Project Alpha

With this fast-paced first installment of the Voyagers series, MacHale helps kick off a multiplatform, multi-author project à la the 39 Clues; five subsequent books from Robin Wasserman, Patrick Carman, Kekla Magoon, Jeanne DuPrau, and Wendy Mass will follow, published two months apart. Eight 12-year-olds from around the world have been chosen to compete for four spots in Project Alpha, a deep-space mission to secure a new power source for Earth. (Due to the physical stresses of the trip, no one older than 12 can safely make the journey.) As the competitors face off against (holographic) dinosaurs and try their hands at video-game-like flight simulators, their true natures slowly surface. Once the four winners are chosen, the story skips over the subsequent months of training to the team’s first mission, giving readers a taste of the challenges they will face. While the characters don’t get much fleshing out in this first installment, their relationships, both competitive and connective, provide entertaining banter and conflicts. A slew of twists should keep readers looking forward to volume two. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)