Daniel Babka’s LIGHTNING BUGS AND ALIENS centers around the small town of Twinsburg, Ohio, where everyone knows each other and a relatively peaceful environment embodies the norms of small-town living (such as a lack of fences around houses). Thirteen-year-old Ben feels safe, especially with the presence of his formidable grandparents and father. The location of the family business between the town’s police station and fire station only strengthens this feeling of security. However, when he witnesses his grandfather’s mob-affiliated friend get blown up, this illusion of safety is shattered.

Adding to the barrage of troubling questions brought on by this traumatizing episode are propaganda messages by the government about atomic bombs, the threat posed by the Russians, and the possibility of an alien invasion. These messages are a source of tension in 1960 America, especially with no internet for verification. It doesn’t help that the adults keep whispering and telling Ben and his friends, “Don’t worry, you don’t need to know…that’s grown-up business.” This prompts the boys to cook up a secret mission of their own with a determination to uncover what is happening in their town and possibly save the world, regardless of the potential dangers.

Ben’s eyes serve as the window into the happenings in Twinsburg. He is a likable narrator, describing events, introducing characters, and explaining the town’s history with insightful, amusing, and thought-provoking remarks such as “No one ever told kids like me anything about the Native American people who used to live there and got pushed out by European settlers […] The only ‘Indians’ we ever saw were bad guys in movies and on TV, and they were always played by white men.”

Through the adventurous story of five teenage friends, Babka addresses important topics, such as segregation, the poor handling of the environment, and people’s dwindling regard for one another. Ben observes that one of his friends, Isiah, who is Black, lives in a different part of town; and although the schools are integrated and everyone seems to get along, Black people live in a separate part of town and have to dig their own well because they aren’t allowed to tap into the water lines of the whites. The boys reflect on the state of the world and how humans treat themselves and the environment. They vow to always be there for each other, beginning a journey aimed at making a difference in the world. Namely, they explore the possibility of aliens existing and whether they are trying to send a message to Earth.

Even though a number of characters are introduced during the story, it is easy to keep track of them, as only a handful play a significant role in the development of the book’s plot. However, this also gives some of them an underdeveloped quality. While more clarification about the night they sneak away for their adventure and how their families react also would have been welcome, the story’s quality is undiminished.

Daniel Babka’s LIGHTNING BUGS AND ALIENS is a sci-fi novella that remains engaging from start to finish through suspense and fluid prose.

~Gabriella Harrison for IndieReader