Weirdos of the Universe Unite!

"Entertaining."
THE KIRKUS REVIEWS
Last year Mandy wanted to belong to a clique, but then she decided to be as different as possible--and found a kindred spirit in Owen, the new kid in school. Together, they formed a secret club of two: Weird Entities in Rightful Domination or, as they liked to put it Weird Power!. Things got really weird though, when the mythological beings Mandy and Owen were writing a school paper about, came to life. Even more astounding, was the incredible news that earth was being attacked by space invaders in the shape of garbage pails--and that the only hope of stopping them fell to Mandy, Owen, and their ragtag army!

Grade 4-6-- Mandy and Owen, charter and only members of WEIRD (Weird Entities In Rightful Domination), experience some unexpected weirdness when a bolt of lightning and a mysterious computer glitch turn their English project into reality, introducing the duo to a series of mythological beings. One after another, Hermes, messenger to the Greek gods; Coyote, the Native American trickster; legendary German hero Siegfried; Lung Nu, a Chinese dragon princess; Russian fairy-tale witch Baba Yaga; and the Celtic Horned King appear, ready to do battle, first with one another, but quickly uniting with the children to defend Earth from unexpected alien invaders. Weirdest of all is this enemy, an approaching starship inhabited by sentient, but moldy-looking, greenish, garbage-can-shaped beings totally lacking in imagination and personality, but technologically advanced enough to conquer the Earth. Mandy, Owen, and their mythological champions combine wits, hard work, and some magic to defeat them. This is fantasy/sci-fi in a lighter mood and for a younger audience than Service's Being of Two Minds (1991) and Under Alien Stars (1990, both Atheneum) . It is much more reminiscent of her Stinker from Space (Scribners, 1988) in tone and reading level, combining hair-raising situations with a good dose of humor. However, the much wider range of characters, events, and settings introduced here are not as focused, funny, or compelling as in the earlier title. Nonetheless, readers will enjoy the adventure and the more well-read will also relish meeting familiar mythological characters in the flesh.
- Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.