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Gr 4-6--This third installment picks up immediately after the cliff-hanger ending of Revenge of the EngiNerds, with the gang facing a new peril. Aliens from the planet Plerp have judged humans galactically useless because they are intellectually inferior and neglect the environment. The Plerpians have chosen Earth as the site for a giant billboard, even if it will wipe out all life on the planet. It's up to Ken and the EngiNerds to prove that Earthlings have redeeming qualities. While the kids are described as "smarter than average, mechanically and technically proficient," Lerner doesn't provide readers with even cursory details about any of their engineering projects. As the kids work together on a robot that will save the world, readers learn about all the food the kids eat but only one tool they use: a screwdriver. Despite what the title suggests, the emphasis here is not on STEM but on middle school high jinks and silly humor--the aliens wear collared shirts and ties but no pants. Ken's dog is named Kitty. No clues are given regarding characters' ethnicities, and Ken's father, the sole grown-up in the book, hews to the standard "clueless adult" trope. Short chapters may encourage reluctant readers, but many are only one or two pages, which interrupts the narrative flow and feel structured to create artificial drama. VERDICT Purchase where the previous two novels are popular.--Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Author-illustrator Jarrett Lerner is the award-winning creator of the EngiNerds series of Middle Grade novels, the Geeger the Robot series of early chapter books, the activity books Give This Book a Title and Give This Book a Cover, The Hunger Heroes series of graphic novel chapter books, the Nat the Cat series of early readers (the first of which was named an ALSC/ALA 2024 Notable Book), the Scare School Diaries series of highly illustrated chapter books, and the My Mad Scientist Mom series of illustrated chapter books. Jarrett is also the creator of the illustrated novel in verse A Work in Progress, which received multiple starred reviews, was a Kids’ Indie Next List pick, and was selected for the 2023 Global Read Aloud. The book also appeared on the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2023 list, the Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best 2023 list, and was named an Audible Best Book of 2023. The book has also, more recently, been nominated for several 2024 state awards and was given a 2024 Notable Children’s Book Award by NCTE’s Children’s Literature Assembly. All of Jarrett’s books are published by Simon & Schuster. In addition to writing, drawing, and visiting schools and libraries across the country, Jarrett co-founded and co-organizes the KidsNeedBooks and KidsNeedMentors projects, and regularly spearheads fundraisers for various reading- and book-related causes. He is also the founder and operator of Jarrett Lerner’s Creator Club. He can be found at jarrettlerner.com and on Twitter and Instagram at @Jarrett_Lerner. He lives with his wife and daughters in Massachusetts.