Book picks similar to
First Contact by Brent LeVasseur


fantasy
science-fiction
middle-grade
sci-fi

Tesla's Attic


Neal Shusterman - 2014
    When Nick opens the door to his attic room, he's hit in the head by a toaster. That's just the beginning of his weird experiences with the old junk stored up there. After getting rid of the odd antiques in a garage sale, Nick befriends some local kids-Mitch, Caitlin, and Vincent-and they discover that all of the objects have extraordinary properties. What's more, Nick figures out that the attic is a strange magnetic vortex, which attracts all sorts of trouble. It's as if the attic itself has an intelligence . . . and a purpose.Ultimately Nick learns that the genius Nikola Tesla placed the items-his last inventions-in the attic as part of a larger plan that he mathematically predicted. Nick and his new friends must retrieve everything that was sold at the garage sale and keep it safe. But the task is fraught with peril-in addition to the dangers inherent in Tesla's mysterious and powerful creations, a secret society of physicists, the Accelerati, is determined to stop Nick and alter destiny to achieve its own devious ends. It's a lot for a guy to handle, especially when he'd much rather fly under the radar as the new kid in town.

Rocket and Groot: Stranded on Planet Strip Mall!


Tom Angleberger - 2016
    After battling deadly space piranhas in Sector 7 of the Cosmos, Rocket and Groot crash-land on a planet made up of strip malls, maniacal robots bent on customer service, and killer toilets - yes, killer toilets! Told through the eyes of Rocket, the Adventures of Rocket and Groot will feature simple black-and-white drawing throughout, as Rocket uses a space stylus to express his adventures, visually, while Veronica, their space recording companion, lays out the adventure in text! Granted, the drawings are done by a space Raccoon with a bad attitude, but what would happen if he gave Groot a shot to draw an adventure they had been on? what would we get? We'll find out in the final chapter!

The Rising Force


Dave Wolverton - 1999
    After years at the Jedi Temple, he knows the power of the lightsaber and the Force. But he cannot control his own anger and fear. Because of this, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn will not take him on as a Padawan apprentice.Now Obi-Wan is about to have his first encounter with true evil. He must face off against unexpected enemies—and face up to his own dark wishes.Only then can his education as a Jedi truly begin.

InvestiGators


John Patrick Green - 2020
    MANGO and BRASH are the INVESTIGATORS:sewer-loving agents of S.U.I.T.* and scourge of supervillains everywhere!With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks—or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp?*Special Undercover Investigation Teams

Gravity Falls: Journal 3


Alex Hirsch - 2016
    Journal 3 brims with every page ever seen on the Gravity Falls show plus all-new pages with monsters and secrets, notes from Dipper and Mabel, and the Author’s full story.A 288-page full-color jacketed hardcover version of Journal 3—plus, the book jacket doubles as an exclusive poster.

Island of Fog


Keith Robinson - 2009
    Atmospheric and mysterious, ISLAND OF FOG is the story of eight children living in a dismal, perpetually foggy community on an island just off the north east coast of America.Increasing curiosity leads these 12-year-olds to question what lies "Out There" beyond the fog. Is the world really as dead as their parents insist? Are they truly the last surviving humans on the planet? Or are the children the subject of a dark scientific experiment?When the friends begin to experience frightening physical changes, they realize that their parents are keeping secrets. And when a stranger arrives on the island, it seems clear that the world beyond the fog can't be as dead as they've been led to believe. Convinced of a conspiracy, the children resolve to find out the truth once and for all... and discover a secret far greater than they could have imagined.

The Mayflower Project


Katherine Applegate - 2001
    Not something most people think about. Not something we even expect to ever really happen. But what if you found out an asteroid the size of New Jersey were about to collide with the earth? What would you do? It's the year 2011, and that's the question Jobs is asking himself. The question he asked his family. He certainly didn't expect the answer he got. Didn't expect that in a very short time he and his family would be some of the lucky few selected to board a revamped space shuttle... A shuttle that would leave Earth just before the asteroid destroys it. But there are a couple of catches: The shuttle has no ultimate destination; and all those aboard will be placed in a state of suspended animation---indefinitely. Or at least until the computers find a habitable planet for them to live.Back-of-Book Summary:It's 2011. An asteroid is on a collision course with the earth. And eighty people have been given the opportunity to survive. To leave the planet before the world ends.Jobs isn't quite sure of what's going on. Just that he and his family are a few of the lucky ones chosen to board a revamped space shuttle. A shuttle that will leave Earth just before the final impact. No one knows where they're going. Or if they'll make it there at all. Because there isn't a lot of time for questions. And there are fewer answers. . . .

