The Band From Another World by Kevin Garone

September 8, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Band From Another World by Kevin Garone
(Alien Survival Guide Book 3)
Publisher: Temor Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When Marv traces a mysterious transmission to an abandoned house, he’s ready to finally uncover proof of an otherworldly invasion. But when he and his friends sneak inside, they don’t find aliens.

Instead, they find a dusty basement full of musical instruments.

To Marv’s friends, this means one thing: instant rock band. But Marv was right to be suspicious. Strange shadows reach from the walls. Faces flicker in the dark. Worst of all, his friends start acting off. Like they’re not entirely themselves anymore.

And it’s happening to Marv, too.

Suddenly, he can play guitar like a total legend-no practice, no lessons, no explanation. But every note pulls him in deeper. The thoughts in his head aren’t all his. And the music doesn’t want to stop.

Can Marv uncover the truth behind the transmission before he loses himself completely?

Because something else is listening to the broadcast. And it’s not here for the music.

Not every wish should come true.

The paranormal subplot was a surprising and welcomed addition to this universe. While I can’t go into much detail about it without accidentally sharing spoilers, what I can say is that it added another layer of depth to what I already knew about this universe and could be a fantastic springboard for future adventures if the author is planning to write more about these characters. I don’t know if that will happen, of course, but he left plenty of space here for further explorations of the world Marv and his friends live in which, if nothing else, provides a lot of fodder for the imagination in the meantime.

I mentioned wanting more character development in my review of book one, I Know What UFO Did Last Summer. This was once again something that came to mind while I was reading, but this time it involved the secondary characters instead of the protagonist. As much as I enjoyed the plot and world building, I was hoping to get to know Marv’s friends better by this point. Although I could easily describe his personality and habits, it’s something I’d struggle with a bit if someone asked about what Jace, Kenji, Nora, or Liv were like. If as much attention had been paid to this as was given to describing their interest in aliens, I would have happily gone for a full five-star rating.

This is the third instalment of a series, but it works perfectly well as a standalone story, too. With that being said, there were some wonderful references and callbacks to the first two stories included here. One of them involved a fun plot twist related to previously-introduced characters that I didn’t see coming in advance, so do keep an eye out for it if you’re already familiar with these characters. Balancing the expectations of new and returning readers isn’t always easy, and I must tip my cap at Mr. Garone for making things accessible and amusing for everyone.

The Band From Another World (Alien Survival Guide Book 3) was a wild ride that still has me wondering what might happen next.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

I Know What UFO Did Last Summer by Kevin Garone

March 12, 2025 By Leave a Comment


I Know What UFO Did Last Summer by Kevin Garone
Publisher: Temor Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), YA, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The alien invasion is upon us! At least, that’s what twelve-year-old Marv thinks when a mysterious craft appears in the woods behind his house. If there’s one thing he’s learned from his trusty alien invasion guidebook, it’s that ETs are just as likely to land in your backyard as they are on the front lawn of the White House.

A plot to take over the planet is the only logical explanation for what’s going on. Why else would a suited pilot chase Marv and his friends through the woods? What else could explain the creepy leech-like creatures attached to the hull of the ship? As if that wasn’t enough, the recently moved-in next-door neighbor girl and her dad seem to be directly connected to the alien conspiracy.

The National Guard won’t take his calls seriously. His family thinks he’s making everything up. Marv and his friends are on their own if they want to stop the invaders from Pluto-unless that mysterious red pickup truck that keeps driving by is somehow involved in all this, too.

But Marv is wrong. The threat is real, but the aliens aren’t. And getting mixed up with the wrong people might still result in an abduction…

Aliens are full of surprises.

One of the reasons why I enjoy reading the middle grade genre so much has to do with the differences between how kids and adults can interpret the same experience. Mr. Garone tapped into this in order to give the audience multiple explanations for why certain things happened, and it made me chuckle to take note of how Marv and his friends understood those events versus what the average adult would probably say about them.

It would have been helpful to have more character development, especially for Marv. His interest in aliens was so strong that it sometimes overshadowed everyone else’s interests. There was a thought-provoking scene later in which another character confronted him for expecting his hobby to always be put first that I wish had been given more time to grow. Marv could be a little selfish at times even if he didn’t always realize he was coming across that way. If this had been explored more, I would have happily gone for a full five-star rating.

The plot twists in this book were imaginative and exciting. It was difficult for this reader to find good places to stop when I needed to go do something else for a while due to how often these revelations made me look at the characters in new ways. What an excellent problem to have! Every scene propelled things forward in some way, and I was surprised more than once by what Marvin, Nora, and Jace didn’t see coming.

I Know What UFO Did Last Summer made me wish for a sequel!

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Night of the Living Toilet Paper by Kevin Garone

January 1, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Night of the Living Toilet Paper by Kevin Garone
Alien Survival Guide Book 2
Publisher: Temor Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Marv and his friends are back in this exciting sequel to I Know What UFO Did Last Summer. Will they be able to stop a new threat to their town?

A few months have passed since Marv and his friends stopped what he believes was an extraterrestrial plot to take over the planet. But he’s not letting his guard down. If there’s one thing Marv knows, it’s that aliens could attempt another invasion at any time.

So when he spots an unmanned motorcycle racing into the woods, pursued by a paranormal investigator, Marv’s instincts scream that something very weird is going on. Marv tracks down the bike and hauls it to his fort for closer inspection. That’s when he sees it: a Sleech—one of the creatures he encountered last summer—slithering out of the motorcycle’s tailpipe.

But when Marv returns to show his discovery to his friends, they find the fort completely destroyed. The only thing left is his emergency stockpile of toilet paper.

And it’s alive.

Now Marv and his friends must unravel the mystery of the Sleech before their entire town is overrun by a monstrous swarm of toilet paper. Because if they don’t stop it in time…

It’s going to wipe them out.

Smart toilet paper is nothing to mess around with.

The dialogue made me smile, especially when the characters were bouncing ideas off of each other as they attempted to figure out how to defeat the toilet paper monster and the sleech. All of the characters had natural speaking styles that made me feel like I was overhearing their conversations instead of reading about them. This is not always an easy thing to accomplish, so I must tip my cap to the author for not only pulling it off but also for doing it so effortlessly that these moments felt completely true to real life other than the fact that toilet paper is rarely if ever dangerous in our world.

Mr. Garone had a playful sense of humor that worked beautifully for middle grade horror. This was something I first noticed in I Know What UFO Did Last Summer, but it was even stronger and funnier this time around. Toilet paper was just about the last thing I’d think of as an antagonist, so I was excited to see what the author did with such a creative approach to conflict. This was the second book I’ve read from him, and I hope to hear from him and his hilarious point of view again in the near future.

Speaking of the first book, I enjoyed seeing how Marv and his friends grew and changed as a result of their earlier experiences with extraterrestrials. My first review mentioned that I wanted more character development, and I was thrilled to have that wish granted this time around. This added layers of meaning to the storyline that made choosing a five star rating the only genuine choice I could make. It will be exciting to see where the characters go from here.

I’d recommend reading this series in order for plot and character development reasons.

Night of the Living Toilet Paper was wonderful.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,