ALIEN FEAST

On Sept. 29, 2017, William Aitkin’s step-parents were eaten by aliens, a fate suffered by many during the First Invasion. These space creatures were not super-geniuses intent on some well-orchestrated mission to take over Earth; they were more like “a rabble of alien teenage delinquents” who had stolen spaceships and somehow mastered space travel and made it to Earth, where they gobbled up much of the population, except for victims’ feet (they don’t like feet). William teams up with his Uncle Maynard and Sophie, whose scientist parents have been abducted by the invaders, to take a stand. Though the third-person narration contains Simmons’s characteristically understated humor, it reads like a report, with little dialogue and many missed opportunities for exciting plotting. Still, the out-of-this-world story will appeal to young readers, who will look forward to the second installment. (Science fiction. 8-12)