It’s the 1950’s, and the town of Soledad, Texas has been chosen to be used for a war exercise, that simulates a Communist takeover. Soldiers have parachuted into town and established Marshall law. They have set up checkpoints and have taken over the town government, closed the school and established a curfew. Pineda finds a mysterious person hiding in his barn. She has gotten separated from her parents and Pineda and his friends set out to outwit the soldiers and help his new friend rejoin her parents. Meanwhile the US soldiers have arrived and are participating in the exercise to rid the town of the “communists,” but after catching the alien’s parents who fell from the sky, they want to capture her too and do experiments on the them and find their “spaceship.”
#ARC #netgalley

My girls and I absolutely enjoyed reading this together. They were obsessed with finding out what happens to Luisa and they were curious about the town, the entire situation and most importantly, how people were treating each other. It was such a good book to spark conversation!

Loosely based in a small town in Cold War Texas, "What Fell From the Sky" is a delight. Adrianna Cuevas ads her own science fiction flair to a real event in history. When Pineda finds a new friend in the middle of a military "exercise" he knows his life will never be the same. Pineda is the child of a Cuban mother and a white father. He straddles both worlds and can't understand why the town treats "others" so unfairly. Louisa is quite different and changes his life and his town. I loved the relationships built in the book and the way that language was shared. This is going to be a popular middle grade book for adventure seekers. I highly enjoyed this and encourage you to pick it up.

Thank you to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for this ARC!

This was my fourth Adrianna Cuevas read so far, and I think it ties with The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto for my favorite! I just so appreciate the way Cuevas writes books that appeal to both my students and to me as a teacher. What Fell from the Sky features her most lovable characters so far, and I highly recommend listening to the audiobook which has multiple narrators for all the different POVs, thus truly bringing the story to life. I will absolutely being adding a copy of this to my classroom library, and I recommend this book for middle graders who enjoy Stranger Things, Kelly Yang books, and stories that tug at your heartstrings.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced reader and listener copies!

"What Fell From the Sky" is a fantastic blend of historical fiction based on true events with science fiction straight from the author's imagination. This story blends an adventure story of self discovery and friendship with history and social commentary.

At the height of the Cold War, thousands of soldiers fell from the sky and took over a small Texas town. The Aggressor Nation which liberated Texas was actually an army exercise in preparedness for a communist invasion. the townspeople played along with the scenario at first, but eventually they became embittered by the destructive army forces. Adrianna Cuevas wondered how people would have reacted if the soldiers weren't the only thing that fell from the sky. This great middle grade novel follows a sixth grade boy who discovers an alien girl hiding in his barn.

Cuevas has set the scene with a picturesque depiction of a small town in the early 1950's and populated it with a colorful collection of characters. The story alternates from the point of view of a half Cuban kid who tries to blend in and a frightened young girl who has been separated from her parents. Since Pineda can't replicate the sounds of her language, he names her Louisa and promises to help her find her parents. When it becomes evident that the Louisa's parents have been captured by the military and that soldiers are actually on an alien hunt searching for her, the stakes become even higher. Pineda can't save the visitors alone, and soon enlists the help of his friends, a black soldier in a newly integrated army, and eventually the disgruntled townspeople. The friends consist of a diverse group of characters and the story is reminiscent of "The Goonies" in that respect. The adults in this story are also well fleshed out and entertaining. This fast paced story was an engrossing read that I could not put down.

One of the things that makes this story fantastic is that it explores how people who are different have always been treated. The book shows a historic view of the issue, but it is a problem that persists to this day. Pineda and his mother do not speak Spanish in public. He his mom and his friend Ernesto are all known by anglicised names instead of their actual ones. They try to blend in. This is one of the reasons that Pineda can empathise with the alien. Parents and teachers can use the book to launch important discussions with children. They can find a video of author Adrianna Cuevas explaining the historical background of the novel as well as an extensive teacher guide on the author's website: https://www.adriannacuevas.com/teache...


I alternated between the ebook and the audiobook and this is one of the few books that I can honestly claim is "better as an audiobook." Many audiobooks have one narrator but since most of the book alternates between the points of view of the two protagonists, each has a seperate narrator and they did a fantastic job. However the last several chapters of the book are each from the point of view of a different character. This Dreamcast audiobook is a full cast production with different actors for each of these chapters. This approach made the audiobook delightful. The only negative part of this edition is that it did not include the author's note that was at the end of the text version where she explained that the book was based on true events"- except for the aliens".

