Twist

In this horror-tinged adventure set in 1983 Oklahoma, three classmates in a gifted program band together when their town is invaded by fanciful creatures that adults cannot see. Indian-American artist Neha Presad, 12, has been creating a sketchbook town, Forest Creeks, that is populated by the refugee seeds of unfinished stories. When it is menaced by monsters, Neha’s classmate Court Castle, who is white and an “argues-on-the-bus” kind of kid, realizes that the monsters have come from African-American aspiring horror writer Eli Goodman’s tales, one of which Goodman recently read to the class. A desperate attempt to save the beings in Neha’s drawings, including purple weasel-otter Sleekit and dapper stick bug Swiz, instead brings them into the real world, and Eli’s own terrors soon follow. Now, the trio and their new allies must defeat Eli’s scariest creations. Cannon (Oddity) weaves a sense of 1980s Spielbergian wonder and danger into the cinematic narrative: while handling an array of bizarre creatures produced from the imagination, the kids forge an easy friendship based on creativity over logic. A playful, wry humor tempers the more frightening moments, while Cannon maintains a feeling of urgency and high stakes well suited to middle grade readers. Ages 9–13. Agent: Brooks Sherman, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Feb.)