Cute, middle grade sci-fi. Reminded me a lot of Harry Potter set in the space and future. Character development was decent, but the action of the story was pretty rushed toward the end.

This book started off great - In the year 2113, a bright young eleven year old boy named Leo Gray has the opportunity to compete in a science competition and win a ticket to Luna City, up on the moon! But his family, especially his dad, are extremely old fashioned and skeptical about ‘modern’ (futuristic) science and technology.

I really enjoyed reading the first few chapters of the book. It was fun and entertaining, and I loved some of the silly names that were incorporated into some of the characters such as ‘President Soenso’, ‘Marge Houagan’ and ‘Sally Wazernaim’ (try saying those last names out loud).

Unfortunately, the book went downhill for me the moment Leo arrived on the moon. I found his new friends to be annoying and over-the-top. The overuse of exclamation marks also started to annoy me. I was also disappointed that Leo’s family and their cute old-fashioned ways was completely forgotten and Leo never tried to make contact with his family back on earth. Also, is a dare to kiss a goose supposed to be funny…?

Overall, I found this book to be too silly for my liking. I have no doubt that some kids, especially little boys, will find the silliness fun and entertaining. I have a feeling that if an audiobook version was made available, it would be really entertaining for kids to listen to as everything from the actions to the dialogue tend to be over-exaggerated (which would be more fun to read aloud to kids or to listen to in an audiobook format).

So much fun! I absolutely love that this book is for boys and girls, and not marketed at one or the other! So refreshing, and a great read. Will be buying in physical format for my children!

I really enjoyed Leo's adventure. He and his friends are relateable and entertaining. All of the futuristic tech is super cool and middle grade students would love reading about it. Once Leo gets to Luna City, the story takes off. I particularly liked how the author overlaps two or more scenes that are happening at the same time, it's a very fresh style.

Leo Gray is embarrassed by his behind the times parents who don’t see the need for anything high-tech. They own Minutes & Widgets, a clock fixing shop, which isn’t doing so well in 2113 when most people rely on self-flying cars and robots that do all of the housework. Leo is an eleven year old science whiz who is hoping to secure a place at the Lunar Academy, located in a new city inside the moon called Luna City.

Leo arrives at Luna City and soon discovers that not everything is as it seems. He and his new friends wind up trying to solve a mystery that has catastrophic implications.

While I liked Leo, his friend Andromeda and the quirky conspiracy theorist Mr. Dawgspat I didn’t connect emotionally with any of the characters. I loved the diversity of the characters and the inclusion of a child with a prosthetic who is brilliant at sport, although when they get called * SPOILER - One-leg - SPOILER * by one of the mean kids it isn’t challenged. I enjoyed the descriptions of the way of life in 2113, particularly the contrasts between Leo’s old fashioned parents and everyone else.

It seemed weird to me that after promising to make contact with his family daily while he’s at Luna City there was no mention of it after this, nor any indication that his family knew anything about * SPOILER - him being in a coma and missing the entire second semester of school as a result - SPOILER *.

There were a couple of times where I felt I missed something when the story jumped from one part of the narrative to the next and was disappointed that the big build up to the lunar eclipse essentially fizzled for me when Leo * SPOILER - missed it completely because he was in a coma - SPOILER *. The story also wrapped up too quickly for my liking with Leo * SPOILER - waking from his coma, attending a sporting match straight away and then suddenly leaving all of his friends in Luna City - SPOILER *.

I really liked the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. Younger readers may not miss the character development I was hoping for or be troubled by the unanswered questions. Overall it was a quick, enjoyable read but I don’t think it will be overly memorable long term for me. If you’re sensitive about the language your children are exposed to in books you may want to know that one of the characters has a peculiar little catchphrase - * SPOILER - HOLE-E-CRAPPER-BAPPERS - SPOILER *. The ending lends itself to a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the opportunity to read this book.

I found this book to be okay, it didn’t blow me away but I see that it would do so to a 10-year-old who’s into space and sci-fi. For a middle-grader, this book would be an enjoyable fast read. I loved the contraposition of the family holding onto the past and Leo discovering the future by his own means. I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Just because I didn’t really felt connected to any of the characters and there wasn’t anything that made me want to “never let it down”.

The Grays are introduced as an unusual family - they did not use self-flying cars, own a robotically maintained home, or wear ozone protected clothing. Mr. Gray drove a yellow VW Beetle from the 1960’s, used a lawnmower, and lived in a wood-paneled home. Mr. Gray ran a clock fixing store called “Widgets & Minutes” that contained antiques that only a few people wanted.
The Grays’ 10 year old son, Leo, enjoyed science, physics, astronomy and bike riding. The newest fad on the TV was living on the Moon, and Leo was going to enter a science project contest given by his school to win a free ticket to the moon.
Miss Witz, his science teacher, who was a robot, came over to his house to pick up Leo, and she was surprised by the plug in lamps, wallpaper and television, not to mention a runaway mouse that she zapped into immobility on her way out the door!
Leo wins the contest, but he loses the ticket because his father had a robbery at the store and the family needed the money, but he gets a summer job with a “treewatcher “ who gives him a ticket to the school on the Moon as a present!
Leo goes to space camp, and then the Moon, you will have to read the book for yourself to see what secrets the Moon holds !

A great fast read for any middle schooler interested in space/sci-fi. I loved the family clinging onto the old and Leo finding his own way in this space technology.

What a fun adventure of a book! Middle graders are going to eat this up! Great classroom addition! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I read Leo Gray and the Lunar Eclipse with my son. He really liked it. He said he would read it again. I found it engaging and entertaining. This book would be a nice addition to a classroom library. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.