Attack of the Killer Komodos

Maggie and Nate Mysteries #2

by Summer Rachel Short

Having rescued her town from zombifying mutant mushrooms, eleven-year-old Magnolia Stone is ready for her next adventure! Maggie and her best friend, Nate, head to Yellowstone National Park to visit Maggie’s park ranger dad. But when the kids bump into a rogue Komodo dragon, a dangerous predator that shouldn’t even be in the park, and a major earthquake separates them from Maggie’s dad, Maggie and Nate must set off alone to find him. On the way, they battle more earthquakes, landslides, wolves, and other unusual creatures. While Maggie comes up with scientific solutions to their troubles, Nate focuses on conspiracy theories and getting stellar footage for his YouTube channel. But only by combining their skills, will they have any hope of saving each other or the park.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Adventure, Thriller, Childrens

229 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2021

About the author

Summer lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and a Maine coon cat named Emme. Before spinning tales for young readers, she once worked as a science reporter for her university’s newspaper, where she wrote on topics like nanotech tweezers, poultry farm pollution, and the nighttime habits of spiders and snakes.

She enjoys exploring new places with the family, playing tennis, and dreaming up ideas for her next book.

Her debut novel, THE MUTANT MUSHROOM TAKEOVER released from Simon & Schuster in 2020. A sequel, ATTACK OF THE KILLER KOMODOS, followed on Sept. 14, 2021.

Summer's next middle grade novel, THE LEGEND OF GREYHALLOW, releases July 18, 2023 from Simon & Schuster.

Reviews

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an epic adventure from the very start!-LITERALLY!! The action, adventure, & mystery start right in chapter 1! So from the very beginning of the book you are grabbed & not let go until the end. So engrossing & fast-paced. Wont say much since this is the sequel, but we are at a whole new location, & have a whole new “mutant” threat to deal with. The Conspiracy Squad is put to the test again! Lol I still love Mags & Nate so much. Their dynamic is so fantastic. Nate is still hilarious & has my heart. I learned so many things from this 1 as well! It always amazes me what is based off true things. I’m like, “ok, no way that creepiness is real, has to be fiction/fantasy”..proceeds to read authors note in back..Well, how about that....real, real, real, & real. Hmmm. Creeped out, & utterly fascinated at the same time! From the creatures, other scientific facts, & the geological wonder of a location-I learned so much! These would be great to get kids into science, or learning something period-& them having no idea! Perfect! Lol There are still of course some fantasy elements in here, & I loved them too-I was HIGHLY relieved to see that the “creature” that grew wings was not real-since the regular ole one w/o the wings is 1 of my biggest fears! Phew! This also still has amazing friendship, family, bravery, perseverance, & doing the right thing. Also, how when you & your friends/family come together as a team you can accomplish almost anything. Such an atmospheric read too! This location w/all of its amazing things, & the creatures, were all so vividly described. Highly recommend! This comes out in September! I’ll be reminding y’all closer to then too! Lol Stunning cover by DKNG Studios as well!💜

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer Short’s Maggie & Nate mysteries may really be more sci-fi/action adventure than true mysteries, but whatever genre they are, middle grade readers will love them. This sequel is set in one of the most beautiful places in the continental US, Yellowstone Nat’l Park, but it is far from the glorious waterfalls, wildlife and thermal features of MY Yellowstone. Instead, Maggie & Nate are separated from Dad, Grandma, and brother Ezra by a swarm of significant earthquakes and while floundering around amid the debris, discover that the park is being overrun with mutant Komodo dragons, jackalopes, massive mosquitoes and a number of other creatures who have had their DNA manipulated and combined into all sorts of bizarre and super creepy creatures. The book is non-stop disaster and readers will be frantically turning pages to see what new bio-engineered monstrosity will attack next and to find out who is creating the monsters. Amazingly, many of the unbelievable aspects of Attack of the Killer Komodos are based in real science and in the end notes, Short delineates the fact from the fiction. Readers in grades 5-7 are sure to enjoy both The Mutant Mushroom Takeover (book 1) and its follow up. This installment is free of profanity and sexual content, but there are a great deal of animal on animal as well as animal on human attacks. These attacks are not terribly gore-filled, however. Thanks for sharing an arc with the #BookAllies group, Ms. Short.

