Lights, Camera, Danger

September 1, 2020
The alien superstar returns. Now that he's traded life on an oppressive planet for the glitz and glamour of celebrity, Buddy Berger is excited to spend his time acting on the hit series Oddball Academy and learning more about his new home: Hollywood. There's nothing Buddy can't accomplish with his friends by his side and hope in his heart. But everything Buddy holds dear is threatened when Citizen Cruel, the ruthless enforcer from the evil Squadron, arrives on Earth to bring Buddy back to his home planet by any means necessary. Can Buddy fend off this villainous pursuit and keep his secret? The breathless pace that made the previous installment such a charmer wears out its welcome here: Buddy bounces from mishap to mishap, the momentum allowing for plenty of jokes but no characterization for any of the players beneath the surface. Plenty of things happen but it doesn't really amount to anything other than a clothesline the authors are able to hang gags on. The result is a mixed bag for readers: a fun time that won't inspire any deep attraction beyond the book's end. Readers will find this entry's ending much more satisfactory than its predecessor's, however; there's a solid conclusion with a tease for what's coming next. Buddy presents himself as a White teen when he isn't in his natural blue skin while previous titles indicate diversity among his friends. A mixed bag of a sequel. (Science fiction. 9-12)

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October 15, 2020
Grades 3-6 Having escaped his distant planet in the series opener (Alien Superstar, 2019) before his sensory enhancer?a willful and, in Nicolle's pictures, somewhat salaciously drawn appendage?can be permanently deactivated, alien shapechanger Short Nose (human stage name: Buddy Burger) has fetched up at Universal Studios on Earth and is making the best of it as a rising star in the TV comedy Oddball Academy. Unfortunately, not only has he become so focused on advancing his screen career that he's neglecting his human friends Cassidy and Luis, but mean and aptly named security officer Citizen Cruel has arrived on the planet to drag him back. Fending off her repeated kidnapping attempts while trying to put together a show provides both authentic (more or less) glimpses of what goes on behind the cameras and opportunities for comical dustups and narrow escapes. And, what with Buddy's occasional failures to transform completely, he really needs friends?a fact which he does come to understand by episode's end. Several plotlines remain a-dangle as lead-ins to future misadventures. Finished illustrations not seen.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)