For the Love of Gelo!

Gr 4–6—Space Rocks! (Penguin, 2014) opened with a neat inversion of the classic sci-fi set-up: the humans are the interloping aliens on the home turf of our narrator, a Xotonian named Chorkle. Although many Xotonians weren't sure what to make of these funny beings (with only two eyes!), they came to trust the four human children stranded on their planet—golden boy Hollins, very different identical twins Nikki and Becky, and clumsy but steadfast Little Gus—when they helped defend them from red-eyed bad guys, the Vorem. This second installment picks up three months after the Vorem's defeat, with the four children still stranded on the Xotonian asteroid, eating fried slugs, playing video games, and bickering. A new adventure comes along when a mission to a neighboring planet goes awry and Chorkle and his humans decide it's up to them to figure out what happened and save his "originator." All of these alien names may sound confusing, but O'Donnell's smooth pacing and quick wit will pull readers in and keep them turning pages. He uses the interaction of different species as an allegory for raising issues around tolerance and acceptance, but it's all done with such a light touch that it never bogs down the narrative. Recommend this one to readers who like their adventure stories cut with humor and watch it fly off the shelf faster than Chorkle can eat a Feeney's Original Astronaut Ice Cream.—Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR