Space Boy

H ugo- and Nebula-winner Card (Speaker for the Dead ) gives a familiar childish fear a science fiction spin in this youthful tale of a monster in the closet. The monster here is a wormhole that serves as a conduit to an alien world. Four years earlier, young Jared claimed he saw his mother get snatched away by it when she stepped into his bedroom closet. When older brother Todd sees proof that Jared wasn't just fantasizing, Jared and his family have to find a way for Todd to travel to the menacing other world and bring his mom back. Card works both pathos and humor into this tale of a family pulling together to rescue one of their own, producing a story more pleasing than its slight plot might suggest. (Aug.)