I accessed advanced digital editions of this book from the publisher, but my review is voluntary. I loved this book and recommend it to any middle grade science fiction fan.

In WHAT FELL FROM THE SKY, Pineda and his classmates are shocked to look out the window and see soldiers parachuting from the sky into their small Texas town. The military is taking over the town of Soledad in a training exercise, turning everything upside down. Amid the chaos, Pineda discovers that something else has fallen from the sky—a young alien. He shelters her in his family’s barn, promising to reunite her with her parents. When Pineda and his friends realize that the military knows about the alien, who he calls Luisa, they work to keep Luisa hidden from the military until they can make the reunion happen. When the rest of Soledad learns about Luisa and decides they’ve had enough, watch out!

Blending historical fiction with science fiction, this book is an engaging adventure told from multiple points of view. The son of an American father and a Cuban mother, Pineda understands what it means to be considered different by his community, helping him to empathize with the alien. He takes a stand for what he believes in, even though it is a risk. The book’s focal message of embracing and celebrating differences is a universal and important one that is delivered here with history and heart.

This is such a wild historical fiction! And not because it has aliens woven in. As I was reading the book I was constantly thinking, I can’t believe this is a part of American history! No Way! Our country has sure done some insane things! That said, I loved the book. I love learning new information about history. I love a good science fiction, so this was fun to have the two woven together. The characters were so fantastic, and the messages woven within, beautiful!

The story opens with middle school students, Pineda and Ernesto, in the middle of a duck and cover drill at school, which immediately sets the scene. The story keeps moving with military troops parachuting in and taking over their small town. We later learn this is an exercise by the United States government (and is based on true events!), but since the kids don't know this at the time, it really creates a lot of great drama and tension that is multiplied when Pineda discovers the troops weren't the only thing that fell from the sky.

However, once the initial excitement is over, I felt the story dragged with a lot of repetitive action (going to and from town) and dialogue (holy baloney!). It took me longer to get through this book than most because of the pace.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the dual POV, alternating between Pineda and the girl from outer space, the fact that it has roots in a historical event, and the parallels it draws with events taking place right now. I feel like kids will really identify with the characters, and it will be a great book to use to open dialogue with students about both historical and current events.

"What Fell from the Sky" is a Stranger Things-esque story set in a small Texan town that's been overrun by American soldiers. 12 year-old Pineda soon realizes that what is being advertised as a "training exercise" is actually a cover up of an alien crash landing. Pineda discovers one of the aliens in his parent's barn, and he and his friends promise to help her find her parents and return home.

"I guess sometimes we just need people to help us feel like we belong."

This was a very sweet read. It touched on themes of community, belonging, identity, and how sometimes you have to be brave to find yourself. I especially loved Luisa's discovery of Earth and how both she and Pineda were experiencing the same personal struggles while being from two totally different planets!

What a pleasant surprise! Wonderful piece of history that is under told.

Positives: Historical fiction, characters and character development. The point of view from each character towards the end of the book was great! There is a bit of mystery and a bit of hopefulness.

Surprise: if you love a good alien in a story, this works very well.

This story is interesting, intriguing, and the history is unbelievable (as all good history is!).

What a charming and thoughtful book! I can't wait to recommend this one to my students. Adrianna Cuevas used the idea of an alien crash landing in Texas in the height of the Cold War to talk about so much more than just that. This is a compelling story about a town chosen for a seemingly innocuous military exercise that turns out to be a cover for an extraterrestrial manhunt. Penida, a Cuban-American boy, who is ostracized by some in town for his own differences, finds a alien girl in his barn and he and his friends, all misfits in their own right, set off to reunite her with her parents. That adventurous story would be delightful on its own, but what happens next was my favorite part. I LOVED seeing the town decide they'd had enough and come together to run the military out of their town, while helping Louisa, the alien, and her parents return to their home. The entire book is a beautiful way to teach children the dangers of bigotry and prejudice, as well, as of following orders without asking questions. It feels like a very timely story. I will definitely be sharing with my students.

This was a very interesting middle grade book. The author did a good job of exploring difference and the complexities of diversity, including racial diversity and integration, in the 1950s in Texas. The invasion and military takeover description was well-written. I liked how the author explored Pineda's exploration of his own identity.

