“Tesla’s Attic” (YA Fiction)

You don’t need to be a scientist to appreciate the astonishing futuristic devices scientist Nikolo Tesla invented more than 100 years ago and that are now gathering cobwebs in a crumbling attic. In the book Tesla’s Attic, by Neal Shusterman, young Nick Slater, his younger brother Danny, and his father just moved from Tampa to Colorado Springs into Great-aunt Greta’s decaying Victorian house. Nick took one look at the “junk” in the attic and arranged a garage sale. The items for sale included an ancient toaster, vacuum cleaner, a spotlight, pull-and-say toy, curlers, and much more. Just as the sale began, a sudden rainstorm drenched everything. Nick took shelter in the garage and lit the old spotlight. Instead of the sale being a complete flop, buyers flocked in droves and bought everything. After the sale ended, a peculiar group of adults all dressed in pastel suits wanted to know who had bought the items. This group Nick later learns is the Accelerati, a devious society determined to gather up all the Tesla inventions for their own nefarious purposes. Nick just wants to get along in his new school. But instead of concentrating on school matters, Nick and his new friends become deeply involved in trying to prevent the Accelerati from collecting Tesla’s inventions. This is the first book in the Accelerati trilogy.

New York : Disney-Hyperion [2013]. Reviewed by Lillian Hecker, Children’s Services Librarian. For children ages 11 and up.