The Incredible Space Raiders from Space! - Rilegato

Full of exciting chases and clever battle strategies. If readers wanted to describe this book in Internet terms, they would be emoticons: wide-eyed surprise, tears at a few late revelations and many smiley faces at the end. (Kirkus Reviews)

Space travel is common in the year 2156, but Jonah is still shocked to wake up aboard the Fantastic Flying Squirrel, a spaceship piloted by dangerous pirates and home to the Incredible Space Raiders, a band of children fighting extraterrestrial EETs (Entirely Evil Things). Jonah, a shy boy with few friends back home, is unsure why he was chosen to join the ISR, but he begins training and tries to fit in. The more Jonah learns about the ISR, however, the more he senses that something isn’t quite right, starting with the fact that his fellow raiders are all orphans. When the other children discover that Jonah has parents, they resent him and soon everyone is wondering whether he truly belongs on the mission. King (The Vindico) weaves action, suspense, and mystery into a well-crafted coming-of-age story. Readers will relate to Jonah as he struggles to define himself in an unfamiliar setting, while questions about the true plan for the kids aboard the Flying Squirrel will keep them turning pages. (Publishers Weekly)

Readers seeking a swift-moving, exciting romp through a giant spaceship full of cool (and creepy) nooks and crannies will be sucked right in. (The Bulletin)

One minute Jonah is doing homework in his perfectly normal world and the next minute he is aboard the Fantastic Flying Squirrel, a spaceship filled with some very odd characters. The ship is on a mission to a distant galaxy to fight the Entirely Evil Things. Through a series of events, normally timid Jonah finds, much to his astonishment, that he grows into his new Space Raider name and assumes a leadership role. This story, set in the year 2156, is filled with adventure, heroic deeds, evil monsters, and more that young readers will devour. The Space Raiders are children with real fears, insecurities, and needs that young readers will relate to. The text is perfect for young lovers of science fiction, space travel, and a good story. I predict that readers will be begging for more adventures from Jonah and the Incredible Space Raiders. (School Library Connection September 2015)

Wesley King is the author of the Edgar Award–winning OCDaniel, which Booklist praised as “complex and satisfying” in a starred review. It was also named a Bank Street Best Book of the Year and received Canada’s Silver Birch Award. King’s first middle grade novel, The Incredible Space Raiders from Space!, was called “a well-drafted coming-of-age story” by Publishers Weekly. King is also the author of The Vindico and its sequel, The Feros, which were both Junior Library Guild selections, and Kobe Bryant’s New York Times bestselling Wizenard series. He lives in Nova Scotia.