Bites Back #2

June 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-Fans of Walker's 2017 Crash Course should be pleased with this sequel which packs in just as much action, science, and flair as its predecessor. After her explosive first year, second-year terraforming student Elara Adele Vaughn is looking forward to returning to her study of planet building at the Seven Systems School of Terraforming Sciences and Arts. However, Elara is disappointed to find that the school has been shut down in response to last year's dangerous events, and the students, who hail from planets all over the galaxy, will now study aboard a moving schoolship. It doesn't take long for Elara to suspect that there's something fishy about the new schoolship, which is run entirely by artificial intelligence and seems more concerned with teaching loyalty than terraforming. Elara shares her suspicions with her friends, but their apathy about the mysterious changes leaves Elara feeling angry and alone. With the help of a strange new power, a surprising ally, and some creative thinking, Elara is able to track down the man in charge, known only as the Watchman. The fun of the first novel is dampened by fewer interactions between Elara and her quirky alien friends. Nevertheless, a strong female heroine, an abundance of action, and positive messages about interpersonal relationships make this a worthy choice for middle grade readers. VERDICT Recommended for general purchase, or for libraries looking to boost their middle grade science fiction collections.-Liz Overberg, Zionsville Community High School, IN

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2018
Aspiring terraformer Elara Vaughn is back after summer break. But the Seven Systems School of Terraforming Sciences and Arts has been closed--news that didn't make it to her remote planet. Now she's in a new school that's situated on a spaceship, and it's got a decidedly military cast. Worse, her nemesis from last year, Suue Damo'n, is Elara's new roommate, and neither girl is thrilled. Elara knows something is really wrong when she receives a chrono-hopper from time-traveling agent Groob, who helped her and her friends defeat their evil headmistress in series opener Planet Terra: Crash Course (2017). Elara's friends, Beezle, Sabik, and Knot, want her to forget what happened last school year and focus on her studies, but that's not going to stop her from investigating the Watchman, a new councilman in the Seven Stars System who, impossibly, has another chrono-hopper. Slowly she comes to believe that everyone around her has been brainwashed--can she successfully pretend to be brainwashed too as she seeks to restore order? The plot's pacing is unbalanced, with a slow, exposition-heavy first half and an action-heavy second half. Still, dark-skinned Elara and her extremely diverse friends--the student body is made up of a dizzying array of ETs--are appealing, as is Walker's far-future, outer-space world. Zoo's grayscale illustrations set up each chapter.Fans of Book 1 will enjoy hopping around time and space with Elara and her friends again. (Science fiction. 8-12)

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