Odo Whitley and his three friends, Sephie, Silas, and Emmy, are drawn into an adventure that will take them back to the era of the dinosaurs, sending them across time and space to help newfound friends and save the future of Earth. It all starts with a weird dream that Odo shares with Sephie, which might not even be a dream. It doesn’t make any sense until he meets his elderly neighbor’s unwelcome houseguest, a prince from prehistoric Earth who accidentally traveled forward in time. Odo and his friends are told they must help the prince get home or Earth will be destroyed by an asteroid. But they quickly learn that nothing is as it seems where the prince is concerned and that it will take all their powers and ingenuity combined to survive the past and right some terrible wrongs.

The Translucent Boy and the Man Who Walked to the Moon is the fourth installment in Tom Hoffman’s exciting series. Like the first three, this book is a fun blend of science and science fiction. Odo and his friends are delightful and original characters full of quirky charm and warmth. Hoffman deals compassionately with the subject of dementia in this book, skillfully explaining the concept in a realistic, yet sensitive way that young readers will understand. The adventure is fun and engaging with plenty of unexpected twists and turns and Hoffman’s descriptions are wonderfully imaginative and colorful. This new addition to the Translucent Boy series will leave readers eager to see what’s next for Odo and his friends.

A fascinating young adult fantasy epic, The Translucent Boy and the Man Who Walked to the Moon by Tom Hoffman is already the fourth installment in a series. The main protagonists of this story are the members of the Odd Squad, so-called because all four have supernatural powers. They are Odo, a translucent boy who can walk through doors and walls, Sephie who can see people’s brainwaves and control their thoughts, Emmy who can fly, and Silas who can see ghosts and sometimes even talk to them. The story unravels as Odo and his best friend Sephie share a dream of being on vacation on a white sandy beach together. When Odo enters a dream door, he suddenly finds himself in a dangerous world populated by lizards and volcanoes. Sephie, on the other hand, is intrigued by an old handwritten journal about Antarctica that she’s reading in the dream. The story takes a very interesting turn when Harold, the old man who claims he’s walking to the moon, left a box for Odo that contains an expensive moon rock. He also constantly complains that there’s a dinosaur in his kitchen that’s always eating his food, and people think this is just due to dementia. The Odd Squad decides to visit and check on him. What follows is an amazing adventure as they meet Prince Nokk, the lizard that has been stealing Harold’s food. They must bring him back to Pangaea so he can return to Varania through a portal in Emperia to save the world they live in.

The exposition at the beginning of Tom Hoffman’s The Translucent Boy and the Man Who Walked to the Moon effectively establishes the setting and the characters of this fantasy novel and immediately promises a truly amazing read. As the events unfold, the protagonists’ challenges are gradually revealed, and at the same time, the suspense intensifies. After the first few pages, I would say it’s very easy to get hooked on this narrative. There is seemingly no end to Tom Hoffman’s fertile imagination as he chronicles the adventures of the Odd Squad as they accept the challenge to bring Prince Nokk home to save the world from catastrophe. The author’s descriptive style is vivid and his premise is based on research, and the result is a plausible fantasy epic.

Written for young adults, this is a coming-of-age story of a superhero growing up in another world, but surprisingly, it’s easy to relate to the characters. This is probably because it’s not far-fetched to imagine the world that the author has created here. Although I didn’t have the pleasure of reading the first three installments in this series, I found the book easy and enjoyable to read. So fasten your seatbelts as you read on and experience a series of amazing adventures together with the Odd Squad. This can be enjoyed by the whole family. I highly recommend this novel to readers of all ages!

The Translucent Boy and the Man Who Walked to the Moon is the fourth book of The Translucent Boy Series by Tom Hoffman. After sharing a dream vacation with his best friend, Sephie Crumb, Translucent Boy Odo Whitley finds himself transported to a prehistoric world of simmering volcanoes, monstrous lizards, and a mysterious city. When he returns back home, Odo discusses the event with his friends and fellow Odd Squad members. A couple of unexpected encounters with a mobile windshield repair man and an old dementia-ridden former professor of Yale reveal to the Odd Squad the looming danger of a catastrophe of epic proportions on Earth. To prevent it from happening, they must now travel with Prince Nokk of Varania for a face-off with a tyrannical regime and battle giant lizards and spiders.

If you love adventure stories like Jumanji, you will have a blast reading The Translucent Boy and the Man Who Walked to the Moon. Fast-paced and action-packed, the narrative is a wild ride where you find yourself constantly wondering what's going to happen next. You can never quite predict the twists and turns of the plot. Author Tom Hoffman crafts a fantastical world full of monsters and aliens that is easy to get lost in. The characters are relatable and well-developed. I particularly enjoyed the friendship between the members of the Odd Squad, as they reminded me of the kids from the hit TV show Stranger Things. Recommended to kids and young adults alike.

Tom Hoffman's most recent book, The Translucent Boy and the Man Who Walked to the Moon, succeeds in piquing our curiosity and keeping us intrigued. It relates the tale of Odo and his peculiar but endearing gang of friends, the Odd Squad, who go on an exciting adventure through Pangea and the futuristic continent of Varania on this particular occasion. Their objective is equally important--preventing the destruction of Earth--and they will need assistance from unexpected figures like a foreign prince, ghosts, and helpful robots. These extraordinary teenagers will once more need to rely on their exceptional skills to handle the challenging circumstances this trip will provide.

With its rapid pacing and captivating plot, The Translucent Boy and the Man Who Walked to the Moon provides an amazing reading experience. Overall, if you enjoy adventure fantasy books, this one is for you since its original plot will guarantee hours of enjoyable reading. As the story takes place in multiple “worlds”, I found the varied descriptions of each one enriching. Aside from that, the adorable Odd Squad members were what I liked best about it. Tom Hoffman is able to give each of them their own personality and set of skills while still making them all lovely and easy to identify with. I was especially pleased with how much information you can learn from this book, including fascinating dinosaur facts and information about Earth's history before the continents grew apart. I liked the concept of a group of teens having to navigate various realms and face challenges while cooperating and relying on one another.