Emperor of the Universe

May 1, 2019
A seventh-grader stumbles into some intergalactic shenanigans. Nicholas V. Landrew is a typical middle schooler, with little about him people might find remarkable or unusual. But once Nicholas is beamed aboard a Craborzi spaceship he becomes quite distinct to the larger universe. With his beloved gerbil, Henrietta, and a package of ground beef as traveling companions, Nicholas zips across the galaxy trying to get back to his parents before he gets in trouble. The ensuing novel wears its debt to Douglas Adams on its sleeve, mixing a zany adventure with humorous asides that open up the author's peculiar and silly version of the known universe. Readers looking for the standard middle-grade adventure story will find plenty to enjoy here, but the author elevates the material by crafting his novel with the Douglas Adams' toolbox. There's an odd remove from the novel's expected course of events that puts everything just left of center, with the author letting readers know that this is all just a bit of fun that only the written word can create. Nicholas' character does get a bit lost in the shuffle, creating a novel that won't emotionally engage readers but will poke at their intellects here and there. Larkum depicts Nicholas as white in his frequent black-and-white cartoons. A Hitchhiker's Guide for the middle school set. (Science fiction. 9-12)

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June 1, 2019

Gr 4-7-On the day that 12-year-old Nicholas V. Landrew gets a two-week suspension for bringing a toy lightsaber to school, a teleportation portal opens up in his gerbil Henrietta's cage, transporting him, Henrietta, and a newly self-aware package of hamburger meat named Jeef into outer space. This madcap journey, an homage to Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, features all the random probability, unlikely heroes, and intergalactic viral videos that readers could want. Lubar's quick-moving satire skewers consumerism, war, and Internet culture, while still centering Nicholas's experience as he realizes that the universe is much larger than he ever imagined. VERDICT Fans of Dav Pilkey, Jon Scieszka, and Tom Angleberger will race to read this smart and silly space adventure.-Molly Saunders, Homewood Public Library, AL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 24, 2019
Launching a planned trilogy, this screwball space odyssey from Lubar (the Weenies series), written as an homage to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, opens as seventh grader Nicholas V. Landrew witnesses his beloved gerbil, Henrietta, and a package of hamburger meat sequentially disappear in a flash of light. A third flash transports the boy to a spaceship, where he discovers his pet and the burger meat strapped to a table. They’re about to be dissected by a team of scientists resembling tentacled caterpillars, until Nicholas impulsively stomps on them. Then he learns that, thanks to the aliens’ GollyGosh! device, Henrietta and the hunk of meat (which Nicholas names “Jeef”) have suddenly attained “self-awareness” and can speak. The banter among the three hilariously unlikely besties—the beleaguered yet bold boy; glib, self-assured Henrietta; and pontificating Jeef, who reminisces about life as a cow raised on a Mennonite farm—powers much of the story’s humor. Intergalactic calamities multiply as the trio, aided by fantastical technology, careens through galaxies in the company of wildly eccentric aliens, inadvertently annihilating planets while dodging space pirates. It’s a riotous ride best suited to kids who gravitate toward spiraling plots and offbeat comedy. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 9–11.

May 15, 2019
Grades 5-7 Dedicated to Douglas Adams and positively abrim with Hitchhiker's Guide-style snark, Lubar's latest (Ghost Attack, 2017) sends an ignorant but game seventh-grader, a gerbil, and a package of hamburger?the latter two suddenly able to think and talk thanks to one of the many futuristic (not to mention, plot) devices on hand?on an intergalactic romp. The adventure begins when Nicholas, Henrietta the gerbil, and the hamburger (dubbed Jeef, for Grass Fed ) are kidnapped by caterpillar-like Craborzi for an episode of the popular reality show Let's Cut Things Up! From there, it careens onward past nick-of-time escapes, exploding planets, and encounters with wildly imaginative aliens (notably Morglob Sputum, Pflemhackian talent agent to the stars, described as the world's largest sneeze ). All of this is related in sheaves of short chapters punctuated by side comments, Larkum's spot art (not seen), and Nicholas' favorite exclamation: Roach brains! In the end, Nicholas, Henrietta, and (in a sense) Jeef get back to Earth, set up for a planned sequel. A cosmically comic caper, no matter how you slice it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)