The experiment by Rebecca Stead

Nathan lives with family secrets. He also has an interest in the Calvin and Hobbes comics and a close school friend called Victor (who is a bit like Calvin - the mischievous one, to Nathan’s Hobbes - the more pensive soul). Nathan’s family are mostly like other families, except for their strict adherence to certain ‘pink’ toothbrushing regimes and critical analysis of everything that Nathan eats, plus strange connections via Zoom meetings with other isolated children across America. When Izzy, one of his Zoom friends (and first crush), raises queries about their life and possible origins, it sparks a mysterious search for explanations. The growth of a Hobbes-like tail on Nathan creates all sorts of crises in the family with the likelihood of alien origins a real possibility. Nathan feels compelled to investigate the alien backstory for his unusual family demeanour and finds an experimental explanation that both distresses and confounds him. Have his parents really arrived on earth via spacecraft or is there an evil explanation? An unfolding mystery and possible alien rescue (or is that a rescue from aliens?) ensues. Mystery, aliens and adventure wound together with friendship and even a centuries-old spaceship are a winning combination. 

This is a book like few others. Forget aliens that are green with winking antennas (goodbye to Hollywood representation!), this is a creative alien rescue story that defies stereotypes. The gentle charm of Nathan (in Year 6) and his ‘alien’ family, wrapped with a hint of ET (the movie) and an impossible transformation via alien ‘invasion’ creates an altogether different sci-fi adventure. There is warmth in the relationships, an element of confusion in the trajectory of ‘The Experiment’ and a few twists and turns along the way. It has a naive quality (Calvin and Hobbes gentleness), and also a hint of early romance interest, but an almost growth-to-independence quality. Otherwise, the fear factor is low … just intriguing drama. Rebecca Stead has created an eminently readable tale for younger sci-fi fans aged 9-13. I enjoyed every part of this unusual story, and I am sure younger readers will also be captivated by the uniqueness of the plot.

Themes: Science fiction, friendship, aliens, spaceships.

Carolyn Hull