3.5 rounded up! What an absolute charming middle grade book. I loved how it touched on differences and reminding readers that being different isn't bad. I loved that there was a historical tinge to the story. Definitely a book I'll recommend to my readers at my library.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Cute story that mixed historical fiction with science fiction. Based on real Cold War events in the US, Cuevas includes a story of lost alien child separated from her parents in a small town overrun by Cold War military exercises. The story discusses issues related to racism in a way that middle school readers can understand, but it doesn’t delve into any horrific detail and keeps it at a fairly surface level. Prejudicial treatment is prevalent throughout the story, but it has a sweet story of a group of children who band together to do the right thing and a town that eventually learns a valuable lesson.

I generally love middle grade novels, but this one didn't garner a lot of interest for me. I did like the premise, and the book did a good job of illustrating the negative impacts of bigotry. I even appreciated that the book was loosely based on a historical event.

But outside of that, I didn't really care for the execution of this book. I found the writing to be overly simple and the pacing too slow. This book relies on realism—despite one obvious exception—and while it does generally pull it off, there are other times where events and people's reactions are so outlandish that I was left shaking my head, thinking, “Nope. That would never happen.” The tone is too somber and slow for such absurdity to work in this book. Then, towards the end of the book, readers are suddenly bombarded with everyone's point of view. Why? Introducing new POVs so late in a book is jarring and completely unnecessary, especially for a book this simple.

Basically, this book had too many obvious flaws which destroyed my willing suspension of disbelief and left me frustrated and dissatisfied.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC!

I didn't love this as much as I wanted to, but I still enjoyed it overall. I found some of the internal dialogue of the characters and some catchphrases to be a bit repetitive and grating rather than charming like I think the author was going for. I also found the overall message of the books, that no one treated differently because of their differences and we all have inherent value to be a little heavy handed. All in all, I still enjoyed this hopeful and heartwarming story, and will still probably purchase it for my library. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I can see some students who really love historical fiction really liking this one.

What Fell From the Sky is an intriguing read with relevant (and unfortunately timely) themes and messages about humanity, community, how people view and treat those that are different from themselves, and more. The historical context shared at the end about the real parts and the "not so real" parts enriches the story. The action was suspenseful and engaging, and kept the reader rooting for the characters and their mission to protect Luisa. Cuevas really worked her magic intertwining the intrigue of the alien from another planet aspect with the realities of things as they were in the actual historical circumstances and the realities of how similar things can play out and repeat themselves even now. Though it has been awhile since I've seen ET and I could be totally off on my childhood memories of it, I was feeling the essence of some ET vibes off of it. I will definitely add it to my library collection when it comes out.

This is a strange mix of historical fiction and sci-fi. Set in a small Texas town that is simulating a communist take-over, a young boy finds a young alien. He realizes that she has lost her family and wants to help her find them. A black corporal, in the newly integrated army, decides to help the boy and his friends disguise and hide the young alien.

The backdrop of the historical simulation of communist takeover is already mind bending enough but adding in aliens took it a step further than I felt comfortable with. I spent more time working on suspending my disbelief than reading. I explain the concept to a small group of students and they were not interested in reading it. I am sure there is an audience for this book but I am not sure that I have that audience at my elementary school..

There is an underlying message of accepting those who are different. While this is an important message, especially for kids, it has been done in better ways in other books.

The dual POV turned to multi-POV at the end, makes the story choppy.

Thank you to MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), and Net Galley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

The story was a good one, especially since it was based on historical events-minus the aliens. It also included a message of accepting others that are “different”. I would have enjoyed the story more had it been told just from Pineda’s perspective. Luisa’s perspective made it seem less believable and adding multiple people sharing in the later chapters seemed unnecessary. It was great to learn some history while having an alien-or three-thrown in.

WHAT FELL FROM THE SKY is a Goonies x E.T. x The Skeleton Crew sci-fi adventure story. If you're looking for a ripped from the headlines adventure for your students and want to discuss military occupation on American soil, it's a great discussion starter. The story captures imagination through the unbelievable (yet true!) story of military exercises done in small towns in Texas and Louisiana to the detriment of local farmers and townspeople. The story is about several kids who are somewhat outsiders for various reasons who discover an unintended visitor to the small town of Soledad, TX in the 1950s. What follows is their attempt at saving their new friend from the military-gone-cuckoo. Lots of shenanigans. Lots of silly slapstick action. Aliens. Guns. Empathy. Hope.