You Can't Have My Planet, But Take My Brother, Please!

Mihaley, James. You Can't Have My Planet, But Take My Brother, Please.
10 April  2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Giles is insecure, mainly due to his smart older brother and cute little sister. While he is hanging out in the woods near his family's summer retreat, he meets an alien real estate agent who is trying to sell Earth to King Mooby, since the residents of Earth have violated their lease and are going to all be shipped out to Desoleen. Giles ends up with a copy of the lease, a blue but very cute alien lawyer his age, and the responsibility of cleaning up Manhattan so that the aliens don't take over. He has a few other helpers-- three of his friends, as well as a parking meter named Stanley, a space ship named DubDub fueled by rhymes, and trash collectors who replicate themselves by turning the garbage they pick up into new collectors. There are obstacles, of course-- it's a rather unbelievable story, and he is up against the likes of Princess Petulance, but Giles is tremendously motivated by not having to relocate to Desoleen among the ferocious Kundabons,
Strengths: This was certainly a goofy, fast paced story, and I didn't feel like I needed to suspend disbelief too much because Giles' predicament sucked me right in. Lots of good gadgets and aliens.
Weaknesses: The preponderance of gadgets and aliens made this seem overly hectic to me. The print is very tiny, which makes it a hard sell to middle grade students. This would have been better with some editing, and the story line would have been cleaner.