[Becky B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mags, Nate, Ezra, and Gramma are visiting Maggie's and Ezra's Dad in Yellowstone for a week. Maggie has been looking forward to the hiking and bonding time with her Dad, but he seems preoccupied with something and she overhears him and Gramma talking about something that could get him in trouble. She's worried he's tangled up in something he shouldn't be, threatening yet another job, and Nate's obsession with a conspiracy theory he heard about park rangers isn't helping her worries. When Mags and Nate come across an actual Komodo dragon while out filming B roll for this Youtube channel, they scramble to tell her dad. But before they can he takes off to check something out real quick. Her Gramma takes off for the store to get makings for dinner, and then an earthquake hits. As the three kids work to get to safety, they start stumbling across other strange creatures that should not be in Yellowstone. What is going on? And can they make it out of the park alive with earthquakes and dangerous creatures on the loose?

Summer Rachel Short has written a very strong sequel to Attack of the Mutant Mushrooms. Once again she mixes in real science stuff with plausible slightly scifi elements to create a fast-paced scifi thriller with some borderline horror moments. I like the way this highlights Yellowstone's unique aspects in a way that is both authentic (it truly does stink) but is still enticing (the brilliantly colored pools and impressive geysers are amazing to behold). The mystery of how the Komodo dragon got there and what is going on builds nicely. The survival elements are done realistically. She doesn't take pity on the kids, and they face some very real dangers that also helps up the tension. I liked the character development of Ezra in this one, and how this adventure really helped him and Maggie bond more. The nerd in me loved the scientific basis of this plot. And all that combined means I devoured this quite quickly in less than a day. I have a student who has been begging me for this book, so he'll be thrilled to finally get his hands on it too. I hope there are more Maggie and Nate mysteries. I love how these use scientifically based elements to write truly thrilling mysteries with just the right touch of horror (not going to keep you up at night, but definitely will keep the pages turning). Highly recommended.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There are some serious animal bites & stings, bumps and scratches running through the woods or from falling debris in the earthquake, a strained leg and a sprained ankle, a fall, and a person swallowed by a creature but they are spit out again... in fact, none of the injuries is fatal.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Rachel Short’s ATTACK OF THE KILLER KOMODOS reunites eleven-year-old, dynamic duo aspiring-scientist Maggie and YouTuber/cryptid-enthusiast Nate in another amazing speculative fiction adventure.

Visiting Maggie’s disgraced scientist dad at his new post in Yellowstone, Maggie and Nate discover a Komodo dragon with a tracker.


When an earthquake separates Maggie, Nate, and brain-injured Ezra from the adults (and eventually lose Ezra) the kids stumble across an abandoned cabin turned mad scientist lab of reptile-insect chimeras.

Rounded out with a supporting cast of a rogue pseudo-science YouTuber with a DNA gun, a preteen food truck proprietress, a friendly snake-bird chimera, and a flatulent man-eating tardigrade with a taste for generic Cheetos, this mystery keeps the reader turning pages.

Thank you to #BookAllies and Simon and Schuster for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Loved

Neurodiversity representation: Maggie’s thirteen-year-old brother Ezra, suffered a brain injury in the first book as a result of being infected with a zombie fungus and isn’t quite the same. Kudos and THANK YOU to Summer for showing Ezra’s value and redemption in adjusting to his new normal.
Deals sensitively and realistically with adult problems impacting children: While mutant chimera monsters may not be something all children can empathize with, the ripple effects of Maggie’s dad’s career problems (hinted to be a setup vs his fault) is very relatable.
Backmatter explains (again, very complex scientific stuff in a very kid-accessible manner) the science used in the speculative elements of the story. More importantly, former science journalist Short discusses the good that the technology is doing to offset the mad-scientist antics of the story.
As a nerdy parent, I can’t stress how much I love that Short tied the science-fiction to reality, and wish more speculative MG authors followed suit.
Caveat

Content warning: Earthquake. However, the description of the quake and aftershocks was very brief and the story’s focus is on reuniting Maggie’s family and solving the mystery of who created the chimeras.

