e-Audio, 07:18:03
Narrated by: Landon Woodson & Zeno Robinson
Release Date: June 3, 2025
Published by: Books on Tape (Nancy Paulsen Books)
Read from: July 17-18, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: The Publisher’s App (I received a free e-ALC from the publisher and their app. I also received a hardcover from the publisher. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: N/A
For Readers Interested In: Middle Grade, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Racial/Ethnic DiversityIn this exhilarating alien sci-fi adventure perfect for fans of Jordan Peele’s Nope, Lamar Giles and Kwame Mbalia, twin brothers must stop aliens from taking over their Atlanta suburb.
There’s something weird going on in South Bank…and the Young brothers are at the center of it.
Cypress and Oakley Young are polar opposites and if it weren’t for being identical twins, no one would ever guess they were related. Cy is a budding film director and this summer, he’s filming his latest movie at the abandoned theme park with Oak and their best friend Jaz as his actors. He loves directing, because being the director means calling the shots, being in absolute control of how the story turns out. Except Oak’s wild imagination can’t be contained. Tired of hearing about his brother’s dreams and alien conspiracy theories, Cy snaps at him. But before he can patch things up, Oak vanishes into Owl Rock, this huge otherworldly granite formation at the center of the park, leaving only his skateboard behind.
When Orion Industries, the company that’s been excavating beneath Owl Rock and snapping up property all around town, start searching for Oak with a little too much interest, it’s up to Cy and Jaz to find Oak first and uncover the true secrets of Owl Rock. This heartening whirlwind adventure is ready to thrill as two brothers discover we’re not alone in the universe.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi, but when there’s aliens and there’s Black kids on the cover, you can BET I’m going to let all of that go and crack the book open! And that’s exactly what happened with this one. And let me tell you what an amazing decision that was!
Ok so first off, there was the characters. Were these based off real people? Because they were so real. Someone who didn’t believe, someone who did, and someone else who seemed to be on the fence. I loved all their different personalities and the way they interacted with each other. They were also way more calm than I would have liked. What do you mean one of you got abducted by aliens, you got it on tape, and you’re only crying because you have to return home without him? I would have been screaming, crying, throwing up, and everything else. It was a lot lol
The alien was pretty cool. I do remember wishing there was a bit more world building. Like telling us what he looked like was cool, but there was no showing. Sci Fi is hard because there’s the potential for the entire thing to be made up. And in this one, the story is set in the “real world,” but there is also the spaceship and the alien’s world etc. I would have loved it even more if there were more descriptors and more information on them. Definitely was a victim of showing vs telling.
Orion Industries were kind of like the Men in Black to me lol I loved it so much. They were all but useless tho lol I trusted the kids more than them. They didn’t want to listen to the kids and they were acting like they were the troublemakers. They definitely made it a lot more fun. And it was funny because they were so scared of the aliens, but it seemed like the twins were teaching them everything they knew and they were just starting to learn about Earth and different things like eating.
This was a lot of fun. There were some small missteps, but I thought it was good overall. Definitely a book I wasn’t expecting to love, but now I’m telling everyone about it. If you haven’t seen my TfT, you can visit it here or here. Someone picked this up and let me know what you think!
Overall, I give this
