Parents' Guide to Too Many Interesting Things Are Happening to Ethan Fairmont

Too Many Interesting Things Are Happening to Ethan Fairmont book cover: Black teen and four friends gather behind him

Common Sense Media Review

Michael Berry By Michael Berry , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 10+

An appealing alien, likable human teens power E.T. update.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 10+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

As ... ETHAN FAIRMONT begins, the boy inventor is worried about his new best friend, the alien known as Cheese, who's disappeared from Ferrous City. Ethan wants to know when he'll be back and how to protect him from "light thieves." Too bad that Ethan has competition in the form of Fatima, a female inventor who may be smarter than he is. Can the work together to protect heir city and find Cheese?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

Sometimes humor is hard to handle, but this sci-fi adventure has charm to spare. Nick Brooks' Too Many Interesting Things Are Happenening to Ethan Fairmont brings together all the characters from the first volume, adds a couple more, and ups the suspense. An homage to '80's science fiction movies, this middle volume to is likely to appeal to a wide range of middle-grade readers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Too Many Interesting Things Are Happening to Ethan Fairmont shows how a community can come together to face a mutual threat. Does gentrification affect your community?

  • Why are kids competitive with each other? What can be done to solve the problem?

  • Why do some people find conspiracy theories appealing?

  • How do Ethan and his friends demonstrate the character strengths of teamwork, courage, and communication? How do these strengths help them tackle the problems they face?

Book Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Too Many Interesting Things Are Happening to Ethan Fairmont book cover: Black teen and four friends gather behind him

What to Read Next

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate