This is a hilarious book that includes aliens, fart jokes, belly laughs, and mysteries! This book is a great choice for new YA readers with illustrations on almost every page. Although this is a shorter book for a middle school aged child, it is sure to become a favorite! For students curious about Area 51, this is a fun read and a great addition to middle school teacher shelves.

Area 51 and getting in on the inside? Sign my up please! This was a very fun book to read about the 'workings' of Area 51. Much praise to this new series!

Sky moves to Area 51, a sanctuary for aliens, where her new guardian, her uncle. She’s sad that she can’t ever leave Area 51 or see her beloved grandma again but she makes friend with an alien boy at school. When a group of aliens is abducted, all clues point to Sky’s uncle. She and her friends try to solve who the culprit really is. It’s a funny mystery, adventure, and friendship story with aliens and illustrations!

When Sky moves to live with her uncle at Area 51, her whole life changes. Area 51 is where Break Throughs (aka Aliens) live. But now some Break Throughs have gone missing, and Sky is determined to figure out what’s happening and prove that she has nothing to do with it. This is a fun mystery to kick off the series.

I think kids in middle grades will enjoy this story about Area 51, which is already a hot topic item. There are lots of funny moments' and Spike was a funny side character. The pictures were a good bonus!

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was a great MG book! The plot was fun, and I liked the characters. Overall, I would definitely recommend it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

The Area 51 Files is a goofy MG mystery featuring friendships, family bonds, a pet hedgehog/dog duo, and a whole bunch of aliens! First off, the book is highly illustrated, and the illustrations are wonderful! Just take a look at that cover to get an idea of what's in store. The illustrations are used almost like graphic novel panels so that they help to tell the story (or tell little side jokes, often using the hedgehog and dog in hilarious ways).

When Sky is sent off to live with her mysterious uncle, she has no idea she's actually going to Area 52 - or that aliens are real. Her sense of reality is thrown into chaos when she is confronted with a whole community full of various aliens, some so strange the human brain has to make up its own form for them. But when some of the aliens are kidnapped at the exact time she arrives, her and her uncle are suddenly suspects. Sky and her newfound friends have to solve the case before Sky's uncle's life is irretrievably ruined and Sky is sent away. Of course, in order to do that, they have quite a few adventures and mishaps along the way.

Sure to be a hit with MG readers of books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

“The Area 51 Files” is a new middle grade series by Julie Buxbaum. This is the story of a girl named Sky, an orphan that is sent to live with her Uncle Anish. What Sky doesn’t know is that her uncle actually lives and works in Area 51. And Area 51 is actually a safe haven for aliens and humans to live together secretly and safely. Until three aliens go missing the very same day and time that Sky arrives. Which leads to a mystery to solve of who took the aliens and why? I love this story and the illustrations by Lavanya Naidu are wonderful. This book is going to be loved by my 3rd grade students, and I cannot wait for book 2 (coming summer 2023)!

This book was just plain fun. Sky, our main character ends up moving in with her mysterious uncle. Which of course places her at Area 51 - after all, doesn't everyone's mysterious uncle work for Area 51? This is full of aliens,, kids struggling to fit in. Sky quickly makes friends with some of the aliens and hilarity ensues.

Review:
Sky is no stranger to loss, and it's touching to read her story. An orphan, she is sent to live with an uncle she has never met, leaving her grandmother who has been her home for years. This loss is sprinkled throughout the story in ways that kids will find very relatable. Sky has struggled to fit in, and as she explores Area 51, she starts to wonder if this could be a good home for her.

My son was excited to read this book with me from the beautiful cover art! Full of adventure, laughing, sleuthing and learning how belong. New friends, epic side kicks, and lots of pizza. This story was fun to read and would be great for any middle grade kids. I am really looking forward to book 2!

This was such a silly and fun story. I loved the addition of illustrations throughout. This would be a nice bridge between graphic novels and middle grade chapter books. I enjoyed watching the friendships of our main characters develop throughout and I also enjoyed the aspects of family that were presented, especially that families come in all forms. Readers that like sci-fi, the unexplained, mysteries, and huge helping of humor will likely love this book.

This book was such a wild ride and I love it. I have read books by this author befroe and this def was more light hearted and more action and adventue focused with solving a mysteries alien based mystery set in area 51. I also liked that even thought this book has some wild topics like aliens and such it also does heal with harder topics like moving, new school, new friends. It was such a great time and the illustrations helped flesh out the story. I also really enjoyed the animals companions as well. I am super excited for book 2 whenever it comes out!! It was quick read filled with actionand adventue!

This book is absolutely out of this world!

Pardon the pun, but this book is charmingly full of them!

"To the rest of the world, Area 51 is just a creepy old training base. They like to make wild guesses about what happens here. But they have no idea. There is no other place like this on the entire planet. You have no idea how lucky you are."
- Uncle Anish, pg 9

The artwork in this book is excellent! Sky's notes are so much fun! And the signs by Spike (the hedgehog) and Pickles (the dog) are fun and educational! Thanks to Spike for this message:

SPOILER ALERT: Sky will not stay out of trouble.