Verdict

This book is Jules Verne x Frankenstein but cooler. Give it to a kid who will love those writers some day… or an adult who’s bummed Verne and Shelley are done writing books.


ATTACK OF THE KILLER KOMODOS is too funny to be scary (See: Farting, man-eating tardigrade) but it’s firmly in the “Diet Coke of Spooky MG” camp.

ATTACK OF THE KILLER KOMODOS is out now from Simon & Schuster Young Readers.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in this series bore the coveted skull "Mystery" sticker on the spine, but this one's got the Hydrogen atom for "Science Fiction" and I have to agree, the story's just as fantastic as it is mysterious, so I'm not sure which is correct this time around.

Maggie and Nate's dad gets a job at Yellowstone, after the mutant mushroom fungus ruined his chances of ever finding employment in their hometown. Almost as soon as the kids arrive, they encounter an enormous killer komodo in a stream. Huh. Komodos don't live in Yellowstone, and the pools are far too full of sulfuric acid for the komodos to survive.

Maggie worries her dad might be involved in setting the creature loose in the park (she finds a tracker bracelet in his pack), as it's just the sort of hare-brained scheme he'd get involved in, and Nate's just excited to get video for his conspiracy vlog.

While you're screaming at the kids to TELL THEIR DAD, they get separated from him and their grandmother by a quake. Soon they're trekking across the wilderness and have got more strange creatures to deal with than they anticipated, including kinda cute but deadly jackalopes.

A fellow conspiracy vlogger and his crew meet them, camera rolling, and offer to use Nate's video on his show, but Maggie smells a real stinker.

I won't spoil the plot twist, or how it ends, but know it involves CRISPR technology and genetic manipulation. Never fear -- Maggie and Nate live to explore the next outlandish animal mystery! We can't wait to read the next in this series.

Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?

Visit my blog, The Fabric of Words, for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/

[Permanently_Booked · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't care your age, nor your genre preference. These books are phenomenal! This is what I'd want middle grade to be if I had kids. This is also what my adult self is absolutely loving everything about. If you like sleuthy mysteries like Stranger Things, Scooby- Doo, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, well Maggie & Nate need to make your acquaintance.

Last year I met Maggie & Nate when an eerie strain of mutant mushrooms started taking over their home town. This year Short brings the dynamic duo to Yellowstone National Park to visit Maggie's Dad on the job. From the start the action takes hold and catapults you through the story at the edge of your seat. There's an amazing mixture of scientific research and myths surrounding Yellowstone, the animals and hydrothermal splendor. I had no clue something like CRISPR technology existed. Even the Author's Note is one of my favorite things to read with the facts of the story and how everything ties into her plot creation.

Excellent character depth, humor, action, real scientific facts and realistic family connections. Themes of family strength, acceptance of someone who is different and the ecological affects of introducing invasive species to a new environment. Even though I recommend reading the entire series, this could totally be read as a standalone too.

Parents, non-parents and adults that refuse to accept growing up, this series is totally for you and your minions! Thank you to the author for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Christopher Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the author’s first book (The Mutant Mushroom Takeover), Attack of the Killer Komodos is a middle grade mystery with a STEM focus and horror elements. The main character, Maggie, believes in the scientific method, while her best friend Nate believes in all forms of cryptid and conspiracy theory as he produces videos for his You Tube channel.


While visiting Maggie’s father at Yellowstone National Park, she and Nate discover an out of place Komodo dragon on the loose in the park. Undertaking their own investigation, they soon discover more oddities in the park, the result of unauthorized genetic engineering. Maggie, her brother Ezra, and Nate travel through the park during a series of earthquakes in search of her father as they try to avoid creatures both natural and unnatural to solve the mystery and exit the park alive.

