Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Apr.)
Horn Book Review
Fourteen-year-old Noah Prime is late for school and collides with classmate Sahara on his way in, although he canâe(tm)t remember how it happened. But thatâe(tm)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. Noahâe(tm)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 HuntMarch/April 2023 p.80 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
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 (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist 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.
