I Am the Walrus

February 15, 2023
A middle schooler must outrun a cadre of strange individuals while puzzling out the truth of what he is in this science-fiction offering. Fourteen-year-old Noah Prime longs to live somewhere bigger than his small town of Arbuckle, Oregon, though he is happily involved in motocross--at least until he learns that the course is being torn down to make way for a condo development. This bad news coincides with some particularly strange happenings in Noah's life, such as a literal (and very confusing) collision he has with Sahara, a girl that he comes to find very interesting. This is followed by his experiencing a brief and total paralysis while arguing with some bullies, which his friend Ogden, who is on the autism spectrum, insists is due to a psychological phenomenon called conversion disorder. The truth turns out to be much more complex, and it sends Noah, younger sister Andi, Ogden, and Sahara on a madcap quest involving aliens, time travel, an erupting volcano, and much more. The adventure is laced throughout with goofy, sarcastic humor, balancing the fantastical and somewhat confusing turns of events. While there is resolution at the story's end, it also clearly sets the stage for a follow-up. The main characters read White by default. A fun, if messy, thriller that's not afraid to go straight over the top. (Science fiction. 10-14)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 13, 2023
The creators of the Accelerati Trilogy reteam for this dynamic, Oregon-set series kickoff, whose wide-ranging adventure arc encompasses aliens, animalian hijinks, designer coffins, and Stonehenge. Fourteen-year-old Noah Prime has always had an uncanny knack for sports, but after his beloved motocross course is razed for development—closing just like the ice-skating rink he loved before it—he’s surprised to find that he has an affinity for not only motocross and hockey, but basketball, soccer, and wrestling, too. A strange collision with gymnast schoolmate Sahara raises questions about his background, as does a surprising physical reaction to an incident of bullying. With the help of Sahara, his autistic best friend Ogden, and his younger sister Andi, Noah seeks to find out more about himself and his apparent enemies. The group’s exploits, detailed in quick-moving chapters that alternate with additional perspectives from protagonists and antagonists alike, develop a world of depth and moral complexity. Though instances of the cast separating occasionally bog down the plot, often-ludicrous scenarios and pop culture punch lines deliver surprises and laughs throughout, ramping up to a smash-bang ending that leaves plenty unresolved for future volumes. Characters are not physically described. Ages 10–14. Agent (for Shusterman): Andrea Brown, Andrea Brown Literary.

March 1, 2023
Fourteen-year-old Noah Prime is late for school and collides with classmate Sahara on his way in, although he can't remember how it happened. But that's not the only strange thing that happens that week. He suddenly freezes up and topples over when confronted by bullies, embarrasses himself on the dance floor with Sahara, and performs a difficult gymnastics routine with ease on the first try. Noah's best friend, Ogden, gradually works out that when Noah is stressed, he exhibits the defense mechanisms of various animals: bird, possum, penguin, chimpanzee, and -- when he is accidentally trapped with Sahara in a refrigerated meat locker -- walrus. Early in the novel, the reader is given teasing glimpses into further mysteries. A boy named Noah Tercero is captured and killed in Argentina, as is Noah Secundus in England. Do they have similar abilities? And does the same fate await Noah Prime -- or can he figure things out with the help of Ogden and Sahara? With brisk pacing, offbeat humor, and endearingly quirky characters, the plot grows more outlandish with each chapter, which is perhaps fitting for a book whose title alludes to a famously nonsensical Beatles song. Shusterman and Elfman (co-authors of the Accelerati trilogy) deliver the goods in this entertaining science fiction romp, leaving readers eager for the next installment. Jonathan Hunt

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 5, 2023

Gr 6 Up-The first book in this new series is too scattered to make its mark as a sci-fi adventure tale. Fourteen-year-old protagonist Noah Prime is outrageously athletic, but since his favorite sports keep getting canceled out of the blue, he rarely gets a chance to show off his talents. After a monkey-like display at a gymnastics tournament and spontaneously developing walrus blubber while trapped in a freezer, Noah discovers that his athletic aptitude is, in fact, superhuman: he can morph into any animal in the world to use its traits to his advantage. The book starts out quirky and witty as Noah and his friends test these abilities. Things start to go off the rails when Noah's house is attacked by aliens, who kidnap his parents and make him the target of an intergalactic manhunt. The plot begins to lose focus, splitting off into multiple, uninteresting perspectives that distract from what seems to be the book's main quest-Noah finding his parents and discovering the reason for his supernatural abilities. When the plots finally intersect, the conclusion is unsatisfying. A potential red flag for school collections-it's implied that a teacher is drinking alcohol while chaperoning a dance. VERDICT From time travel to aliens to shapeshifting to an apocalypse, this work proves there may be such a thing as too much science fiction in one book.-Maria Bohan

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2023
Grades 5-7 *Starred Review* The coauthors of the Accelerati Trilogy kick off an equally head-spinning sf series starring seemingly ordinary middle-schooler Noah Prime. Noah finds himself caught between rival groups of space aliens wearing creepy, ill-fitting human skins after discovering his useful but hard-to-control ability to take on the characteristics of any animal. As he works to stay alive and uncaptured, he finds allies in smart-mouthed little sister Andi, autistic best friend Ogden, and take-no-prisoners classmate Sahara--all of whom prove to have unusual abilities of their own. Unfortunately, it turns out that the fate of all life on Earth is at stake, and Noah might just have to give up his own life to save everyone else. In this first volume alone, the authors tuck in really big stakes, time travel, fiery explosions, sudden deaths, a monster-alien jailbreak, black ops (human and otherwise), flights to locales from from Iowa to Tibet, high tech, and low humor. And that's not to mention the throwaway pop-culture references ("Klaatu barada nikto," one escapee declaims) and an involuntary penguin mating dance. Events tie off (fairly) neatly, but readers who fasten their tusks on this opener won't want to let go until the next one swims by.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
Fourteen-year-old Noah Prime is late for school and collides with classmate Sahara on his way in, although he can't remember how it happened. But that's not the only strange thing that happens that week. He suddenly freezes up and topples over when confronted by bullies, embarrasses himself on the dance floor with Sahara, and performs a difficult gymnastics routine with ease on the first try. Noah's best friend, Ogden, gradually works out that when Noah is stressed, he exhibits the defense mechanisms of various animals: bird, possum, penguin, chimpanzee, and -- when he is accidentally trapped with Sahara in a refrigerated meat locker -- walrus. Early in the novel, the reader is given teasing glimpses into further mysteries. A boy named Noah Tercero is captured and killed in Argentina, as is Noah Secundus in England. Do they have similar abilities? And does the same fate await Noah Prime -- or can he figure things out with the help of Ogden and Sahara? With brisk pacing, offbeat humor, and endearingly quirky characters, the plot grows more outlandish with each chapter, which is perhaps fitting for a book whose title alludes to a famously nonsensical Beatles song. Shusterman and Elfman (coauthors of the Accelerati trilogy) deliver the goods in this entertaining science fiction romp, leaving readers eager for the next installment.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)