I LOVED Seventh Grade vs the Galaxy so I was dying to get my hands on Eighth Grade vs the Machines! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for granting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Just like the first book, Eighth Grade vs the Machines is such a fast-paced, action-packed ride! The friendship themes give these books a lot of heart, and it was so much fun to follow Jack, Ari, and Becka through their continued adventures with Principal Lochner and PSS 118. One thing I think Levy does well is humor. These books are laugh-out-loud hilarious. Jack is such an interesting narrator for the stories with an interesting outlook on life. I would highly recommend these books to any fans of middle grade science fiction!

What a rollicking, action-packed space adventure of a novel! This sequel to SEVENTH GRADE VS. THE GALAXY is such a fantastic ride! Evil pirate robots, super-powerful aliens, cute space hamsters...it's got it all! But this story also has beautiful heart. It's about friendship —between characters we know and love from the previous book, and new characters. And it's about family. It's about finding a way to keep going in the face of terrible odds and conquering fear and guilt. Josh Levy has done it again, and I can't wait for his next book!

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E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

After their adventures in Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy, classmates Ari, Becka and Jack are back with Principal Lochner to try to find their families after humanity has gone missing. They are trying to fix their ship, PSS 118, and the teachers are making a half hearted attempt to get them to do school work, including keeping journals that we get to see in the text. When they finally get going, they face a host of problems, including an invasion of priate speaking robots and meeting up with Hunter, who has gone to the dark side of the Minister, along with Bale Kontra, an old Elvidian. The group wants to make it to the library on Wyzardia, where they eventually find that another ship has survived the Quarantine. This leads them to locate the Poplar, where they meet another kid, Starlee. When they all end up in the hands of the Minister, will they be able to negotiate for what they want? Another adventure is all but guaranteed when a main character goes missing, and Principal Lochner takes the school on their next mission without that person.
Strengths: I bought two copies of the first book, since it is a great space adventure complete with low gravity dodgeball, and the book has been very popular with my students. The sequel will be appreciately recieved. I like the way the kids work together and have lots of adventures, even though personally my favorite part is how the teachers try to hold everything together! The trials with the robots, the Minister, and trying to get to Wyzardia help the group towards finding out what has happened, and the real draw is all of the adventures, as well as the pirate speaking robots.
Weaknesses: There was a LOT going on, and since Jack didn't appear until about 50 pages into the story, I got a bit confused. This is not so much a fault of the book as it is my own Fantasy Amnesia. If I didn't have to write a review, this wouldn't be a problem!
What I really think: One of my favorite middle grade literature lines has got to be "And still, Principal Lochner defines the line between civilization and chaos as 'collared shirts.' " Well, yes! No reason to let standards slip! Jack, Ari, and Beckah's further adventures will be a big hit, and I will be curious to see how the third book unfolds.