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The Area 51 Files

Illustrated by Lavanya Naidu
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Paperback
$8.99 US
| $12.50 CAN
On sale Apr 16, 2024 | 320 Pages | 9780593429495
Age 8-12 years | Grades 3-7
Reading Level: Lexile 690L | Fountas & Pinnell U
Aliens, sassy hedgehogs, and unexplained disappearances . . . Oh, my! Discover the secrets of the universe in this hilariously illustrated, Edgar Award-nominated series for young readers.

“Epically fun!”—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth
When Sky Patel-Baum is sent to live with her mysterious uncle, she didn’t imagine she’d end up here: Area 51. A top-secret military base with a bajillion rules and so classified not even the president knows its secrets.

Also, it turns out the place is full of aliens. Lots and lots of aliens. But they prefer to be called Break Throughs, thank you very much.

As Sky sets out to explore her extraordinary new home with her pizza-obsessed pet hedgehog Spike, she meets her otherworldly next-door neighbor Elvis and his fluffy pup, Pickles. But something mysterious is afoot in Area 51. Some of the Break Throughs have gone missing… at the exact same time Sky arrived. Can Sky and her new friends crack the case?
A 2023 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Juvenile Novel!

"A chapter book and graphic novel hybrid, it’s bursting with fantastical extraterrestrial life-forms."—The New York Times

Epically fun! Overflowing with aliens, adventure, mystery, and adorable animal sidekicks!”—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth
 
The Area 51 Files has everything you could possibly want from a middle grade novel: inventive characters, witty banter, hilarious jokes, charming illustrations, amusing extraterrestrials, action, adventure, mystery—and a snarky hedgehog.  It’s funny, gripping, touching and all-around wonderful."—Stuart Gibbs, New York Times bestselling author of the Spy School series
 
“Filled with equal parts mystery and belly-laughs, The Area 51 Files delivers an alien invasion of out-of-this-world fun.”—Gordon Korman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Restart

"Kids are going to love this unputdownable, extra-fun, extra-hilarious, extra-mysterious, extraterrestrial adventure."—Sarah Mlynowski, New York Times bestselling author of the Whatever After series and the Upside-Down Magic series

"Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose... Contagiously goofy and fun."—Kirkus Reviews

"Good-natured humor lands alongside imaginatively rendered extraterrestrials (including a living cubist representation), while quick pacing keeps things light. B&w illustrations by Naidu both illuminate and expand upon this tongue-in-cheek mystery adventure."—Publishers Weekly
© Indy Flore

JULIE BUXBAUM is the author of the What to Say Next, as well as the New York Times bestseller Tell Me Three Things, her debut young adult novel. She also wrote the critically acclaimed The Opposite of Love and After You. Her work has been translated into twenty-five languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two young children.

View titles by Julie Buxbaum

About

Aliens, sassy hedgehogs, and unexplained disappearances . . . Oh, my! Discover the secrets of the universe in this hilariously illustrated, Edgar Award-nominated series for young readers.

“Epically fun!”—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth
When Sky Patel-Baum is sent to live with her mysterious uncle, she didn’t imagine she’d end up here: Area 51. A top-secret military base with a bajillion rules and so classified not even the president knows its secrets.

Also, it turns out the place is full of aliens. Lots and lots of aliens. But they prefer to be called Break Throughs, thank you very much.

As Sky sets out to explore her extraordinary new home with her pizza-obsessed pet hedgehog Spike, she meets her otherworldly next-door neighbor Elvis and his fluffy pup, Pickles. But something mysterious is afoot in Area 51. Some of the Break Throughs have gone missing… at the exact same time Sky arrived. Can Sky and her new friends crack the case?

Reviews

A 2023 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Juvenile Novel!

"A chapter book and graphic novel hybrid, it’s bursting with fantastical extraterrestrial life-forms."—The New York Times

Epically fun! Overflowing with aliens, adventure, mystery, and adorable animal sidekicks!”—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth
 
The Area 51 Files has everything you could possibly want from a middle grade novel: inventive characters, witty banter, hilarious jokes, charming illustrations, amusing extraterrestrials, action, adventure, mystery—and a snarky hedgehog.  It’s funny, gripping, touching and all-around wonderful."—Stuart Gibbs, New York Times bestselling author of the Spy School series
 
“Filled with equal parts mystery and belly-laughs, The Area 51 Files delivers an alien invasion of out-of-this-world fun.”—Gordon Korman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Restart

"Kids are going to love this unputdownable, extra-fun, extra-hilarious, extra-mysterious, extraterrestrial adventure."—Sarah Mlynowski, New York Times bestselling author of the Whatever After series and the Upside-Down Magic series

"Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose... Contagiously goofy and fun."—Kirkus Reviews

"Good-natured humor lands alongside imaginatively rendered extraterrestrials (including a living cubist representation), while quick pacing keeps things light. B&w illustrations by Naidu both illuminate and expand upon this tongue-in-cheek mystery adventure."—Publishers Weekly

Author

© Indy Flore

JULIE BUXBAUM is the author of the What to Say Next, as well as the New York Times bestseller Tell Me Three Things, her debut young adult novel. She also wrote the critically acclaimed The Opposite of Love and After You. Her work has been translated into twenty-five languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two young children.

View titles by Julie Buxbaum