By: Will Hobbs
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Publisher: Harper Collins
Author Website
Summary:A meteorite is hurtling toward the Black Hills of South Dakota...
During a wild week of extreme bicycling, fishing, and caving, Brady and Quinn battle their rivals, the notorious Carver boys, for possession of the meteorite. With each new day, Brady is discovering he's able to do strange and wonderful feats that shouldn't be possible. At the same time, he's developing some frightening symptoms. Could he be infected with long-dormant microbes from space? Is Fred a prize or a menace?
Brady Steele watches in awe as a fireball comes crashing through the roof of his house. Brady immediately calls up his cousin, Quinn. They both love all things extreme, and this is the most extreme thing ever!
Fred, as Brady names his space rock, turns out to be one of the rarest meteorites ever found. Professor Rip Ripley from the museum in Hill City wants to study a sliver of it in search of extraterrestrial bacteria. He's hoping to discover the first proof of life beyond Earth, a momentous breakthrough for the new science of astrobiology. (from goodreads.com)
My Ramblings:
Last week I hosted my first ever Book Fair at my school's library. Anyone who knows me will understand that spending 5 days with carts and carts of books is way too hard for me to resist, so right before I closed up shop I went on a little shopping spree. And by little I mean that I picked up 8 books... which really isn't that many! (right?)
At any rate, this book jumped out at me right away. First of all the cover is awesome, if you are an adrenaline junkie it definitely pulls you right in. Once I read the jacket and saw that it was set in the Black Hills I knew I was reading this one ASAP. In news that should surprise no one, I love the west. More specifically I love the area between the Black Hills and the Teton's and Yellowstone. I used to want to live out there, but I was afraid that if I lived there all the time it would lose it's magic. That the hills wouldn't seem so ancient, the mountains so exciting and the wildlife so wild if I was seeing them everyday, so I just visit. But my heart picks up a beat when I even think about being there, so anytime I can grab a book set in that area and live in it's pages for a bit, I'm all over it. So that's where this book found me, itching for a trip to my favorite spots, and it didn't disappoint!
The book centers on Brady and his cousin Quinn as they embark on a pretty epic adventure. At the start Brady witnesses a meteor shower and what he finds in the his room afterwards is life changing. An actual meteor, named Fred has crashed landed in his bed. From there on Brady and Quinn have to figure out what the deal is with this meteorite, how to deal with the side effects of having it (and possibly being infected by it!!) and how to get rid of it. I really enjoyed how Hobbs tied together the regular lives of these boys, riding bikes, fishing, dealing with the neighborhood bullies and the science end of it. You get a great feel for how meteorite's work and also the possibilities that come with coming in contact with a meteorite.
I really liked how it all ended, and more excitingly for me, I've found a new author that I want to read more titles from. Hobbs is not a new author, and this book isn't even a new one, but I really love discovering books and authors that were off my radar. I can't wait to pick up more Hobbs titles for myself and to order some for the library!
pretty nice blog, following :)
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