Escape from the Pipe Men!

Gr 4–7—Siblings Ryan, 13, and Becky, 7, spend their days on O-thul-ba, the Pipe Men's planet, being observed by the alien inhabitants as human exhibits in an intergalactic zoo. At night they leave through a portal that leads to their living-room closet at home in Oregon. The Pipe Men, with their multiple eyes set vertically in their tall, thin, cylinder-shaped bodies, have secretly come to Earth and persuaded Ryan's parents to work for them on O-thul-ba. No one else on Earth knows the Pipe Men exist. When the children's father is accidentally poisoned by another alien species, Ryan and Becky attempt to get the antidote by escaping through a series of confusing passageways with many doorways/portals leading to other planets. The Pipe Men are kidnapping some of the other exotic species from their home planets and stealing Earth's and the planets' resources, and the kids find themselves involved in an alien rebellion. Many plot points aren't fully explained, including the Pipe Men's backstory, why they chose Ryan's family, and how they continue to exert control over them and other alien species. The explanation of how the portals work isn't very clear either. The novel's intention to show how certain groups or species exploit and oppress others is interesting, but the presentation is more earnest than compelling or exciting.—Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton