Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Kids for the gifted book that I read in partnership with the library audio.

Jake is just trying to fit in in middle school. Except that he's an alien that can't control his shape shifting tendencies. And his human parents are trying to keep his origin story under wraps. On his first day of school he manages to fly under the radar and makes a new friend in Agnes. Now Agnes is definitely not your typical middle school girl. She is smart, witty, and a little mysterious. Plus she is the motivation Jake needs to confront the craziness bubbling away under the surface.

Overall this is a silly middle grade sci-fi adventure full of friendship, a search for personal identity and belonging; plus slime, goo, and aliens! If you love a good dose of humor with your read, you will find this a delight. Plus it's pretty fast paced.

There are not enough great things I can say about this book. It was a fast paced, super fun sci-fi adventure that included aliens, blobs, evil science labs, and saving your town.

By the end of this book, I was cheering for Jake every step of the way. Jake's the weird kid who just started middle school and meets Agnes on the first day. They instantly become friends and make a pact to figure out what's the deal with all of the sinkholes popping up in town. Little does Agnes know, Jake is one of those weird things in town as he can shape shift into anything, but has little control over it. The book takes us along on the adventure with Jake and Agnes and Jake's discovery of himself and who he is.

I can't wait to recommend this to my students. It was definitely a favorite!

This sci fi was a nice change of pace from the realistic fiction I have been reading. This was a goofy, fun story that I think 3rd grade through 8th grade would like, especially those who are not big readers.

This very exciting and fun to read book is about Jake, who shape shifts with out meaning to and is trying to lead a normal life in middle school. He's been avoiding his friends because he can't tell when he's going to shape shift but ends up making a new friend, Agnes, who is a big fan of the same graphic novel series. The mystery unfolds with lots of surprising plot twists and a lot of humor. I think kids are going to like this one a lot!

Weird Kid is one of those rare middle grade books that I could recommend to any of my 5th graders. It has mystery, action, heart, and hilarious moments. Put that with a theme of family and belonging that is universal for the target audience, and you can see why this will definitely be added to my classroom library.

Think starting middle school is hard? It gets even tougher if you are an alien that has lost the ability to control your shape. This book is great for anyone starting middle school that can relate to feeling different, Add in the amazing humor and relevant message to learn to except yourself as you are, and you have a winner. I think kids will love it!

What an unusual story, but one my students will love. I couldn’t imagine being in a body that shape-shifted at will....unexpectedly and often without reason. I love when characters like this find that one good friend who sees them for their positive qualities instead of what too many see as “weird.” I can’t wait to share this one with my 6th graders.

This is a super fun sci-fi adventure that strikes a great balance between adventure, aliens, cool parents, and butt jokes.

Jake Wind is an alien. A blob of goo to be exact and he having a hard time starting school this year. His friends aren’t talking to him anymore, and he is struggling to pay attention in class because he keeps changing shapes without thinking about it. He also starts to hear this low-level hum around town and that makes it even harder to stay looking like himself - he changes into a seal in a mall bathroom!

This book has a lot of strong points that I think kids will love. Jake is a great character, sure he is nervous and scared because he doesn’t understand what is happening to him, but he is also brave and works hard to save the town from invading “imblobster” aliens.

Jake’s parents are another strong point for me. They have the perfect balance of being around, being super supportive, and parenting just enough to complicate Jake’s adventure without going overboard. As a parent, I love how they annoying embarrassing Jake just enough. Plus Jake’s dad is an endless source of butt jokes.

Early in the story, Jake finds a new best friend Agnes. A new girl to town who has the lifelong goal of becoming a superhero like the comics she reads. She is athletic and does pushups while reading. She is smart and strong and a great role model, for girls. And an even better representation for boys who can see smart, strong, competent girls and hopefully take that into their view of what girls can be in real life.

If you have a kid who wants a little sci-fi adventure. A kid who maybe looks at the neighbors and wonders if they are aliens then this is the book for you.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Jake Wind is finding middle school a challenge: his dad is a proctologist who can't stop making butt jokes, and his mom "makes people feel emotional about soap"; his former friends aren't talking to him; and it's hard to pay attention in class because he is a shape shifting alien comprised of goo. It's harder and harder to maintain his human shape since there is a distracting "hum" in his town of Cedar Creek View, Arizona, and one unfortunate incident in public when his ear-to-ear grin freaked people out has made his parents very overprotective. It doesn't help that sinkholes have been appearing all over town, and seem to be filled with the same xenogel that Jake's parents found years ago. When they picked up the gel, it shape shifted into the form of a human baby, and they've cared for their little extraterrestrial ever since. His parents' support is one of the good things in his life, along with his small dog, Growler and his uncle, who is helping Jake with his guitar playing. A surprising new good thing is Agnes, who has moved to Cedar Creek View with her mother. Jake's mother wants him to befriend the new girl, and the two have a shared interest in Night Kite comics. When Jake suddenly morphs into a seal in a mall restroom, Agnes has the presence of mind to bling onlookers with the modified flash in her phone, and is quick to discern Jake's secret. Since the sinkholes have brought a team of scientists, headed by Dr. Woll, to town, Agnes doesn't question Jakes unusual background and is quick to use to scientific mind to try to help him. She does, however, blow his secret, and he is visited by "Dairy and Gravy", who claim they are Jake's "sibling bloblets" and want him to visit Dr. Woll's lab. With visions of E.T. being taken away by scientists, Jake is wary, but also knows that the situation is worsening. When the xenogel "imblobsters" his teacher, parents, and even Growler, Jake knows that he and Agnes need to find out how he is connected to the forces that are taking over the town, and save their world before everyone is imblobstered and eating caramel spaghetti burritos!

