for: Grades 5-8

3 adjectives that describe this book: mysterious, adventurous, intriguing

I love watching science fiction television - Dr. Who, Eureka, SG-1, X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly... This book was like reading an episode of your favorite sci-fi detective show. I was totally hooked by the mystery of it and intrigued by all the alien-y twists. While young adult science fiction is overly populated by dystopia, middle grade science fiction can be hard to come by. Luckily, with books like The Fellowship for Alien Detection, the problem of limited children's science fiction is on it's way to being solved.

The book is divided into 3 sections. The first part follows eighth grader, Hayley, as she investigates towns across the country that have experienced "missing time." The second section follows Dodger, a teen who is hearing radio signals in his head from a town that doesn't exist. The final section of the book brings the two characters together as they get closer to the truth, are chased by aliens, and attempt to save the world from impending alien domination.

I don't read much mystery, but this novel made me think that I should read more. Although not classified as a mystery, it has that X-Files feel ~ "Some fishy alien business is happening here and we've got to figure out what's going on." The only real negative is the length of this book. Though lots of long stories can hold an audience for over 400 pages, this one had some slow character development sections that may not sustain interest.

4 stars