This first book in the Yin Yangs Odyssey series is a kaleidoscope of emotion and outlandish adventure. Eleven-year-old Freddie isn’t “exactly Mr Popular at the secondary school he attended,” which is no surprise given that his dad is “not only a science teacher but also the new deputy headmaster”. But it’s not long before feeling like an outsider is the least of his problems… When his dad doesn’t return from a trip to Egypt, Freddie is sent deeper into limbo. While left in the care of his tyrannical Nanny Maureen (a woman who reminds him “of that grandmother in George’s Marvellous Medicine), a strange mullet-haired alien being materialises in his room: “It could have easily been mistaken as human, but it wasn’t. The skin was a cold ice blue. Its eyes were twice as big as any man’s and radiated a piercing red.” The alien comes in peace, though and transports Freddie to planet Modeerf where he makes new friends and embarks on a voyage of discovery that might just lead him to work out where his dad has gone. With plenty of high-stakes hijinks and peppered with humour, this is a pacey blend of alien adventure and real-life emotion.
Freddie Jones is lonely, friendless and misunderstood. His father has gone missing and his wicked grandmother is now in charge. Only eleven years old, yet feeling like he wants to give up on life, Freddie opens his heart to the universe… and the universe hears him. To his amazement, Freddie is carried off to a strange world where he forges new friendships. However, even his newfound friends can’t replace his dear father; he longs to see him again. But perhaps his friends can give him some clues about his father’s sudden disappearance… Armed with some terrifying and unbelievable information, will Freddie dare to go on the adventure of a lifetime… and will he survive it?