Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Tesla's Attic by Neal Shusterman-4 stars


Shusterman, Neal, Tesla’s Attic. Audible, 2013. (unbar). 8:23 hrs. Audible Download.

After their home burns down and his mother gets killed in the fire, Nick Slade moves with his family into his Great-Aunt Eleanor’s ramshackle Victorian house. Desperate to make the attic his space, Nick gets his dad to let him have a garage sale with all the old junk that is stored in the attic. Despite a freak rainstorm, people mysteriously show up and start offering more money for the junk than Nick ever dreamed of, until he turns off a light that he had brought down and plugged in inside the garage prior to everyone showing up. After the garage sale is over, a group of mysterious men show up on his doorstep and try to buy everything Nick just sold. Things get even weirder, however. People who purchased the items are acting strangely and won’t let Nick have them back. From a ring that speaks only truth to an ancient recorder that tells you what the speakers are really thinking, a wet-cell battery that reanimates the dead briefly to a radio that causes earthquakes, there is no doubt there is something bizarre about these objects and the men who are after them. Things only get worse, though when one of the items accidentally changes the course of a nearby Asteroid to be on a collision course with Earth. Who are those mysterious men? Why was everyone drawn to the garage sale? Can Nick get all the items back in time to save the day?

Narrator, Vikas Adam has a unique voice that brings to life the characters and their unique personalities. Although it is hard to suspend disbelief for the premise of this book, the plot is well-developed and intensely engaging. The characters are well-developed and add a lot of humor to the book, despite the suspenseful feel of the book. Reluctant and avid readers who enjoy science fiction will enjoy this entertaining tale.
 
4 stars. Grades 5 to 9.

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