Book picks similar to
Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy by Joshua S. Levy
middle-grade
science-fiction
adventure
sci-fi
Orphans of the Tide
Struan Murray - 2020
She's always been told that there is nothing to see beyond the shores of her small, salty island.That is, until a mysterious boy washes in with the tide, trapped inside the belly of a whale.The citizens of the City believe he's ruled by the Enemy--the legendary god who drowned the whole world--come again to cause untold chaos. Only Ellie believes that the boy is innocent.To save him, Ellie must prove that he's not who they think he is--even if that means revealing her own dangerous secret.
The Lost Property Office
James R. Hannibal - 2016
Hannibal presents a thrilling adventure through history, complete with mysteries, secret items, codes, and a touch of magic in this stunning middle grade debut. Thirteen-year-old Jack Buckles is great at finding things. Not just a missing glove or the other sock, but things normal people have long given up on ever seeing again. If only he could find his father, who has disappeared in London without a trace. But Jack s father was not who he claimed to be. It turns out that he was a member of a secret society of detectives that has served the crown for centuries and membership into the Lost Property Office is Jack s inheritance. Now the only way Jack will ever see his father again is if he finds what the nefarious Clockmaker is after: the Ember, which holds a secret that has been kept since the Great Fire of London. Will Jack be able to find the Ember and save his father, or will his talent for finding things fall short?"
Drizzle
Kathleen Van Cleve - 2010
The plants taste like chocolate, jewels appear in the soil, bugs talk to her, and her best friend is a rhubarb plant named Harry. But the most magical thing is that every single Monday, at exactly 1:00, it rains. Until the Monday when the rain just stops. Now it's up to Polly to figure out why, and whether her brother's mysterious illness and her glamorous aunt Edith's sudden desire to sell the farm have anything to do with it. Most of all, Polly has to make it start raining again before it's too late. Her brother's life, the plants' survival, and her family's future all depend on it. Kathleen Van Cleve has woven an unforgettable coming-of-age tale with all the heart and wonder of a Roald Dahl novel.
Throwback
Peter Lerangis - 2019
Corey Fletcher has an active imagination. He sees things no one else does. Cracks jokes no one else gets. And goes places few would ever dare go. Like the past.All he needs is a metal artifact from a point in time, and Corey can go there. Although hundreds of time travelers live in secret throughout the world, including Corey's own grandfather, none has the ability to change past events.But when Corey accidentally saves a life while time traveling, he realizes that he is the first-ever “Throwback,” with the power to alter life as we know it. Which means his own life is now in all sorts of danger.This is the first book in a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat adventure series from New York Times bestselling author Peter Lerangis, whose books have sold over five and a half million copies worldwide.
Frostborn
Lou Anders - 2014
He is destined to take over the family farm in Norrøngard. His only problem? He’d rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones. Enter Thianna. Half human, half frost giantess. She’s too tall to blend in with other humans but too short to be taken seriously as a giant. When family intrigues force Karn and Thianna to flee into the wilderness, they have to keep their sense of humor and their wits about them. But survival can be challenging when you’re being chased by a 1,500-year-old dragon, Helltoppr the undead warrior and his undead minions, an evil uncle, wyverns, and an assortment of trolls and giants.
The Silver Arrow
Lev Grossman - 2020
And if their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane -- that is, until her mysterious and highly irresponsible Uncle Herbert, whom she's never even met before, surprises her with the most unexpected, exhilarating, inappropriate birthday present of all time: a colossal steam locomotive called the Silver Arrow.Kate and Tom's parents want to send it right back where it came from. But Kate and Tom have other ideas -- and so does the Silver Arrow -- and soon they're off to distant lands along magical rail lines in the company of an assortment of exotic animals who, it turns out, can talk. With only curiosity, excitement, their own resourcefulness and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime...and who knows? They just might end up saving the world after all.
The Simple Art of Flying
Cory Leonardo - 2019
He’d like nothing more than to fly away to a palm tree with his beloved sister, Aggie. But when Aggie is purchased by twelve-year-old Fritz, and Alastair is adopted by elderly dance-enthusiast and pie-baker Albertina Plopky, the future looks ready to crash-land.In-between anxiously plucking his feathers, eating a few books, and finding his own poetic voice, Alastair plots his way to a family reunion. But soon he’s forced to choose between the life he’s always dreamed of and admitting the truth: that sometimes, the bravest adventure is in letting go.
Knights vs. Dinosaurs
Matt Phelan - 2018
The realm is at peace and dragons are few and far between. So Merlin decides to send the knights out on a real adventure to a world filled with the most terrible lizards of all: DINOSAURS!
