Only You Can Save Mankind

Reach for this book when your middle-grade child feels overwhelmed by adult-sized problems, such as a tense home life or world events they cannot control. In this story, twelve-year-old Johnny Maxwell finds that his escape, a classic space-invader video game, becomes unexpectedly real when the aliens decide to surrender to him rather than fight. He is suddenly tasked with protecting a species that everyone else sees as a target. Terry Pratchett uses a clever science fiction premise to explore empathy, the gray areas of conflict, and the burden of responsibility. It is a perfect choice for kids who feel like they are constantly being told what to think by the media or their parents and want to find their own moral compass. While it deals with the background stress of a pending divorce (The Try-out), the tone remains humorous and deeply relatable for ages 9 to 13.