Matt knew he should have turned in the cell phone when he found it on the ground. But he really wanted to see what using one would be like. And since his parents wouldn’t let him have one yet, he figured what could be the harm keeping it for just a bit. Turns out, finding the cell phone was the first step he took on the path to possibly thwarting an alien invasion of Earth.

Press 1 for 1nvasion by J.A. Dauber is the enchanting middle-grade story of how Matt goes from being a normal kid with normal concerns to potential civilization-saver. And it all starts with the cell phone. Which, it turns out, was left for him to find by one of the aliens, his lunch lady Mrs. MacGillicuddy. When Matt looks through the camera, he can see any alien as they really look instead of the disguise they wear to appear human. This lets him start a conversation with the lunch lady.

Mrs. MacGillicuddy has had a change of heart about conquering Earth with her species, and she believes Matt can help her convince her fellow aliens to leave it be. But trouble comes in all sorts of places, including from the school crossing guard, Mr. Mackintosh. He also lives on Mrs. MacGillicuddy’s planet, and he has no qualms about wiping out humans. Matt will need all his courage and determination, plus the help of his crush Marcela, to save the day.

Press 1 For 1Invasion weaves a fun and imaginative tale while taking readers on lots of twists and turns until a satisfying ending. It’s premise that humans are tasty and aliens want to eat them reads more like Hansel and Gretel than a horror story, making it a good book to read pre-Halloween, but also any time. I recommend it for ages 9 to 13.

The publisher provided a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.