Trudi Trueit’s The Nebula Secret is the first Explorer Academy book, a puzzle-packed adventure for 8 year olds about a surfer boy starting at the most exciting school in the world.<\/p>\n
Cruz Coronado has one last evening of surfing in Hawaii before he flies off to Explorer Academy in Washington, D.C. He’s nearly thirteen. And he’s scared. What if he doesn’t make any friends? What if he can’t cope with the training?<\/p>\n
Then something grabs his ankle and drags him under. It isn’t a shark. It’s a diver in full scuba gear, and Cruz only gets free by knocking the air hose off his tank.<\/p>\n
Who would want to hurt a kid from a surf shop? Cruz doesn’t tell his dad (who’s not keen on the Academy as it is). But at the airport in Washington his new roommate spots a man in cowboy boots who seems to be trailing them.<\/p>\n
The school is FULL of brilliant ideas. Every dorm room is named after a natural wonder, and his has a live view of Mount Everest on the wall. A gold wristband opens doors by reading his heartbeat.<\/p>\n
His roommate Emmett has made glasses that change colour and shape with his mood. It took him fifty-seven goes! Who wouldn’t want a pair of those? Then there’s Sailor from New Zealand, who was put in the boys’ room by mistake and says “sweet as” about everything.<\/p>\n
Not everyone is friendly. Cruz’s aunt teaches at the Academy, and a couple of boys decide on the first night that he’s only there because of her. It’s that horrible feeling when everyone thinks you’ve had help (and part of you wonders too).<\/p>\n
Cruz is brilliant at puzzles, though. When the teacher doesn’t turn up to the first lesson, he’s the one who spots the clue hiding in plain sight. If your reader likes to solve things before the characters do, they’ll be in their element.<\/p>\n
Worth knowing before you hand it over. The diver scene is in the first chapter, and Cruz really does think he might die. His mum died in a lab accident when he was five. That’s backstory, but it’s still raw for him (he watches an old video of her on his last night at home). A sensitive reader might like you nearby for that bit. A child who loves a mystery with real danger will race through.<\/p>\n
The story carries on into the next book, so this is the place to start.<\/p>\n
If the gadgets are what grab them, The Drone Pursuit could be next. Tom and his best mate Noah fly a homemade spy drone round their science school, until the school’s drone hall monitor gives chase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trudi Trueit’s The Nebula Secret is the first Explorer Academy book, a puzzle-packed adventure for 8 year olds about a surfer boy starting at the most exciting school in the world. Cruz Coronado has one last evening of surfing in Hawaii before he flies off to Explorer Academy in Washington, D.C. He’s nearly thirteen. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14459,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":9004,"lr_next_read_anchor":"The Drone Pursuit","lr_seo_hook":"Coded postcards, mood-changing glasses and a diver who wants him gone.","lr_series_id":506,"lr_series_name":"Explorer Academy","lr_series_position":1,"lr_series_label":"","lr_author_order":"1000"},"book_tag":[1045],"age_group":[26],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[1000],"class_list":["post-14460","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-adventure-books","age_group-books-for-8-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-trudi-trueit"],"yoast_title":"Explorer Academy – The Nebula Secret by Trudi Trueit | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"Coded postcards, mood-changing glasses and a diver who wants him gone. For ages 8+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n