Which, if you ask him, is not an insult.
His momโs new jobย is in Mercury, Nevada, on a secretive military base close to Area 51. Whatโs more, his childhood friend, Eesha Webb, and her family are about to move there too.
Spoiler alert: Ike and Eesha arenโt really best buds, even though their parents think so. They used to play together when they were little kids, but now she's more like his nemesis.ย
Still, itโs clear to both of them that something mysterious is happening on the baseโbut what could it be?
Eesha is convinced it has to do with aliens, but Ike isnโt so sure.
What they donโt know is that the stakes are actually much higher than they could have imaginedโand Ikeโs mom might be in more danger than she has ever faced. Will Ike and Eesha be able to get over their differences and work together to unravel the secrets of Project Mercury?
Ronald L. Smith is the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Awardโwinning author of several novels for young readers, including Hoodoo, The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away, Gloom Town, Project Mercury, and the Black Panther: The Young Prince series. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. To learn more, visit strangeblackflowers.com.