We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord
by Garth Nix
Middle School    Scholastic    240 pp.
10/24    9781339012209    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781546109723    $18.99

Twelve-year-old Kim and his ten-year-old sister Eila live on an experimental farm where their parents work in an alternative 1975 Australia. One night, on their usual ride to a nearby lake with their friends Bennie and Madir, they find a mysterious glowing orb, which Kim can feel trying to break into his mind but which Eila insists they take home. Eila starts to act strangely, communicating with the orb; ominous clouds appear over the television tower in town; and Kim’s life starts to feel a little too much like his and Bennie’s new favorite game: Dungeons & Dragons. What follows is a classic but gripping save-the-town-on-bikes adventure with an intriguing antagonist. This novel from speculative fiction master Nix features nuanced sibling and friend relationships and a bit of validation for anyone who is convinced that their younger sibling might be an evil genius—though, don’t worry, the real conclusion is more sympathetic than that. Sure to hook role-playing game enthusiasts looking to dabble in sci-fi.

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.