June 30, 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Kola Adesola lives with his family in London in 2025. He’s been training for a space program for a year after his grandfather Gbadero, an aerospace engineer, has recommended him for a government project. His family struggles with his younger sister Simi’s sickle cell anemia, and she is in the hospital when the world shifts: a spaceship hovers over the Houses of Parliament, and the Onni, from the Ada’En system, announce that they have arrived to save the world. Kola’s space program is canceled, but after the Onni demand that children are to be sent with them to serve as champions and prove humanity’s worth in order to be saved, Kola is picked to represent the UK. Home schooled and a bit anxious, Kola doesn’t want to go, but the Onni have offered new technology as recompense, and he hopes they might have something to save Simi from suffering with her illness. Soon he is whisked away and put into a competitive “pod” with Achan, from South Sudan, Thea, from the US, and Dae Jin, from South Korea.They each have skills and complicated back stories, and fight a bit until they realize that is what the Onni want them to do. They are forced to undergo twelve trials, including one that forces them to eliminate one of the group. They refuse to do this, and the Onni are shocked. Their planet has been destroyed by an organization called the Alliance, and the twenty four remaining members of the society include Eika, the leader, and Thusor, who is in charge of Kola’s pod. The Onni group has been in charge of entertainment on their planet, and their top product was a show that traveled to different planets, arranging similar champion games. When more secrets come out about why they are taking children, and what plans are for Earth, Kola and his group have to use all of their wiles to save the planet. Will they succeed?
Strengths: If middle grade fiction has taught us nothing else, it's that only tweens can save the world. The arrival of the Onni is a new reason for them to become champions, which is a fresh twist. The idea that refugees from another planet are looking at what the residents of Earth have done to the planet and have decided to step in to save them is an interesting one, although after reading Falkner’s 2012 Recon Team Angel books, I know never to trust aliens who want to do something for your own good! Kola is an unlikely hero, which readers of science fiction seem to like, and his pod is a diverse group that is able to learn to work together. There are a few twists and turns that tweens might not expect, and there is a satisfying ending that could possibly lead to a sequel.
Weaknesses: I do not feel good about humanity’s chances of survival if we have to rely on today’s tweens. The message of the book was a bit unclear to me. Reality television is bad? People should learn to get along better? Never trust space aliens? This is more of a “me” problem; younger readers will just enjoy tweens saving the world.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed science fiction adventures like Johnson’s Aku: Journey to Ibra, Richter's The Star of Moon Village, Brooks’ Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont, or Bradford’s Virtual Kombat series.
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