Title: Boys vs Alien: Book 1 of the Earth in Danger Series
Authors: Upreet Dhaliwal & Dilsher Singh
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi
Book Blurb:
Sharanjit Thind is sick of his drab, regular life, and cannot wait for school to end for the summer. Hopeful of finally finding some excitement in life, he is sublimely unaware of the saying 'Be careful what you wish for.' For it is on the last day of school, right after a farewell party for their seniors, that Sharan comes face to face with terrifying events that will change his life forever...
Within the next twenty-four hours, he will be visited by an alien, kidnapped by the creature, and his friends, Umang and Qamar, will be gravely endangered. Not only will their sanity be threatened, their beloved planet Earth will come horrifyingly close to a takeover by the villainous inhabitants of the planet Zakerl.
Too much for three fifteen-year-old boys to handle? Read the book to find out.
Excerpt:
The firefly grew larger as it came closer and I got the impression that it had made up its mind about where it was going to land. For the first time since I was four - when I had believed in ghosts - I felt frightened.
The tiny creature floated in front of my face. I was trying to think straight - to tell myself to calm down - but it was difficult, so I stopped. As it zoomed closer, I learned something new - the creature wasn't a firefly. Since when did fireflies look like shiny footballs?
A cone appeared suddenly, growing out of the bottom of the sphere and surprising me so that I nearly fell off the bench. A second later, a kind of light flickered out of it and then it spat out a silvery orb. This time I did tumble off and hit the grass exactly at the moment that the orb hit the ground, too.
Unlike me, who lay stunned where I'd landed, the orb immediately bounced up. It then started growing, and growing, and growing. Soon a rather ugly humanoid creature stood where the orb had been.
It didn't look scary - hideous, yes, with an overly large head and two slits where the nose should have been, but not terrifying. Its mouth, which was familiarly human-like, kept making sucking noises and I was reminded of my grandfather when he took his dentures out of his mouth before bedtime.
The creature made no move towards me, and I sat up, my curiosity getting the better of my fear. Strange that there were six fingers on each hand, but the bare feet had four toes each. A large, flat, plate-like eye seemed to be looking straight at me but I couldn't be sure. Something twitched and I jumped. It wasn't the creature, but its tail - a thin, reedy tail that ended in a claw.
Still no move from the creature, so I began to get to my feet. I kept my movements really slow - so as to appear nonthreatening. I didn't want to terrify it into attacking me. I'd noticed the tail-claw had six talons that looked sharp. I kept my eyes on the tail. I didn't want to take any risks even though the creature looked more lost and puzzled than dangerous or - gulp – murderous.
I was dusting myself off, glad that the creature didn't seem to have a clear and immediate plan, when, like greased lightning, it moved its tail and I felt the claw grab my neck in a vice-like grip.
Jerked off my feet, I would have screamed but my voice, and my breathing, was cut off by the dratted tail.
'Urrr...', I gurgled, and it cocked its head. I pointed to my neck, and the pressure eased. A bit. I could breathe, but my feet still did not touch the ground.
Its lips started moving. 'Do you understand the language I am speaking?' it asked in what I knew was French because I had studied the language.
'Do you speak English?' I asked in passable French. My heart was pounding and I wondered if it could hear me over the thundering that filled my ears, and probably its ears as well, not that it had visible ears. They certainly were not visible to my, by now, bloodshot eyes. There was a brief whirring sound, then it said, 'Yes, I have English.'
'Okay, um...so are you an alien?'
'No,' it said. 'I am a Zaken. You are an alien.'
'Fair enough.' I croaked the words out, because being held up by the neck was by now causing my throat to clog. 'Would you mind letting go of my neck?' I asked in my most reassuring tone. 'I will not hurt you.'
It uttered what could have been a laugh, but I couldn't be sure because I had never heard anything quite like that bellowing sound before. 'It is not me that's to get hurt,' it sneered, and shook me a little to illustrate the point.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
‘Boys vs Alien’ has a thrilling storyline and is action-packed, making it a compelling read for middle-graders who enjoy adventure and suspense with a touch of the extraterrestrial. It explores themes of friendship, teamwork, and bravery. Readers can relate to the characters' struggles and learn the value of working together to overcome challenges, even when facing something as extraordinary as an alien invasion. The diverse group of characters, each with unique traits, make the book more relatable and enjoyable, especially as the characters evolve in the face of danger and adversity.
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Runs September 10 – September 17, 2024.
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Author Biography:
Upreet, an eye surgeon, enjoys reading and writing, watching romantic comedies, and crocheting lacy stuff. She usually writes romance and poetry [as Reet Singh]. This is her first full-length novel for middle-grade readers. She has nearly finished the next one, so be ready to go on another journey soon with the three boys you meet in this book.
Dilsher is now a head-hunter [a recruitment professional is a tamer way to say it], but when he wrote the early chapters of this story, he was not yet a teenager. With his flair for words and his vivid imagination, he has conjured up the more gruesome aspects recounted in this book.
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