Cedar View Creek is an ordinary, small town, and I loved the fact that Jake and Agnes were able to bike around to investigate the xenogel spreading underneath it. Having the Collaboratory that Dr. Woll was running be located in an abandoned shopping mall was a stroke of brilliance-- could there be anything as benignly creepy? The Southwestern setting also brought to mind Roswell, and made it easier to believe that Jake fell from the sky and his parents just took him in.

Middle grade parents are tough to write, but van Eekhout strikes just the right balance: they are concerned for Jake's safety, but give him room to explore. They are also endearingly annoying and have their own interests, with which they annoy Jake, of course! Jake's struggles with maintaining his human shape echo the problems that many tweens have with their bodies changing-- I always tell students that of course they trip over things and hit themselves in the face, because their hands and feet aren't where they were yesterday! He has a supportive ally in Agnes, who just might be my favorite middle grade character of all time! She does push ups while reading books, gives Jake an animal encyclopedia so he has options for shape shifting, and is always brilliantly prepared for the situations the two face. Her no-nonsense acceptance that her friend is a space alien, and her fearless drive to help him were great to see.

There are plenty of laugh out loud lines in this book, menacing but comical aliens, and plenty of adventure. These things, as well as the fast-paced plot, will make it appeal to young readers who always suspect that their best friend or sibling might, in fact, be a space alien. Teachers and librarians will like the book for it's more philosophical themes of belonging, personal identity, and friendship. This is a great choice for fans of Rodkey's We're Not From Here, O'Donnell's Space Rocks, or the old but utterly fabulous Space Race (2000) by Sylvia Waugh.

The plot and dialogue in Weird Kid is fantastic. I love Jake Wind and Agnes, and I think that most middle school students will also enjoy this short book. Jake Wind is an alien that goes through rough changes as he enters middle school, and the awkwardness he feels is relatable to most middle school students. Jake meets Agnes who is training to be a superhero, and they bond over their favorite one Night Kite. There's also a lot of jokes, and since Jake's dad is a proctologist there's some butt humor (which students will love). I had the audio arc as well as this text copy, and I think that students will find the text a lot easier to follow along (with all of the dialogue and setting shifts).

Jake Wind is not your typical kid. He's actually an alien adopted by human parents in Arizona, but nobody else at school--or anywhere knows that. Otherwise he might become some kind of terrible government experiment. But between school, changing friendships, and his new tendency to suddenly shapshift without warning, life is becoming complicated. Especially when a mysterious government agency starts snooping around town to get to the bottom of the new goo-filled sinkholes popping up all over town. The same goo that Jake is made of.

A bit ridiculous at times, but mostly in a good way I think kids will enjoy. Full of voice and heart and lots of otherworldly shenanigans. It's kind of like Alex Mack meets Superman, which, honestly, you've just got to love.

Jake feels like he's the weird kid as he is starting middle school. And he might be right, since he has newly discovered ability to shapeshift, without control. Jake is an alien and his parents are worried about the world discovering what he is. When strange things start happening in town, Jake and a new friend Agnes rely on their crime fighting skills to figure out what is going on and keep Jake's secret safe.
A book that equates the changes happening in a pre-teen body to that of an alien shapeshifter, this is one that will connect with some young readers. The extra addition of Jake's proctologist father who is always talking about butts will definitely get the kids laughing out loud.

A fun, van Eekoutian sci-fi romp. Not sure if it will be his breakout book, but it was ok. Sometimes becomes unrooted from the reality that Greg has created, but ultimately satisfying and fun

This was a fun middle grade book with a great message. Can definitly see this as a popular reader's advisory title for kids looking for something different but familiar.

Thanks to NetGalley for this digital ARC of Weird Kid by Greg van Eekhout. A heart-warming story about a boy (Jake) who is really an alien, trying to find out where he fits in in the world. It begins with episodes of him changing shape uncontrollably, strange sinkholes that appear out of nowhere, unidentifiable goo, and a weird hum. Jake, and his new friend, Agnes, pair up to figure out what is going on and what it has to do with Jake. I thought this book was a weirdly charming science fiction novel just right for middle grade readers.

A new take on how an alien would respond in being in middle school, a hard time for any kid. Seems his growing older is coming into some alien puberty and having problems with shape changing. Globs are rising up to take over people and sinkholes are appearing. He and his new friend Agnes are going to unraveling the mystery. That's all the farther I read. Pre-tweens will love the story but I wasn't going to use my time to read. I like more depth to my books.

I thought the book was fun and great for middle grade students. The story was a bit short but very entertaining,

Weird Kid has all of the elements I love in a Greg van Eekhout book -- a growly doggo, aliens, stupid bad humans, genuine good clever humans, and a weird kid who finds his way by leaning into his weirdness, not despite it.

This is an awesome middle grade novel that can serve as an entry point into sci-fi for the reluctant reader. Gotta love any book where the main character is a shapeshifting blob. Despite the (and probably due to) the out of this world premise, this novel takes on big issues like growing up and self-acceptance. (Also snatching.) If your kid loves Steven Universe, they'll go nuts for this.