The Lost Planet


Rachel Searles - 2014
    This is what the boy is told:• He woke up on planet Trucon, inside a fence he shouldn't have been able to pass.• He has an annirad blaster wound to the back of his head.• He has no memory.• He is now under the protection of a mysterious benefactor.• His name is Chase Garrety.This is what Chase Garrety knows:• He has a message: "Guide the star."• Time is running out.

Pi in the Sky


Wendy Mass - 2013
    His older brothers help his dad rule the cosmos, but all Joss gets to do is deliver pies. That's right: pies. Of course, these pies actually hold the secrets of the universe between their buttery crusts, but they're still pies.Joss is happy to let his older brothers shine. He has plenty to keep his hands full: attempting to improve his bowling score; listening to his best friend, Kal, try (and fail) to play the drums; and exploring his ever-changing home, The Realms. But when Earth suddenly disappears, Joss is tasked with the seemingly impossible job of bringing it back. With the help of Annika, an outspoken girl from Earth, he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime...and learns that the universe is an even stranger place than he'd imagined.From the New York Times bestselling author of The Candymakers comes a world-hopping tale that leads the reader deep into the heart of the mysteries of time and space. Plus, there's pie.

The Magic Bicycle


John Bibee - 1983
    When John Kramer comes across an old, rusty Spirit Flyer bicycle, he finds it far from ordinary. First, the bike helps him save a neighbor's barn from burning. Then it brings him into conflict with the boys in the Cobra Club, a representative of Goliath Toys and other forces that not only want John's bike, but want it destroyed. While John learns about the Magic in the bicycle, every reader will be delighted as they join him for this fantastic ride.

Pure Dead Magic


Debi Gliori - 2001
    Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia has been kidnapped. Signora Baci Strega-Borgia is struggling with her spells at the Advanced Witchcraft Institute.Titus and Pandora don’t like their suspiciously cheerful and fearless new nanny. Baby Damp has been accidentally shrunk, e-mailed, and lost on the World Wide Web. And to top it off, there’s a gangster in a bunny suit lurking about. . . .This seriously over-the-top, gothic romp is sure to have readers clamoring for the next Strega-Borgia adventure.From the Hardcover edition.

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 Smartest Kid in the Universe


Chris Grabenstein - 2020
    Backbridge. "Here is my prediction. In the not-too-distant future, we are going to ingest information. You won't need to read a book or attend lectures. The chemicals in these pills will do your learning for you."12 year old Jake's middle school is about to be shut down. Jake and his friends know their school's worth saving-if they could only figure out how! When Jake spies a bowl of jellybeans at the hotel where his mom works, he eats them. But uh-oh-those weren't just jellybeans, one of the scientists at his mom's conference is in the process of developing the first ingestible information pills. And THAT'S what Jake ate.Before long, Jake is the smartest kid in the universe. But the pills haven't been tested yet. And when word gets out about this new genius, people want him. The government. The mega corporations. Not all of them are good people! Can Jake navigate all the ins and outs of his newfound geniusdom (not to mention the ins and outs of middle school!) AND use his smarts to figure out how to save his school? (Hint-it will take someone smart enough to decipher an almost forgotten pirate legend!) It turns out, sometimes even the smartest kid has a lot to learn!

Emilie and the Hollow World


Martha Wells - 2013
    But when evidence points to sabotage and they encounter the treacherous Lord Ivers, along with the strange race of the sea-lands, Emilie has to make some challenging decisions and take daring action if they are ever to reach the surface world again.

Last of the Sandwalkers


Jay Hosler - 2015
    She's a fearless explorer, a brilliant scientist, and a tireless leader.She's also a half inch tall.THERE IS AN ENTIRE CIVILIZATION under the big palm tree by the edge of the desert—a society of beetle. In this bug's paradise, beetles write books, raise families, and some of them, like Lucy, even do scientific research.But as Lucy is about to discover, the world outside Coleopolis is hiding an astonishing—and dangerous—secret... Insects are not the only living creatures in the world.