Braderwood #1: Stanley Finnigan and the Race Around the Universe by

My name is Stan, and I was living an unremarkable life in Braderwood when my life suddenly changed. A little man in a huge spaceship informed me that I'd won a lottery on some planet across the universe. Luckily, my science group agreed to come with me, but the lottery wasn't what we expected. The king said we needed to travel across the universe within a week to collect four relics on four different planets. We'd get something if we succeeded, and we'd be killed if we failed. Wow, we won the lottery?! We didn't have much choice, and it ended up being the most memorable experience of my life.

You must have a tolerance for silliness to enjoy this book. It opens as a story about a bullied, average seventh grader and quickly becomes a space adventure. Stan is joined by his best friend Richey, who is always taking risks and looking for a fight. This is more amusing since Richey is shorter than average. Betsy is Stan's smart friend, but she goes along reluctantly. Bryan is the geeky fourth person in the group, but the other kids don't know him very well. The plot itself is pretty far-fetched. The kids are specifically summoned from a distant planet (it's unclear how they were chosen), and creatures in the various worlds already know their names. The "relics" are unusual for a quest (a blue headband?), but luckily the different tasks are completed relatively quickly. The most interesting task involves a planet with amazing technological advancements, but one of its creations goes wrong. Overall, the book is interesting, but I can't highly recommend it to you. It requires a love for science fiction and a patience to deal with goofiness. If this sounds like you, give it a shot.