The Area 51 Files

The Area 51 Files
Julie Buxbaum
Delacorte, 2022
289 pages
Grades 2-6
Science Fiction/Humor/Mystery

The Area 51 Files series #1

Sky Patel-Baum must leave her California home and move out to the desert and in with an uncle, who she has never met, when her grandmother moves to a retirement community. This is no ordinary desert town. There is high security and Sky learns that she will NEVER be allowed to leave. Yikes! The reason for all of the secrecy is that Area 51 is the only place in the world housing real aliens and their existence must remain unknown to the rest of the world for privacy and safety reasons. With only Spike, her pet hedgehog, for company Sky is not sure what she is getting into. Luckily, right off the bat she meets a friendly next door neighbor, who also happens to be an alien. She and Elvis are instant friends and he shows her the ropes. There are many "breakthroughs" or aliens in Area 51 and they all present themselves in different ways. School is an interesting endeavor with all of the different species and non-traditional subjects to study. When a group of Zdstrammars turn up missing (coincidentally the same moment as Sky's arrive) fingers point to Sky's Uncle Anish. Sky is pretty sure that her uncle is innocent. It is up to Elvis and Sky to get to the bottom of the mystery and find the missing aliens. Danger lurks behind every corner and helps comes from unexpected places. Do the new friends have what it takes to save the day?

This is a new series that is already proving to be popular with young readers. Heavily illustrated with comic drawings by Lavanya Naidu, the format will appeal to the Wimpy Kid crew. What sets the illustrations slightly above the norm is that they participate in moving the plot forward and are an integral part of the story and not just reader eye candy. Reluctant readers will have no trouble plowing through the 289 pages and find much to enjoy. The alien premise is interesting and original. There is a lot of humor infused throughout the book and a few gross jokes, groaning puns, and low-hanging fruit. The rollicking plot will encourage kids to keep turning pages, as they try to figure out who is the culprit. The mystery is get-able and kids will pat themselves on the back once they figure it out. The characters are likable and readers will learn from them not to judge based on appearances, give new people a chance, and to be kind to each other. Sky and Elvis pick up an unexpected new friend along the way who was formally an enemy, demonstrating the power of second chances. After the mystery is wrapped up the author throws in a coda cliff-hanger, leading readers straight to the second installment in the series, The Big Flush, which is already available.