In this exciting sequel to The Nerdy Dozen , Neil Andertol and his gang of dorky gamers are once again called on to fly a top-secret mission—one that is literally out of this world. This time, rescuing mankind means heading into outer space. A top-secret spacecraft has been stolen, and NASA needs the best pilots in the universe to get it back—the Nerdy Dozen. It's a race against time to stop an earth-shattering disaster. Can the twelve geeks save the day again—or will it be game over? Gr 5–8—A top-secret spacecraft, the Newt, has been stolen. With the help of the nerdy dozen, Neil "Astronaut" Andertol, are recruited from NASA to bring it safely back home to planet Earth. Before using their video gaming skills to smoothly navigate the Fossill, a spacecraft, they must pass a few basic training obstacles, including boarding the Vomit Comet. Andertol is chosen to lead the NASA nerdy dozen crew, along with a chimpanzee in a jumpsuit named Boris. While flying into space with little training in a spaceship full of space bananas, Andertol and his crew face several stumbling blocks, such as running away from a monstrous Polar Bear on a Yeti Bobsled inflatable raft and meeting a scientist's kid trapped in a space-bubble-community. Time speeds up as they learn Q-94, the world's most dangerous asteroid, is headed toward Earth. Neil is a born space explorer, and astronomy fans will surely enjoy the story. The short time span of the novel does stretch plausibility. However, there is a great assortment of characters with varying degrees of weirdness, gaming abilities, astronomical jargon, silliness, and, most importantly, a clear mission. The characters are quite interesting and well developed. Middle school students who enjoyed Michael Buckley's "NERDS" series (Amulet) and Dan Gutman's "Genius Files" (Harper) will most likely get a kick out of these books. Reluctant readers who are into online gaming and astronomy will find this an easy action/adventure read.—Krista Welz, North Bergen High School, NJ Video game–like action sequences give the fast-moving plot unexpected (and often funny) twists. Neil is a wry, relatable narrator whose gaming obsession will resonate with like-minded readers. The premise of Miller’s debut novel is over-the-top, and that’s the point―it’s an entertaining dreams-do-come-true sort of novel for kids who, like Neil, find empowerment easier online than in real life. - Publishers Weekly on The Nerdy Dozen #1 Out of this world! Neil Andertol never thought playing video games would make him a real-life hero. But then his favorite game, Chameleon, turned out to be the training simulator for an actual fighter jet, and Neil and the eleven other high scorers of the game were recruited to fly a top-secret rescue mission for the United States Air Force. Now it's been four months since Neil and his friends saved the planet, and the thirteen-year-old supernerd is back to playing video games . . . except that after piloting the real thing, he finds that even Chameleon has lost its spark. So when NASA begs for Neil's help, he says yes in a nanosecond. This time, rescuing humankind means heading into outer space. A supersecret spacecraft has been stolen, and NASA needs the best pilots in the universe to get it back—the Nerdy Dozen. It's a race against time to stop an earth-shattering disaster. Can the twelve geeks save the day again—or will it be game over? Jeff Miller is a tall drink of water from Kent, Ohio. He is a big fan of snow, camping, taking steps two at a time, and LeBron James—but he likes writing books best. He lives and performs in Chicago, where he tells funny stories about working at summer camps and drinking far too much lake water as a child.