(Spike is not wrong, by the way.)

I just love middle grade books and this one was a lot of fun! It's a little bit sci-fi mixed with a mystery and set in Area 51, and just look at that cover! I knew I needed this one.

Sky's grandmother is getting older and has decided to move to a retirement home but they don't allow children. It had been set up a long time ago that she would go and live with her Uncle that she doesn't really know. There are reasons why she don't know about him and that is because he lives in Area 51 and once you are there, you don't get to go anywhere or talk to anyone outside of 51.

On the day Sky arrives to the community of 51 she is thrown into what feels a bit like a different world. She is seeing her Uncle for the first time and learning that there are aliens aka break throughs. Also she finds out that on the day she arrives that some aliens called Zdstrammars or Z's for short are missing. These's Zs are little aliens that look like bubbles with eyes! They are very fragile and use a lot of bubble wrap around sharp objects...lol.

Anyway because Sky came the same day this happened, some of those from the FBAI (Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations) thought it was suspicious that it happened when she came and thought her Uncle or her might have something to do with it. There are some there who don't like her Uncle and want the job he is about to get.

Sky and her new alien friend Elvis decide to investigate and find out what might have happened to the Z's as this is her new home and she can't have anything happening to her or her Uncle.

This was a lot of fun with some really great illustrations! I really liked Sky, Elvis and eventually Zane. Her Uncle is different but then a lot of the humans that have lived in 51 for a long time are a bit odd and I guess if I was never allowed to go anywhere I would be a bit odd too!

It had a fun mystery and I think if your young readers are great with mysteries they can probably figure it out. It was just really fun seeing all the strange aliens in the illustrations.

I thought it was weird to call the aliens Break Throughs as if it's bad to say alien and that would be my only complaint. Overall it was a lot of fun!

This was a fun book to read. The children are in Area 51 with no way to return and there are aliens there, too.
Delacorte Press and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

Eventually the kids get together and work on solving the mystery. The cops aren't nice and want to arrest them but they push on.

The missing aliens get found and all is well at the end. I was surprised over who stole them...

Sky Patel-Baum has lived with her grandmother for most of her life. Grandma is ageing and decides she needs to moves into a retirement home. 12-year-old Sky, of South Asian descent, is sent to stay with her only other living relative, Uncle Anish. This takes her to the peculiar, highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Nevada, known as Area 51. Anish us second-in-command of Area 51, better known as a secret haven for “Break Throughs,” or extraterrestrials on Earth.

Since Area 51 is a place of intense security, a plethora of regulations, and no contact with the outside world, this is quite a change for Sky. And, Area 51 hasn’t seen a new resident in five years, but Sky quickly makes friends with Elvis, a shape-shifting alien who appears as a brown-skinned boy.

Upon arrival, Sky learns of the mysterious disappearance of several Zdstrammar aliens, and her uncle Is the prime suspect. Now ask and Elvia must figure out how to clear Uncle Anish.
Black and white illustrations add to the fun of this mystery adventure.
This is a unique story line but it did not keep this reader engaged since I prefer realistic fiction. I think many middle school humor and fantasy/sci-fi readers will find this one a fun read.

Thank you to the author, Random House Childrens Delacorte Publishing and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book. I think it's a great book for middle schoolers even in late elementary age. I'm not big into aliens and sci-fi but this was really cute. It was a little long than normal I think but if children really enjoy the story I think it'll be fine.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy- This book is a light-hearted middle grade novel that is appropriate for upper elementary school and lower middle school. The story was definitely interesting and unlike anything I was expecting when I originally started reading it- it had a nice mix of seriousness and whimsy, though I did think the names of the adults were a bit too on the nose - but I’m sure younger readers would think they’re entertaining. And it did help keep the numerous characters straight in my mind! It was a creative story that is likely to draw in reluctant readers, and I’d be happy to have it in my library when it’s accessible to the public. The illustrations were well done and added to the story - I particularly liked the pet cameos! Overall, the story was a nice mix of science fiction and mystery.

I'm an educator and always looking for books. This book is perfect for the average middle school student. The story line sucks you in from the beginning and keeps your hold. The characters are quirky and unique, making them memorable. Great book! Highly recommended!

I was so excited to see another Sci-fi Middle Grade and written by an author I had already read and reviewed from. I admit I was sceptical at first because the book I had read was YA and also The Area 51 Files was written during lockdown and I have a few books written during that period of time and they were nothing special. The Area 51 Files has changed my mind.

Our main character is Sky Patel-Baum who I adored she was funny and very clever and she meets Elvis who was just so loveable. Speaking about loveable I have to bring up the friendship between Spike the Hedgehog and Pickles the Dog it was too cute for school.

Not only is it a Sci-fi but also a Mystery and a very funny book too. The jokes made me chortle must be the kid in me..

I am so glad that this book is the first in the series and I can't wait to see what happens next. Thank you Julie for proving me wrong. For all these reasons The Area 51 Files gets 4 stars