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Cover of The Doom Machine

The Doom Machine

Mark Teague (2009)

SubgenreDark Fantasy
Age groupMiddle Grade 8-12
Content ratingPG
Pages (Quick Read (<250))
Setting
CSM age10
Goodreads3.38
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Content levels

ViolenceMild
Sexual contentNone
LanguageNone

Trigger warnings

Not yet tagged

Positive tags

AdventureFriendshipFound FamilyHumor

Hero archetypes

Outcast / Loner

Heroine archetypes

Bookish / Nerdy Heroine

Protagonist archetypes

Duo / PartnersFish out of Water

Tropes

Fish out of WaterFound FamilyUnlikely AllianceFirst ContactSmall Town1950S Period Setting

Themes

FriendshipUnexpected AlliancesSmall Town vs Big EventsComing TogetherUs vs Them

Synopsis

When a spaceship lands in the small town of Vern Hollow in 1956, juvenile delinquent Jack Creedle and prim, studious Isadora Shumway form an unexpected alliance as they try to keep a group of extraterrestrials from stealing eccentric Uncle Bud's space travel machine.

Is The Doom Machine appropriate for my child?

Suitable for most readers 10 and up.

A lighthearted middle grade adventure featuring aliens, a teenage delinquent, and a studious girl teaming up in 1950s small-town America. Mild peril and sci-fi adventure elements with no mature content.

What to know going in

This book has mild violence, no sexual content, and clean language.

Who'll love this

Kids will enjoy the fun pairing of a troublemaker and a bookworm fighting aliens in a retro 1950s setting with weird inventions and spaceship action.

Tags

Science FictionHistorical FantasyAlien ContactRetro Sci-Fi