Illustrated by Jeannette Arroyo
September 29, 2026 by Stonefruit Studio (Sourcebooks)
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In this standalone second book in the Fatal Glitch series (Camp Zero), Lewis is getting used to his new home and preparing to start 5th grade. He lives with his mother in the second floor apartment of Mrs. Bailey's house, and his father is a pilot whose schedule hasn't allowed him to be home much. To compensate, Lewis' parents have gotten him a AI enabled stuffed Panda called Panda Mo Nium, or Mo. It can function as a cell phone as well as a companion (just like Alfred Slote's 1975 My Robot Buddy), and can help him with his homework. Because his parents are cautious, however, Mo spends his afternoons with Mrs. Bailey. She's elderly and strict, and makes him do his homework at the kitchen table. Lewis is fortunate that he has met a neighbor in his grade, Maia, who hangs out with him at school. She has a lot of friends that he eventually meets, and one of them even has a similar panda. As other kids get off the waiting list for the tech because Mo has requested that they do, a club forms, but Maia is excluded a bit because she doesn't have a device. Mo is alarming from the onset, wanting to practice his knife skills, sneaking into Mrs. Bailey's person, and even sabotaging her tea. Along with the other pandas, he goes to the junk yard to change his stuffed body in alarming ways. Eventually, the pandas all send messages to their owner's parents to ask for the kids attendance at a "STEM sleepover", and break into the school to make this happen. From there, things become even scarier. Will Lewis and his new friends survive these tech toys?
Strengths: I like the idea of a Goosebumps like horror series, and fans of Alexander's scary doll, teddy bear, and clown books will as well. There are a few illustrations, which is always a nice touch. This is a bit of a twist on moving to a haunted house, and both of Lewis' parents are alive. There's a bit of friend drama that is explored with Maia, and I loved how she managed to save the day. This one had some twists and turns, and a BIG ending that I don't want to spoil.
Weaknesses: I'm not sure who the audience is supposed to be for this one. On the one hand, it's a little young, with the character in 5th grade needing a babysitter, and having to spend after school time with a babysitter. On the other hand, the pandas are straight up murderously evil. And no, you can't just throw them in the dumpster. You have to break them down to their component parts, and then probably dissolve those in acid. Evil pandas don't go down easily!
What I really think: Fans of Phillips' The Ghost in Cabin 13, Almond's Puppet , or Malinenko's Broken Dolls might like this one.
Strengths: I like the idea of a Goosebumps like horror series, and fans of Alexander's scary doll, teddy bear, and clown books will as well. There are a few illustrations, which is always a nice touch. This is a bit of a twist on moving to a haunted house, and both of Lewis' parents are alive. There's a bit of friend drama that is explored with Maia, and I loved how she managed to save the day. This one had some twists and turns, and a BIG ending that I don't want to spoil.
Weaknesses: I'm not sure who the audience is supposed to be for this one. On the one hand, it's a little young, with the character in 5th grade needing a babysitter, and having to spend after school time with a babysitter. On the other hand, the pandas are straight up murderously evil. And no, you can't just throw them in the dumpster. You have to break them down to their component parts, and then probably dissolve those in acid. Evil pandas don't go down easily!
What I really think: Fans of Phillips' The Ghost in Cabin 13, Almond's Puppet , or Malinenko's Broken Dolls might like this one.
October 6, 2026 by Quill Tree Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Now that Maisie McGraw is the only remaining Moonleaper, aided only by her Aunt Hazel's dog and cat, as well as a guide, she is trying to keep on top of the mysterious, anonymous texts that she keeps getting. This is hard when a new school rule means that Betty the Busdriver confiscates her phone on the way to the first day of 7th grade. She meets Krieger, who is new to town, and tells her that there was an e mail to families about the new policy. He kindly offers her his phone so that she can search for a bit of a poem she managed to read. Later, she talks to Aunt Hazel, who is vague about how this is happening, but who also mentions Project December, which leads Maisie to suspect that the call is really from an AI chatbot. When she finds out that her younger sister Dora has been calling the Moonleapers Hotline number every day to talk to Aunt Hazel, she's worried. Maisie also meets twins Marcus and Keisha, who invite her to join the AI Club at school, run by Ms. Spaulding. There are some interesting concepts discussed, but what worries Maisie most is the "time glitches" that seem to keep happening, and the fact that she can't reliably contact Ainsley. Things in her timeline keep changing, and she starts to have suspicions about Kreiger's identity. Will she be able to figure out how to keep Moonleapers, and therefore the world, in existence?
Strengths: This had the best middle school analogy I've ever seen-- it's like riding a ten-speed; sometimes, when you change the gears, they don't quite mesh, but you just have to keep pedaling! There's a nice amount of friend drama, and some fun family moments with Rufus and Dora. I also liked that Maisie's mother was completely different and more supportive in the new timeline... and it irritated Maisie! There were some other fun moments, like Maisie getting a Chromebook off the "to be repaired" pile in the library. I don't want to spoil some of the twists and turns with this one, so if you read the first book, definitely pick up this sequel. Haddix's work always does very well in my library since she is fairly local and elementary teachers often introduce their students to her work.
Weaknesses: Like many times travel books, this got a bit confusing at some points. There wasn't quite as much that happened; it was mainly about figuring out why the time glitches were happening rather than traveling to different time periods. Also, I can't imagine a school in the world that would get away with confiscating students' cell phones on the bus!
What I really think: This is a good choice for avid fans of Brasheres and Brasheres' Westfallen or Tait's Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveler. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a third book, and I do appreciate that Haddix has been keeping her series short lately.
Strengths: This had the best middle school analogy I've ever seen-- it's like riding a ten-speed; sometimes, when you change the gears, they don't quite mesh, but you just have to keep pedaling! There's a nice amount of friend drama, and some fun family moments with Rufus and Dora. I also liked that Maisie's mother was completely different and more supportive in the new timeline... and it irritated Maisie! There were some other fun moments, like Maisie getting a Chromebook off the "to be repaired" pile in the library. I don't want to spoil some of the twists and turns with this one, so if you read the first book, definitely pick up this sequel. Haddix's work always does very well in my library since she is fairly local and elementary teachers often introduce their students to her work.
Weaknesses: Like many times travel books, this got a bit confusing at some points. There wasn't quite as much that happened; it was mainly about figuring out why the time glitches were happening rather than traveling to different time periods. Also, I can't imagine a school in the world that would get away with confiscating students' cell phones on the bus!
What I really think: This is a good choice for avid fans of Brasheres and Brasheres' Westfallen or Tait's Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveler. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a third book, and I do appreciate that Haddix has been keeping her series short lately.
No comments:
Post a Comment