I had such a great time with this book and following along with Ava and Harley to protect the Extraterrestrial Living Being (ELB) Zoo from sinister forces after a terrible storm.

The story opens with Ava, a 13 year old girl who has become "the parent" in many ways to her uncle who seems to forget to buy groceries and is suffering his own level of PTSD after being in the military. Ava suffers herself after the death of her mother and disappearance of her father. She feels abandoned and as though she only has the zoo and its inhabitants. She is also hyper-focused on caring for the ELBs and not asking for help from anyone, to the point she has no friends or outside contacts beyond the people she briefly interacts with at school.

The zoo is floundering with no one coming to see the ELBs, but her feels Av needs a life outside of the zoo and needs to do something more "normal" than spending all of her time within the walls of her own self-imposed prison. So the uncle hires an intern, Harley to cover some of the things Ava has been doing, such as feedings and containment maintenance. Ava is furious, but soon a storm rolls into the area and the action begins, the mystery and intrigue ramp up and we become incredibly invested in the welfare and protection of the ELB who is still missing.

I can't wait to see what might happen in the next installment in this series. I have to thank Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions written are completely honest and my own.

The creativity in the story is simply amazing. I'm not usually a sci Fi fan, but the mix of the ELBs and Ava's life in general mix nicely.

Let's say I loved it 'till the 90% mark. Interesting setting, lively characters and an interesting way of dealing with grief. BUT the last 10% were... totally illogical and kinda gore. However, the gruesome deaths at the end apparently don't seem to disturb our 13 yo girl who keeps imagining herself as an action movie star. Full sociopathic behaviour. And the very last sentence really got me thinking, but not in the good way, as it contradicts a 100% the epiphany she has a few pages before. Is it the sociopathic behavious hitting full force again ? I really wonder...

And HUGE TW : violence against animals, animal death, violence, blood, fucking horrible deaths.

The Extraterrestrial Zoo is an excellent book. I can't wait until I can share this one with my kids.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy.

Loved everything about this book, the characters, the story, the quick pace and speed the story moves. Finished it in one sitting and can’t wait for the next!

Fun middle grade for young science fiction fans. Mixes good characters with a fun plot and immersive atmosphere.

The first part of the book is so adorable. You follow Ava as she explains to Harley how to care for and feed the different aliens/creatures. So you discover them little by little, what they look like, their needs and how some have abilities and can be dangerous. It's like visiting the zoo of wonders.

When the storm hits, the tone of the story changes completely and becomes tragic and serious. I wasn't ready for that. Now you focus on the young characters and with their journey to find the missing ELB, you learn a little of how to survive in the woods. I think that's a very interesting knowledge to learn and Ava is a strong, resourceful and courageous character, a good example for a young reader. There is a twist that I did not see coming with a rescue mission.
I went through all sorts of emotions with this story and I can easily imagine that the twelve year old girl that I was would have been amazed by this book. It is the kind of story that I would have devoured.
I would easily recommend it to a young middle grade reader discovering science fiction.

This is the first in the series, and there is great potential for what comes next. I want to know why and where these ELBs come from, and why on earth?

Thank You to Netgalley and Pixel+Ink for the eARC

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Extraterrestrial Zoo 1: Finding the Lost One by Samantha van Leer is a first person-POV Upper Middle Grade sci-fi set in an alternative reality where alien eggs were sent to Earth twice a year but nobody knows why. Ava has been taking care of her parents’ zoo with her Uncle Peter ever since the death of her mother and later her father. When a hurricane hits and intruders enter the zoo to harm the aliens, Ava must do everything she can to protect her extraterrestrial family.

I think readers who loved Lilo and Stitch, particularly the TV series, are going to be really into this. There's multiple alien species with different wants and needs, some of which cannot even be exposed to Earth’s air without being at risk of dying, and Ava is determined to keep them all safe. My favorite alien was Mimzing and I'd love an entire art book of what the different aliens look like so I can see if the rough idea I have matches the author’s image.

Ava is pretty no nonsense and doesn't really trust other people nor is particularly interested in other humans. She's not friends with her classmates, mostly because they find her strange for living at an alien zoo, and she's hostile to Harley, a new hire who is a year older than her. Her relationship with her uncle is also pretty rocky and is more of a shared living space situation rather than an actual family. If she has a family after the death of her parents, it would be the aliens she cares for.

One thing I found really cool was how often more advanced scientific terms were used. It fits with Ava’s POV because she was raised around this kind of language given that her parents owned and operated the zoo with government funding, but it also fills a need for books that will satisfy a more scientifically-minded young reader who isn't quite ready for YA or isn't interested in sci-fi set in space or alternate dimensions. There is the use of the word ‘crap’ in the book, but that's about as crass as it gets and I'm not sure if that word is even seen as a bad word anymore like it was when I was that age.

I would recommend this to young readers who love sci-fi, fans of all ages who enjoyed Lilo and Stitch, and those looking for more advanced scientific vocabulary in a Middle Grade

Samantha van Leer does a fantastic job in writing this opening chapter in the Extraterrestrial Zoo series. The characters were everything that I was looking for and thought the plot was everything that I wanted. The concept was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the feel of this series. It worked well and was written perfectly, I’m excited to read more from Samantha van Leer.

"The Extraterrestrial Zoo" is a middle grade science fiction novel by Samantha van Leer. Alien eggs start arriving on Earth every year and the government needs a place to keep them. They create a "zoo" for the public to see the aliens (or ELBs: extraterrestrial living beings) and Ava's mom and dad meet while running it and Ava (our main character) is born into a life of caring for the ELBs. Ava can't imagine any life besides taking care of the ELBs. Her mother died years ago in a car crash and soon afterward her father disappeared, so it is just Ava and her uncle Pete. When a hurricane breaks open the enclosures and the ELBs escape, the government starts killing them. Can Ava save the ELBs? Lots of twists in the plot and a theme of learning how to be a friend. A recommended purchase where middle grade sci fi is popular.