The Moon Platoon
Jeramey Kraatz - 2017
But when he wins a scholarship for a life-changing trip to visit the Lunar Taj, the first-ever resort on the Moon, Benny thinks he finally has a chance to give his family a better life. Benny can’t wait to fly his very own Space Runner, practice reverse bungee jumping, and explore craters on the dark side of the Moon. But he gets more than he expected when he and the other kids discover the Moon has secrets no one else knows about. Benny is a long way from home—and soon there might not be an Earth to go back to.
Beetle Boy
M.G. Leonard - 2016
Vanished without a trace! From a locked room! So Darkus moves in with his eccentric Uncle Max and next door to Humphrey and Pickering, two lunatic cousins with an enormous beetle infestation. Darkus soon discovers that the beetles are anything but ordinary. They're an amazing, intelligent super species and they're in danger of being exterminated. It's up to Darkus and his friends to save the beetles. But they're up against an even more terrifying villain--the mad scientist of fashion, haute couture villainess Lucretia Cutter. Lucretia has an alarming interest in insects and dastardly plans for the bugs. She won't let anyone or anything stop her, including Darkus's dad, who she has locked up in her dungeons! The beetles and kids join forces to rescue Mr. Cuttle and thwart Lucretia.
The Library of Ever
Zeno Alexander - 2019
But there are sinister forces at work that want to destroy all knowledge. To save the library, Lenora will have to test her limits and uncover secrets hidden among its shelves.
My Rotten Life
David Lubar - 2009
First, Shawna Lanchester, the prettiest girl in his class, doesn't invite him to her party. Then he gets picked last in gym class. Things couldn't get any worse…until he gets doused with an experimental serum that turns him into a half-dead zombie!Nathan soon discovers that being half dead isn't all bad. He doesn't need any sleep, so he can stay up all night and play games online. He doesn't feel any pain, so there's no need to worry about Rodney the bully anymore. Still, Nathan would rather be human. Will he find a cure? Or will Nathan be half-dead forever?Fans of David Lubar's popular Weenies short story collections—which have sold more than one million copies—will love My Rotten Life, the first of a series of hilariously rotten adventures starring Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie.
The Miraculous
Jess Redman - 2019
In a journal he calls The Miraculous, he records stories of the inexplicable and the extraordinary. These miracles fill Wunder with the feeling that he is not alone, that the world is magical, that he is part of something brighter than he can imagine.But then his newborn sister dies, at only eight days old. If that can happen, then miracles don’t exist. So Wunder gets rid of The Miraculous. And he stops believing.Then Wunder meets Faye—a cape-wearing, outspoken girl with losses of her own. Together, they find an abandoned house by the cemetery and the old woman who lives there—and who might be a witch. The old woman asks for Wunder and Faye’s help. She asks them to go through graveyards and forests, to townhalls and police stations, by bike and by train. She asks them to believe. And together, they go on a journey that leads them to friendship, to healing—and to miracles.THE MIRACULOUS is Jess Redman’s stunning debut about facing grief, trusting the unknown, and finding the brightness in the darkest moments.
Wild Boy
Rob Lloyd Jones - 2013
Snatched up by an unscrupulous and abusive showman, Wild Boy, covered in hair from head to toe, becomes a sideshow freak. Isolated from other children and wickedly abused by the cruel master who bought him, Wild Boy becomes an avid observer, developing Sherlock Holmes–like deductive skills. Although he is tormented and insulted, kicked and spat at, his quick mind takes in everything he sees. When a murder occurs at the fair, Wild Boy is hastily accused. Can he use his powers of deduction to save himself? And will the talented and spunky young acrobat Clarissa be with him — or against him? Readers will be swept along by the cinematic pace, immersed in the vivid historical setting, and gripped by suspense as they wait to find out if a better fate could possibly await someone so very different.
Earth Force Rising
Monica Tesler - 2016
Now they’ve brought together the first team of cadets, called Bounders, to be trained as high-level astronauts.Twelve-year-old Jasper is part of this team being sent out into space. After being bullied back on Earth, Jasper is thrilled to have something new and different to do with other kids who are more like him. While learning all about the new technologies and taking classes in mobility—otherwise known as flying with jetpacks—Jasper befriends the four other students in his pod and finally feels like he has found his place in the world.But then Jasper and his new friends learn that they haven’t been told everything about Earth Force. They weren’t brought to space for astronaut training, but to learn a new, highly classified brain-sync technology that allows them to manipulate matter and quantum bound, or teleport. And it isn’t long before they find out this new technology was actually stolen from an alien society.When Jasper and his friends discover the truth about why Earth Force needs them, they are faced with a choice: rebel against the academy that brought them together, or fulfill their duty and protect the planet at all costs.