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A boy learns that Earth is being invaded by aliens, and it’s up to him to save humanity.

Matt Pearson just wants to be like other kids and have a phone—but his parents refuse to get him one, saying he has to wait until he’s older. So, when he finds a phone lying on the sidewalk, Matt pockets it, planning to tell his friend Geno that it was on back order and just arrived. But this phone is strange—it has apps that don’t work, it won’t connect to the internet, and the battery doesn’t lose its charge. One thing Matt can do is take pictures with it. When he gets to school the next day, he has a big shock: The photo he takes of the crossing guard, Mr. Mackintosh, shows a purple, beaked creature with sharp teeth and “googly, goggly eyes on stalks—six of them, or maybe seven.” Ten-year-old Matt freaks out and then contacts his friend and secret crush, Marcela Robertson, for help. It turns out that lunch server Mrs. MacGillicuddy is an alien, too—she and Mr. Mackintosh arrived in a warship from a society so advanced that they “could reduce the entire planet to a cinder.” Can the kids stop them in time? This humorous, fast-paced story has a light tone and plenty of action to keep readers hooked. Main characters present white.

Twists and turns and lots of silliness make this an appealing choice.