By Sarah Merrett (author)
"ET meets The Man Who Fell to Earth meets Jules Verne — this suspenseful historic sci-fi adventure teams alien lifeforms with themes of friendship and finding home."
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Set in 1902, and inspired by a real science prize that promised 100,000 francs to anyone who could communicate with life on another planet and receive a response back, Sarah Merrett’s The Others tells a rather splendid story of family secrets, friendship, and a race against time to save a blue-glowing alien lifeform from the clutches of an evil professor.
While Reuben longs to be “normal”, he’s anything but. He lives in an observatory with his astronomer grandma who’s determined to win the Guzman Prize: “Since the competition was announced two years ago, scientists had raced to be first to make contact with a planet other than Mars, and receive a response. Mars was exempt, as everyone knew about Martians, and it would be too easy. But no one had come close to winning the prize. Until now”.
Reuben is also different because he’s never left Grandma’s observatory, and he has to wear special glasses that let in no light: “He knew the slightest bit of light would damage his irises and leave him permanently blind”.
Then, right after Grandma thinks she’s made contact with extra-terrestrials, a spaceship crashes and she runs into the night to locate it. When Reuben dares follow her, he finds a friend in local lad Archie, and together they find a mysterious girl who glows blue.
After discovering that Grandma’s science rival, Professor Pinfield, is on a mission to capture Blue, as he names her, Reuben sets out to keep her safe, and discovers some rather shocking secrets about himself.
Bristling with adventure, The Others also radiates a whole lot of heart through its wonderfully-drawn characters.
A historical sci-fi adventure- an epic battle between extraterrestrials and an evil professor.
Read the full description
Reuben lives in an observatory with his astronomer grandma who is determined to win the Guzman Prize, a real historical prize for discovering and contacting aliens. But Grandma has a competitor: the evil professor Pinfield.
Reuben isn't allowed to leave the observatory but one day he sneaks out and discovers an alien whom he calls blue. Can Reuben save blue from the evil professor? And who is Reuben and why did Grandma never allow him out of the observatory??
'‘Eerie and exciting- it will shock and surprise you. Like a middle-grade H.G.Wells! ‘ - Kieran Larwood
‘Thrilling’ - Telegraph *****
‘Compelling’ - New Statesman
Sarah Merrett was born in Winchester and grew up in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight, went to art school and gained three degrees from different universities. She loves animals, being out in nature, and doing all kinds of creative things. In between writing children’s stories, she can often be found creating with Lego, getting muddy in her garden, or wielding a power tool. She has worked as a bookseller, Waterstones, and a school librarian.
She lives in rural Hampshire with her two children and one husband.
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A historical sci-fi adventure- an epic battle between extraterrestrials and an evil professor. Reuben lives in an observatory with his astronomer grandma who is determined to win the Guzman Prize, a real historical prize for discovering and contacting aliens.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Others and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
The Others features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Paperback. £8.09, down from the £8.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Others was written by Sarah Merrett and published by Everything with Words
The Others has 340 pages
£8.09, reduced from £8.99. In Stock.
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