Alex Wise vs. The End of the World and Futureland: The Nightmare Hour (Futureland #2)

Benton-Walker, Terry J. Alex Wise vs. the End of the World 

September 26, 2023 by Labyrinth Road

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Alex's parents are divorced and he hasn't seen much of his father since he moved out, especially now that he is remarried and has a step son, Nick, who is interested in basketball in the same way that the father is. Now that summer break is here, Alex is hoping to invite his former best friend, Sky, to a concert. The two fell out after Alex came out to Sky, Sky admitted that he also was sometimes attracted to other boys, and a classmate, Larry, called both friends gay. After that, Sky stopped talking to Alex. When his mother cancels the concert and forces both Alex and his sister Mags to go on a cruise with their father and their new family, Alex feels like he has lost his chance to reconnect with Sky. There's also the small issue of a shadowy figure who is skulking around both him and his sister. They aren't sure what's going on, but it's frightening. On the ship, Nick, Alex, and Mags are hanging out, getting burgers, when the shadowy figure attacks Mags and drags her overboard. Alex jumps in after her, and Alex's teacher, who also happens to be on the cruise, does as well. Unfortunately, the ship is in trouble as well, and in the chaos, the three can't be helped. Still, the wake up on an island, having been saved by Liam. Liam is the lone surivor of Paradisium, a world that was destroyed by the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse. They're back, and Death takes over the body of Mags. Alex is channeling Orin, the advisor of Liams' mother. Orin (who uses the pronouns they/them) can do magic, but Alex doesn't see a lot of that. He, along with his best friend Loren, eventually meet up at the hospital, and when they see Mags on television spouting off about the end of the world, they know they have to save her, even if it means fighting major forces of evil. THe group forms a plan, but not everything works the way they want it to, and their fights are interspersed with periods of planning and personal reflection. Will Alex be able to avert the end of the world? 

Strengths: This gets bonus points for tying in to the mythology of the Four Horseman; I can't think of another middle grade book that does that. There are some good dystopian elements to this, with factions taking over supplies, people dying (there's Famine and Pestilence gadding about, after all), and worried folk pledging themselves to the Horsemen as Riders. There's also a lot of positive behavior being modeled, with people apologizing for their behavior, Alex trying to retain the idea that he "is enough" even those his father doesn't make him feel that way, and a lot of acceptance about different issues of gender and sexuality. 
Weaknesses: If you fall off a cruise ship, your survival rate is only about 15%. This is just one of the reasons I've never been able to commit to going on a cruise. This bothered me; both Mags and Cam would almost surely have been killed. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like Perry's Cameron Battle or Oshiro's The Insiders, both of which are mentioned in this book. 

As an old person, one of the current trends that I find hardest to embrace is the idea of "You Are Enough". I can hear my mother deriding it every time. That, and "self care". To my mother, self care was washing up and getting dressed even if you had spent the night throwing up. There is work to be done, and a little thing like being sick should not stop you from doing it.

Doesn't really matter if our parents were right; we still internalize what we were taught. 

Hunter, H.D. Futureland: The Nightmare Hour (Futureland #2)

November 7, 2023 by Random House Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Netgalley

After losing his best friend, the rev Dooley, Cam Walker is glad to have the friends Yusuf, Rich, Angel and Earl, with whom he was solving mysteries. Their school has a research project, so they all start planning to work on that. His parents and uncle are still very busy running Futureland, and they have a surprise for him: they are leaving Atlanta because of all of the public relations problems caused by Blaise Southmore and his evil plans and are heading to New York City. Cam is devastated, but knows there is fighting it, and is at least glad to be back in New York. When his friend Yusuf shows up wanting to stat in New York, Cam agrees to hide him, and the two sneak into Futureland. Yusuf has an odd wristband that he claims came from his mother's work and is just for fitness. Uncle Trey has a new technology that he is debuting; kids can wander around the theme park with Holo-pets to accompany them. When things get glitchy, Cam starts to think that maybe Yusuf's wristband is not what he claims it to be. When Cam takes it and starts wearing it, he can feel that it is changing his brain waves. How is HavenTech involved in the strange things happening in Futureworld? When Cam eventually comes clean to his parents about his knowledge of the problems that are arising, will they be able to help him with the threat posed by evil forces?

Strengths: Who doesn't want to spend time in a theme park that travels around to different cities and has Holo-pets and revs (like androids)? Cam is making a good transition to being friends with real people after Dooley was put out of the picture, and the move to New York made sense. Something is clearly up with Yusuf, and the prominent position of the wristbands is the book is pretty prescient; I've seen a LOT Of my students with smart watches, and people are clearly invested in them. 
Weaknesses: Fantasies are skewing more and more dystopian. It would be great to bring back some of the optimism of the 1950s and 60s science fiction instead of having everything be evil villains trying to wreck everything. George Jetson is a year old in 2023; can we have a happier, shinier future in some books? 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like fantasy books with technology in them, like Team Chu, Jinxed, or Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation. Sadly, I'm having trouble getting  my students to read fantasy SERIES to such an extent that I'm not buying some sequels. I'm debating, since the first book of this could stand alone. 

N.B. Wrote both of these reviews on the first full day of school and strongly suspect I have lost some of my ability to... word. Only checked out 200 books, but there are so many technology problems that I was constantly running. Walked excessively all summer so I wouldn't be tired, but that was not the case.