I gave Attack of the Killer Komodos four stars on Goodreads. While I did enjoy it and recommend it to young readers and adults who love kid-lit, some of the characters suffered what seemed to be quite serious injuries that they unrealistically recovered from with little to no problem.

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun book!!! I loved The Mutant Mushroom Takeover and it was great to see Maggie and Nate's next adventure. Once again there were a ton of engaging STEM elements and plenty of action. It was a fast-paced, quick read with so many quirky animals, but my favorite part was the warm friendship that Maggie and Nate share and the family bonds that we got to see between Maggie and her older brother who was dealing with the aftermath of his troubles in book one, and seeing Maggie get to spend some time with her dad, too. The voice in this novel is spot on for middle grade, and while I enjoyed the adventure as an adult, I can't wait for my eleven-year-old to read it because it feels perfectly accessible and engaging for readers her age. Thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the free eARC to review.

[Sam Subity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been anxiously awaiting Attack of the Killer Komodos since the first book in the series The Mutant Mushroom Takeover was one of my favorite reads of last year. And I was not disappointed! The author takes the scope and stakes up a notch by moving the setting to Yellowstone National Park where there have been sightings of strange, oversized hybrids like komodos with scorpion tails and jackelopes with fangs and razor sharp teeth. It's up to Maggie and Nate (I love this pair), who are in many ways total opposites but still are the best team when working together, to figure out what's going on before these new breeds take over Yellowstone. Packed with adventure, humor, and lots of great science, kids will love this new adventure in the series!

[Miriam Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrors abound as Maggie and Nate, visiting Maggie's father at Yellowstone National Park, encounter a Komodo dragon. It's definitely not native to the area, nor are the other odd beasties they are attacked by. To top it off, there's an earthquake that disrupts the river beds, gives 'birth' to steaming geysers, and they are lost in the park.

It's an adventure a minute as Nate observes nature and Maggie tries to understand the science.

Perfect for tweens and teens who love adventure, nature, and creepy-crawly creatures.

Thanks to the BookLoft of German Village (Columbus, OH) http://www.bookloft.com for an ARC to read and review.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am behind on posting on Goodreads!

Being lost in Yellowstone with Komodo dragons on the loose would be bad enough, but add in earthquakes, spewing thermal pools, and mutant creatures and, well, Maggie and the others have a terrifying adventure! I always love something about stories involving surviving in the wild. Seeing the characters' true grit and determination come out inspires me to be braver, even if it's during a fictional scenario.

The real science mixed in with the fiction, like was done in The Mutant Mushroom Takeover, gives this story another layer of intrigue! You'll want to google moss piglets!!

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son's Review: I liked the chaos of the book. The writing was not good. I only liked the chaos.

My Review: If it was up to me, it'd be a 3 star book. It's not bad, but it wasn't particularly good either. We both liked the previous book in this duology? much more than this one.

(My son gets to choose to the star rating, after I remind him of how I use the stars.)

[beccasbookscapes]

Komodo Dragons in Yellowstone National Park and earthquakes so big that Maggie loses her father in the park. As Maggie and Nate head deeper into the park to save her dad it becomes clear they are in for a wild ride. I loved the new science theme of mutation. It was an interesting take.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of fun. I don't enjoy first person present tense narration, but most kids won't be put off by that.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic book by Summer Rachel Short! Engaging characters, a compelling story, and lots of great science!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book stressed me out! Which means that the author really knows how to keep you invested in the characters and the plot!

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fun science-fiction mystery set in Yellowstone Park, and I expect my students will too! I’ll definitely be adding this series to my library!
The characters are appealing, the creatures are exciting, and kids will love the twists and turns - and the Jurassic Park- like adventure!

Thanks to the author for an ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great adventure science fiction book!!! All of these creepy creatures turning up at Yellowstone National Park had me so creeped out but also kept me turning the pages so I could meet more creatures and find out how it would all end! This book will be a favorite in the classroom.