Charlie and the Whiz Kids must separate fact from otherworldly fiction as they set out to find their missing classmate in this action-packed fourth novel of the Charlie Numbers Adventures series.

As his school’s resident numbers guy, Charlie Lewis has always thought that if something can’t be proven with a math equation, it might as well be myth—which is exactly how he feels about UFOs.

Charlie just can’t believe in the existence of aliens without verifiable proof. Not even Janice, who’s the smartest kid Charlie knows, can convince him. But when Charlie’s classmate Anthem mysteriously disappears after bringing a supposed space rock to show-and-tell, it’s up the Whiz Kids to uncover the truth. As Charlie and the gang trace Anthem’s steps to his eerily empty house, it soon becomes clear that perhaps Anthem and his father are involved in something much bigger than a lost rock.

From meeting with UFO enthusiasts, sneaking into hidden rooms, and being following by shadowy and dangerous agents, Charlie is finding it more and more difficult to stick to his convictions—because what if aliens do exist?

Ben Mezrich graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. He has sold over ten million copies of his twenty-four published books, including the New York Times Bestsellers The Accidental Billionaires, which was adapted into the Academy Award–winning film The Social Network, and Bringing Down the House, which was the basis for the hit movie 21. His current bestseller The Antisocial Network is being adapted into the feature film Dumb Money. Ben has written and produced for the hit TV show Billions on Showtime, and he travels the world speaking to audiences of all ages about writing books and the adventures he has experienced from each of his stories. He lives in Boston with his wife, two kids, and two pugs. 

When Tonya Mezrich was little, she preferred art to reading. But then she learned that reading could be just as cool, and her love for books led her down a winding path to becoming a writer. She attended Tufts University, where she studied French literature, art history, and eventually dentistry. She later developed clothing and jewelry lines, launched and cohosted the TV show StyleBoston, and created and hosted Boston’s Red Carpet on NESN as a follow-up to her role as resident fashion expert at NBC Boston. Tonya is now the lifestyle editor of Boston magazine. She and her husband, Ben, also penned Charlie Numbers and the Man in the Moon, which was chosen as the required summer reading for all sixth graders in Boston Public Schools. The Charlie Numbers Adventures book series is slated to be developed into a movie series with Ellen Pompeo of Grey’s Anatomy. Tonya and Ben live in Boston with their two kids and pugs, Bagel and Cream Cheese.