The summer before seventh grade, five best friends sneak out to watch a meteor shower, but soon find themselves on the run from a violent mountain clan. - (Baker & Taylor)
Sneaking out during the summer before seventh grade to watch a meteor shower, four close friends race to the site of a suspected meteor crash only to find themselves on the run from a violent local clan. 60,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)
Stranger Things meets The Goonies in this suspenseful yet heartwarming adventure story about kids who set out to find a crashed meteor . . . but find mystery and danger instead as their friendships begin to fracture.
Annie, Beans, Rocky, and Fynn are the Scouts -- best friends who do
everything together. It's 1985, and the summer before seventh grade is just beginning. The Scouts decide to secretly climb Old Man Basinger's silo to watch a meteor shower, and when one meteor seems to crash nearby, the Scouts know they have to set out on their next adventure and find it.
But their fun overnight jaunt through the woods soon takes a turn for the worst when they discover a series of disturbing clues about the meteor -- and suddenly find themselves on the run from the wild, violent Mason clan. Bonds are tested when new kids join their adventure and the group's true feelings are revealed. Will the Scouts survive this journey together -- or will their unbreakable friendships prove vulnerable after all?
- (
Grand Central Pub)
Shannon Greenland grew up in Tennessee where she dreaded all things reading and writing. She didn't even read her first book for enjoyment until she was twenty-five. After that she was hooked! When she's not writing, she works as an adjunct math professor and lives on the coast in Florida with her very grouchy dog.
James Patterson has had more
New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to
Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 375 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels
,the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including
Kiss the Girls and
Along Came a Spider. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family. - (
Grand Central Pub)
Booklist Reviews
A hike into the Tennessee hills becomes a life-changing experience for a preteen cohort. Terrifying encounters with sudden flights of bats, a bear, a skeleton in a cave, shotgun-wielding moonshiners, soldiers, and a strange, silvery meteorite are just the tip of the iceberg—maybe, just maybe, they're also facing an otherworldly visitor. The meteor starts it all off, apparently landing only a few miles away and setting Annie and her lifelong posse (Beans, Rocky, and Fynn, plus Fynn's disgustingly girly, at least in Annie's view, cousin Scarlett) on its trail. What at first seems like no more than an entertaining excursion quickly turns into a nonstop thrill ride, as one calamitous situation after another tests not only each adventurer's individual courage but also the group's solidarity, already unraveling in the face of impending life changes. Along with a riveting "oh no, now what?" plot that features more than one astonishing twist at the climax, Greenland ultimately brings her diverse crew of young characters safely through developmental rapids that confirm old bonds and form new ones. Grades 4-6. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
Sixth grade is out, and Annie is about to have the camping adventure of a lifetime with her three best friends. The Scouts have been friends since kindergarten, but Annie's mom isn't happy that she only hangs out with boys. Beans is a near genius with a burdensome secret. Handsome Fynn has started to like girls. Rocky is coping with his widower dad's entry into the dating market. Their friend group is under stress, and Annie feels jealous of Fynn's older cousin, Scarlett, who has tagged along on their trip. But when they witness a UFO crash in the woods near their campsite, they get their problems moving, hoping the adventure will strengthen their relationships. They encounter bat-infested caves, a near drowning, a black bear, a human skeleton, and a stranger named Edge as they seek the mysterious silver object and try to resolve their growing pains. A stereotypical hillbilly family known as the Mason Mountain Clan and a wrongheaded legend about Cherokee gold are two of the weaker storylines in the meandering tale. With a Cherokee mom, biracial Annie knows to call out that legend, but neither her heritage nor Rocky's (his mom was Vietnamese) is explored in any depth, and the book otherwise adheres to a white default. This adventure tale about a UFO, set in 1985 Tennessee, sensitively explores the changing nature of adolescent friendships—but its subplots not so much. (Historical fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
