Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Half-alien teens fight back in violent, overstuffed sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In HATCH, Seth, Anaya, and Petra are taken from Deadman's Island in Canada to an underground bunker somewhere in the United States. Other teens with one cryptogenic parent have already been detained. There seem to be three kinds: super-strong jumpers that grow fur and claws like Anaya, amazing swimmers that grow tails and scales like Petra, and supposed flyers who grow wings like Seth but can't fly yet. As soon as the trio arrives they tell the other teens what's been happening on the outside. Eggs are raining down and starting to hatch into small bugs that keep growing bigger. It's alarming and world-altering, but right now the teens have their own problems. The facility detaining them is intent on turning them into lab rats, and they want to start with Anaya. She's had dreams recently where she's talking to a higher life form on a ship. The being says one word: Help. Anaya's not sure if they need help or want to provide it, but she knows one thing: They'll never find out if they don't escape the bunker.
Is It Any Good?
This fast-paced read throws too much into one sequel -- from giant bugs to alien ships to half-alien teens with hidden powers to bunker experiments -- but it's an exciting ride. Sci-fi focused fans will dig the mysterious communications Anaya begins to have with an alien she names Terra, but be disappointed that we're left hanging at the end of Hatch. They will also enjoy the new powers the teens have, including telepathy. It's a smart move for veteran author Kenneth Oppel to lock the kids away for the first half of the book so we can focus on the changes their experiencing instead of the giant worms ripping up cities in the outside world. Every good superhero origin story gives heroes time to explore their new powers.
While the sci-fi elements are engaging, the personal dramas of the three main characters are less so. They all experience some major missteps. Petra stubbornly insists on trusting and confiding in a man who clearly only cares about the teens as lab rats. No reader will think that will end well. Seth also trusts the wrong person and suffers for it. As for Anaya, we don't know yet because she wants to trust the aliens and refuses to listen to anyone else. The trio comes together at the end of the story despite how different they've become. Let's hope this fraught friendship can sustain them through all the exciting and alien-invasion action to come in Book 3.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the main friendships in Hatch. How do they have vastly different opinions on what they should do but still remain friends? Would you be able to remain friends with those who do many things you don't agree with?
The characters worry about their humanity as they go through changes. What keeps them human? What makes them more alien? Are they perceived by others as more alien or more human? What other stories that you've read deal with this idea?
Will you read the final book in this trilogy? What do you think will happen to Seth, Anaya, and Petra? What will happen to the Earth?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : STEM , Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Animals ( Bugs , Ocean Creatures , Wild Animals ) , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Knopf Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : December 1, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 12
- Number of pages : 416
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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