Eighth grade vs the Machines by Joshua S. Levy

Jack and his middle school friends are aboard Public-School ship 118 which is stranded on Earth after the rest of its human population has mysteriously vanished.  This book is a sequel to Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy and continues the story which I would describe as a Science Fiction version of a Percy Jackson adventure.  Jack, Ari and Becka are continuing their space training around the empty cities while their ship is being repaired.  Once they finally take off in the PSS 118 it is captured by a robot army who are commanded by the powerful Minister. Jack and his friends are working hard to find out what happened to their families from Earth but there always seems to be someone on the inside ruining their efforts.  Could there be a traitor in their midst?

The narrative is interspersed with diary entries which gives different perspectives and reveals much about each character’s thoughts and feelings.  There is an abundance of action and fight scenes to keep the story moving and many references to futuristic tech and weaponry to satisfy the fans of this genre.  Robots and robot technology play a major part in the story and the questions about whether robots could take over the world could form an interesting discussion for classrooms in Technology.

Themes: Science fiction, Robots, Aliens, Life on other planets.

Gabrielle Anderson