Skywatchers

June 1, 2020
A group of teen Skywatchers in Cold War-era Monterey, California, go missing after they see a strange light in the sky. The teens are members of the Skywatch club, based on the real-life Ground Observer Corps volunteers who watched the skies, reporting any weird observations. One night Teddy, John, Caroline, and Bunny spot a mysterious light in the woods and follow it. They go missing for days and reappear one at a time with no memory of what happened. Except Teddy never comes back. Weirdly, Bunny now has the ability to speak Mandarin, John is a piano virtuoso and a lethal fighter, and Caroline has gone from squeamish to administering competent first aid. Through flashbacks, the mystery of what occurred slowly unravels. The first half of the novel is evenly paced and well-plotted. The historical time period, astute character development, and suspense-filled writing will draw readers in. However, the latter half falls apart, weighed down by exposition, and this m�lange of science-fiction tropes never quite coalesces. Time travel, parallel universes, and aliens are all bandied about as explanations for the group's disappearance, but Arcos never lands comfortably on any of them. Scientific theories abound, and staggering infodumps make the novel difficult to slog through. The rushed ending doesn't feel well earned and will leave readers unsatisfied. John is Japanese American, Bunny is Puerto Rican, Teddy is Italian American, and Caroline is white. A failure to launch. (Science fiction. 12-adult)

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August 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-In the summer of 1952, seven kids have volunteered for Skywatch club and they scan the sky looking for Russian threats in the midst of the Cold War. Close friends Teddy and John, along with pretty girl Caroline and New York transplant Bunny, chase mysterious lights into the woods, and days later only three of them return. As they struggle with not remembering what happened, they each discover a strange bump in their ear and skills they didn't have before. Sci-fi aficionados and fellow club members Oscar and Frank decide the answer might be aliens, and offer to help the trio recover their memories and figure out why Teddy never came back. Each character is a richly created individual with issues in their past they are fighting to move beyond; including John, whose Japanese heritage has him trying to fit in, and Caroline, who lost her younger brother to drowning. The group learns they must trust and rely on one another if they are going to get to the truth. This book is an expertly crafted genre mash-up of sci-fi, historical fiction, and mystery, with a dash of thriller that will keep readers racing towards the end. VERDICT A unique and original tale that will appeal to a wide variety of teens. A must-have for all teen collections.-Rebecca Greer, Hillsborough County P.L. Coop., FL

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2020
Grades 8-12 In this novel set in Cold War-era America, seven teens join their school's Skywatch club to monitor the skies as a first-line defense against foreign aggression. When they spot a strange flying object disappearing into the woods, four of them set off to investigate?but only three return. With no memory of what they found that night, the group must puzzle through various clues and scraps of evidence to figure out exactly what happened in the woods and, most importantly, how to find their missing friend. Inspired by real-life events and the American obsession with UFOs, Arcos' genre-bending novel slowly unfolds the mystery of that fateful trip into the forest and carries the suspense through to the end. The characters easily come to life, their voices distinct as readers explore their hopes, fears, and dreams for the future amid the lingering trauma of the night that no one can remember. Arcos has crafted an excellent mystery, with a hook in the compelling cast and just enough hints to keep readers guessing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)