Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be smart, as when you are clever enough to figure out that the summer camp you've been sent to is creepy beyond belief and that your parents knowingly sent you there because they'd rather have obedient, overachieving [End Page 79] kids than . . . you. Lucas and Jenna are exactly such smart kids, and they have no interest in being turned into the brilliant but spookily Stepfordized children who surround them, especially when they discover that the kids are essentially incubators for alien invaders from an overpolluted planet who need hosts for their bird-like babies. If the protagonists can just use their newly enhanced smarts (and the hormone spike caused by their attraction to one another, which slows their transformation into zombies) to their advantage, perhaps they can save themselves and their peers from birthing terrifying alien babies. If the story in this graphic novel sounds a bit over the top, it is, but Kim and Klavan somehow manage to make it all so entertaining that the absurdity matters less than the excellent ride. The vividly colored illustrations, sound effects, and exaggerated features of the characters all work to emphasize the movie-ready plot, while the surprisingly subtle and genuine affection between the protagonists, who struggle to find themselves even while connecting with one another, adds depth. The premise that's behind such a camp, the overemphasis on achievement in young kids, is a strong, realistic point on which to hinge this sci-fi thriller, and it is one that readers are likely to recognize with wry resignation.