One of our recommended book is What Fell from the Sky by Adrianna Cuevas

WHAT FELL FROM THE SKY


From Pura Belpré Honoree and Edgar Award Winner Adrianna Cuevas comes an out-of-this-world middle grade adventure, based on true historical events, perfect for fans of The Goonies and Stranger Things.

All Pineda Matlage wants is to get through the school year and maybe pull an epic prank or two with his friends Junior, Ernesto, and Patsy. But class is disrupted when a slew of American soldiers descends upon their rural Texan town of Soledad. They’ll be carrying out a training exercise and taking over everything, from Pineda’s school to the local government.

But Pineda knows why they’re really here.

more …

From Pura Belpré Honoree and Edgar Award Winner Adrianna Cuevas comes an out-of-this-world middle grade adventure, based on true historical events, perfect for fans of The Goonies and Stranger Things.

All Pineda Matlage wants is to get through the school year and maybe pull an epic prank or two with his friends Junior, Ernesto, and Patsy. But class is disrupted when a slew of American soldiers descends upon their rural Texan town of Soledad. They’ll be carrying out a training exercise and taking over everything, from Pineda’s school to the local government.

But Pineda knows why they’re really here. For days he’s hidden the strange creature who fell from the sky in his parents’ barn. He promised her he’d find her family and help them return home. But with soldiers now on every street corner and armed checkpoints across every road, reuniting his new friend with her missing parents seems an impossible task. Especially when they realize that the army’s presence is really a coverup for capturing his alien friends—being observed in a laboratory by the US government for reasons of their own.

Enlisting the help of his friends, a Black soldier adjusting to a newly integrated army, and townspeople tired of the military’s destructive presence, Pineda and all of Soledad will embark on an adventure none of them could have ever expected.

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  • Square Fish
  • Paperback
  • February 2026
  • 304 Pages
  • 9781250854346

Buy the Book

$9.99

Bookshop.org

About Adrianna Cuevas

Adrianna Cuevas is a middle school ESOL teacher who currently resides outside of Austin, Texas with her husband and son. When not cheering for the Florida Panthers hockey team, listening to audiobooks at 2.3x speed, and crocheting blankets too warm for Texas heat, she is writing her next middle grade novel.

Praise

Historical realism blends with thrilling sci-fi to deliver a story that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.” —School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

Via alternating first-person POVs…Cuevas (The No-Brainer’s Guide to Decomposition) clearly juxtaposes real-life happenings with the protagonist’s science fiction adventures.” —Publishers Weekly

Tackling serious topics, this moving novel shows how lack of respect for differences can end in disaster, and that viewing them with an open heart and mine can make us all stronger.” —The New York Times

A story of friendship, identity, and courage showing that even one voice can spark resistance.” —Kirkus

[…] readers looking for a less creepy, far funnier version of Stranger Things will find it with Pineda and Luisa.” —BCCB