You Can't Have My Planet, but Take My Brother, Please

Gr 5–8—Feeling betrayed by his "goody-goody" older brother who now only cares about his grades, 13-year-old Giles is alone when he comes upon an alien realtor showing Earth to prospective new tenants. A lease signed by Adam and Eve is produced, and Giles learns that the entire human race is going to be evicted due to poor stewardship of the planet. The only way to avoid it is for Giles to clean up Manhattan in 24 hours to prove to the judge at the Halls of Universal Justice that humans can change their ways. With the help of his alien "attorney," Tula, and some high-tech gadgets, Giles embarks on his mission to save humankind from being exiled to the desolate planet of Desoleen. There is plenty of humor in this debut novel, but little character development as more time is devoted to introducing as many extraterrestrials and gadgets as possible. The plot moves quickly, but there are missed opportunities. A revenge plan by Princess Petulance involving Giles's grandmother is rushed and loses emotional impact, and even the triumphant call to arms of the city's youth is too hurried to be truly appreciated. Readers looking for a humorous take on aliens or world-saving will be better served by Jon Scieszka's Spaceheadz (S & S, 2010) or Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday (Hyperion, 2007).—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL