Margot and Mateo Save the World

March 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-Margot Blumenthal, an Olympic-bound wrestler, is relatively new to West Cove Middle School. When she observes the usually easygoing Mateo Flores punching his best friend in the nose on the school bus, she decides to see what's up. It turns out that Mateo has an alien slug attached to his back that is controlling his actions. Using her wrestling skills, Margot de-slugs Mateo, only to discover that many adults in the town also have slugs controlling them. The two kids team up with Calvin Biggs, a research assistant at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (in town to help remove a 47-ton sperm whale decaying on the town beach), in a heroic effort to stop the alien slug invasion that is underway. In the process of working together to save the world, Mateo, a perpetual people-pleaser, and Margot, a friendless know-it-all, become true friends, a welcome change for both. The wacky plot is fast moving, and both Margot and Mateo are relatable and likable characters. VERDICT A great hook sets off this offbeat and highly enjoyable read. A solid purchase for most collections that is likely to entice even reluctant readers.-Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2018
The end of the world has rarely been quite this much fun.White, blue-haired Margot Blumenthal is a recent arrival to West Cove and has not had much luck making friends at her new middle school despite participation in extracurriculars such as the school play. Latinx Mateo Flores, on the other hand, is a real people pleaser who has grown up in West Cove. When a parasitic tentacled slug begins to take control of Mateo's behavior, Margot happens to be just the person to detach it, in an operation that is delightfully gross. Mateo's parasite is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, though, as our heroes soon discover patient zero may be Mateo's own father. He and many other adults from the town conservation club also seem to be infected by these alien invaders, compelled to serve the will of a life force not of this Earth and spread its spawn across the globe. It is up to Margot and Mateo to save the world despite their own inner struggles and their conflicts with each other. The pod-person plot is nothing new for sci-fi, but it's rare in middle-grade fiction, and Miller's spin keeps it fresh. Short chapters keep the pace moving, with just the right amount of humor and ick factor, sure to appeal to both avid and reluctant readers. The end comes too soon, and readers will hope for more adventures with these unlikely friends.A most enjoyable apocalypse. (Science fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from July 1, 2018
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* As if the huge whale decomposing on a nearby beach isn't enough of an assault on the senses, town newcomer Margot finds herself pulling a slimy, purple, tentacled blob from classmate Mateo's neck. Add in a set of fabulously disgusting climactic explosions, and the two middle-�schoolers discover that many of the town's adults, from the mayor to Mateo's single dad, have been taken over by a squidlike, mind-controlling alien queen bent on conquest. Miller spins this classic premise (see Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters) into a suspenseful, thoroughly entertaining comedy featuring a pair of protagonists with sharply contrasting characters and abilities: he an easygoing, go-along-to-get-along type; she a focused, intense, nationally prominent junior wrestler capable of wiping the floor with any attacker, but with little in the way of social skills. Making their unlikely matchup even more delectable, the author casts the two as the leads in a school production of Romeo and Juliet, setting the stage for an opening night that definitely doesn't go the way the Bard mapped it out. Though the course of their developing friendship has run anything but smooth, Margot and Mateo's individual blends of resilience and vulnerability prove complementary. Foodies may never look at calamari in quite the same way again, but readers who prefer their science fiction dished up with gross substances will be delighted. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2019
Can two unlikely sixth-grade friends save the world from mind- and body-controlling cephalopod-like aliens in time to star in the middle-school play? With a diverse cast of characters, gross-out humor, and just a dash of Shakespeare, this zany yet heartfelt sci-fi adventure set in a small coastal town near Seattle will thrill fans of Adam Rex.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)