Alien Superstar is an engaging upper-elementary through middle school book series. The first book in the series was fresh, exciting, funny and quite fabulous. Book #2 in the series, Lights, Camera, Danger! had its moments and opened up a larger threat to the alien who crash-landed on a Hollywood backlot. Hollywood Vs. The Galaxy is the final book in the series and while it doesn’t land with a complete thud, it’s a shadow of how clever and original the first book was.
Perhaps it’s because we loved the first one so much, that we found #3 in the Alien Superstar so disappointing. With that in mind, upper-elementary students will still find Hollywood Vs. The Galaxy a satisfying end to the trilogy, however, the magic won’t carry on to middle school readers who will most likely tire of the book quickly. They’ll see the plot twists with ease and will probably share the sense that the book was created out of a sense of obligation, rather than actually satisfying the story’s end.
Hollywood Vs. The Galaxy starts off with Buddy Burger narrating a prologue that reminds us of Citizen Cruel, the big bad from his homeworld. In the second book Citizen Cruel came to Earth in an effort to take Buddy back home. Alas, these efforts failed and he winds up in a top-secret, Area 51 style prison to which he escapes from and continues his quest, albeit with more vengeance this time, to get Buddy.
When Buddy Burger enters the story in real-time, he’s on the set of his successful television show. His best friend Cassidy, who has grander acting aspirations, is also there with him. The show is rehearsing for the season finale coming up and there’s a lot of pressure on the cast. This includes out-of-check egos from certain cast members, which are only exacerbated after some members meet the mysterious Howard Hitchcock, a cousin of the legendary director.
Unfortunately for some of the characters, they start behaving like spoiled brats shortly after meeting with him. They become rude, unpleasant to be around and that behavior might just rub off on people’s impression of the book.
As Howard Hitchcock’s true identity is revealed, a person whose identity you’ve probably already surmised who it is, things in the book go even more sideways. It turns out that Citizen Cruel and Buddy’s grandmother were actually friends at one point. Cruel’s obsession with being an overlord on his planet was all the result of something, something, something that by this point in the book most readers will simply be trying to get to the end out of a sense of obligation, rather than enjoyment.
If I phoned in that last sentence it’s because I was channeling chapter 19 in the book that is literally just one sentence.
To the publishers and authors of the world, you do not need to have a trilogy of a book or have it be part of a series. I know that oftentimes things might be pitched that way, but if the quality of the story stumbles badly after the excellent first entry then one should accept the accolades and move on to the next project.
Alien Superstar, Hollywood Vs. The Galaxy won’t win over any new fans. Those readers who read the second or first book in the series might be curious to see how it all ends. Unfortunately for those middle school readers, it’ll be predictable. The elementary school readers will enjoy it but feel a slightly empty pit in their stomach that tells them that it could’ve been so much better.
Alien Superstar book #3, Hollywood Vs. The Galaxy is by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver and available on Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams Books.
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