Review: The Truth About Martians by Melissa Savage

Title: The Truth About Martians

Author: Melissa Savage
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Publishing Date: October 2nd, 2018

Pages: 336
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC

 

A boy and his best friends set out to discover the aliens who crash-landed next to their Roswell, New Mexico, farm in this charming novel packed with adventure and heart, perfect for fans of Ali Benjamin's The Thing About Jellyfish and Jennifer L. Holm's The Fourteenth Goldfish.
Mylo never really believed in Martians, unless they had a starring role in one of his comic books. But then a flying saucer crash-lands next to his Roswell, New Mexico, ranch, and he starts to hear voices--like someone is asking for his help.
With his best friend Dibs and crush Gracie by his side, and his Cracker Jack superhero membership card, a slingshot, and a small American flag--for peace--in tow, Mylo sets out on an epic adventure to investigate the crash and find the Martians. But he and his friends end up discovering more about the universe than they ever could have imagined.

This story involves the historic Roswell crash that happened in 1947 and some young kids whose lives are changed by the events that occurred after the crash.
The main characters are Dibs (Dibson Tiberius Butte) and Mylo Affinito, two friends who witnessed the Roswell crash on July 4, 1947.
The two boys are obsessed with comics and talk about The Adventures of Superman radio show. Which was an actual show that did air from 1940-1951. So she did some homework on this era. Mylo had an older brother who died of some sickness (doesn't really elaborate to much on that). The characters and setting do work well but I feel the story may have had too many layers for a middle grade book.
It deals with death, conspiracy theories, friendship, and agnostic beliefs. A lot to push in one novel especially one aimed at kids that are probably only in 3rd-5th grade.
I think the story is done well, but I wish the characters were a little more lifelike. I felt like the didn't have enough personality to really leap off the page for me. I almost skipped to the end just to find out where the story was going instead of enjoying the characters and their interactions together.
The end is interesting especially some of the military things that happen. I just wish there was more to characters to really get immersed in the story. I didn't really witness much change or growth in Mylo who was main focus in novel.

Excerpt :"There has to be an explanation for it, " I whisper into the darkness. "Maybe an meteor or asteroid."
"Krypton burns like a green star in the endless heavens," Dibs says in an announcer voice just like the narrator from The Adventures of Superman program that we listen to on the radio in the evening after supper.

The novel might appeal to kids who like UFOs and particularly the Roswell incident. But I could not give it a recommendation due to not enjoying the story or characters.

Melissa Savage is a writer and a child and family therapist. Her desire to write purposeful, issue driven books for young people, coupled with her interest in cryptozoology and the mystery of Bigfoot, inspired her to write Lemons. Melissa lives in Minneapolis. You can follow her on Twitter at @melissadsavage, and visit her at melissadsavage.com.