Mr. Fahrenheit - Hardcover

Martin, T. Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062201832 ISBN 13: 9780062201836

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2016

Synopsis

Super 8 meets Friday Night Lights in this smart and action-packed coming-of-age novel from the author of The End Games, T. Michael Martin.

Benji’s lived his whole life in the same sleepy midwestern town—the same town his father grew up in, and his grandfather. But he wants nothing more than to put his past in the rearview mirror as soon as he graduates high school. Benji yearns for a Moment—the Moment that will redeem and transform his ordinary life. The Moment that will propel him into a new, star-bright future. 

Then one night, the Moment happens: Benji and his tight group of friends—CR, Ellie, and Zeeko—accidentally shoot down a flying saucer in the local quarry. At Benji’s urging, they decide to keep it a secret and solve its mysteries on their own. But as they face threats both earthly and alien, and old tensions among the friends surface, Benji begins to question whether this Moment is the miracle he’s always dreamed of—or a curse that could destroy them all.

About this title

About the Author

T. Michael Martin is the author of the novel The End Games, as well as a vlogger and the director and co-host of "How to Adult," a popular life skills YouTube educational channel produced by John Green (NYT-bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars) and Hank Green. Martin and his wife, Sarah, live in Indianapolis. You can visit him online at youtube.com/tmikemartin, youtube.com/learnhowtoadult, and tmichaelmartin.com. 

Reviews

Gr 7–10—Benji Lightman is the high school football mascot, Benji Blaze—an aspiring magician who pulls infinity scarves out of his tuxedo sleeves and is the master of flash-paper during pregame coin tosses. As outside observers, readers will see what Benji is coming to realize himself: he's a pariah, merely tolerated (and perhaps mocked) rather than adored for his magicianship. In the meantime, he and his loyal friends witness a UFO crash and find themselves inexplicably linked with an alien "Voyager." Benji believes this is the moment that will make him special. Following their first contact experience, Benji and friends hide debris from the spacecraft. Then a man in black who claims to be from the FBI turns up asking questions. The explanation starts to unfold when Benji discovers that the psychic dream he and the Voyager share are visions of his grandfather's youth—as this is not the alien's first visit to this otherwise sleepy community. All in all, this science fiction novel is good, but not great. It pays homage to the classic sci-fi films of the 1950s and attempts to invoke the nostalgia depicted in Super 8 but involves too many different flashbacks, too little actualized romance, and not enough detail on the alien. VERDICT A solid option reserved exclusively for hard-core fans of classic sci-fi.—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062201832
• ISBN 13: 9780062201836
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320