Book Review:Sci-Fi Junior High by John Martin, Scott Seegert

At Sci-Fi Junior High, everyone knows Kelvin Klosmo's scientist parents are geniuses, but Kelvin's own geniusness hasn't exactly ... kicked in yet. Can he keep his secret hidden, even when an evil scientist takes the form of a stuffed bunny and tries to conquer the universe? A hilarious illustrated story that's out of this world!

I first heard about this book on another blog, and at the moment I am craving some excellent Sci-Fi. Sci-Fi Junior High also takes place in space. A little kiddie space opera. This was right up my alley.

I read this when I was still depressed, and it was just the sort of story that I needed.something cheery, short and fun.

Kelvin is the new dude in school. His parents are a super genius, so that means he is also right? WRONG! He can’t let anyone know though. He like every other kid desperately wants to fit in and if that means pretending to be a super genius then so be it.

Kelvin then goes through typical middle school kid problems which include bullying, not knowing about things around him and trying to be cool.

Bullying is a hot topic at the moment, and I loved how the book handles this issue. There is no violence unless you count getting shoved into a space helmet violence, but seriously no guns, no shootings no deaths or anything like that. That was refreshing. I understand the need to face those topics, but I do get weary of reading about violence. I read to escape at times, and this book provided a much-needed escape from reality that I so desperately needed at the time.

I also liked the fact that he had a family in this book. Has anyone noticed that most books geared toward younger readers leave out the whole family aspect? It is like the kiddies just went BOOM and came out of nowhere. He also had friction with his family, and THAT was fun to see how he handled THAT.  I mean all kids have a conflict with their families, and they need a way to understand how to manage them and to know that they are not alone in the problems that they have. I could have used a book like this when I was in middle school.

I also LOVED the illustrations. This is a book imprint that is trying to get reluctant readers to read, and I feel that they do a pretty good damn job of it. It is short; the text is broken up, so it does not like it is a million words that no middle schooler wants to plow through. It had cute pics to help readers who may not have gotten to the full on “can read well” phase. I feel that this book will be a big hit among relucent readers.

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