Space Takers

Something is decidedly suspicious about the school lunch. When Helen Hughes dares her friends to try a bite, their so-called "potato pact" results in more than just a trip to the nurse's office. The first weeks of middle school can be hard enough for new sixth-graders, but add uncontrollable superpowers to the mix and it is, literally, a whole new dodge ball game.

Helen's best friend, Cathy, wants to find out how to reverse this, before her sudden hyperactivity causes her to get any grade lower than an A. Danni is positive her humiliating new growth problem will ruin her chances at popularity. And Kat? Well, Kat doesn't even want to be here, let alone accidentally claw the place to shreds. At the very least, they need to figure out how to survive a semester with the world's lamest superpowers.

Practice makes perfect, or so they hope, but between Helen's mad hair days and Danni's imploded bathroom, the girls start to wonder. Are they really even friends at all? Or, are they just four incredibly different nobodies, united against the common enemy of school-wide embarrassment?

Before they get too comfortable with the status quo, they discover someone else like them, some unseen villain who is leaving students and faculty mummified and covered in sugar. Gross. From the kooky lunch lady to the mashed potato tsunami, things at Pearson Middle School are getting out of hand! Charismatic as ever, Helen has to put aside her laid back attitude to convince her friends that they are the only ones who can stop the villain and fix this mess, at the risk of tearing their friendship apart.

For fans of ensemble stories (think TMNT or Ghostbusters), bonds of friendship, and knowing oneself, Space Takers will appeal to those who look to see the mundane turned upside down and the unbelievable made matter of fact. A hilarious take on what it is to deal with superpowers in a world that has never seen them before, this novel will entertain its upper-middle-grade readers and anyone looking for a fun and funny adventure with lovable characters and crazy predicaments at every turn.