A high-stakes, time-bending sci-fi adventure packed with humor, heart, and small-town mystery. This upper-middle-grade novel is perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Amari and the Night Brothers.

After a terrifying UFO encounter with his family, seventh-grader Wes Jessup wakes up with a bizarre new superpower: precognition. He can glimpse fragments of the future minutes before they happen. But seeing the future may not be enough to change it.

Still reeling from his parents’ divorce and a move to a sleepy new town, Wes thought surviving seventh grade would be his biggest problem. Then he spots strange glowing orbs drifting through the woods behind his house—and realizes they’re watching him too.

The mission is about to begin. But it may have already failed

The orbs aren’t just visiting. They’re recruiting Wes and his new friends for a dangerous mission to prevent a catastrophic future. But dark forces are already closing in. A swarm of shadowy, jellyfish-like robots skitters through his backyard at night, eerie and menacing. Who do they belong to? Are they a warning… or is his family in imminent danger

Hunted by a faceless enemy and dismissed as having an overactive imagination by the people he loves most, Wes must master his unpredictable visions before time runs out. Because this is no longer just about surviving the last few weeks of seventh grade—it’s about saving the future of the human race.

Reading Level & Content Note:

• Target Age: 10–14 (Grades 5–8)

• Genre: Upper Middle-Grade Sci-Fi / Clean YA Crossover

• Series: Book 1 in a planned multi-book series (Book 2 coming soon!)

• Vibe: High-stakes, fast-paced adventure with mild language, intense sci-fi action, and an innocent crush. Perfect for fans of small-town mysteries, UFO stories, strange phenomena, and sci-fi with lots of humor and heart.

David (Dave) Keane is the author of over 20 books for children, including the Joe Sherlock: Kid Detective series, which he wrote and illustrated for HarperCollins. He also wrote the Cars Origins series for Disney-Pixar / Random House. Dave is well known for popular picture books, including Sloppy Joe (HarperCollins), Who Wants a Tortoise? (Knopf Books for Young Readers), Bobby Bramble Loses His Brain (Clarion Books), and his latest, The Treasure Box, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons. His books have been translated into many languages, including Dutch, French, Chinese, and Vietnamese. He is currently publishing the first installment in his first middle-grade sci-fi series, The Experiencers: First Contact, a spooky speculative thriller.

Dave came to children’s books after spending many hours reading to his three kids. He now lives with his wife, Christine, their dog, Fiona, and a very bossy tortoise named Shelly.