The Scout Brooks Story: The Freshman Invasion

The Scout Brooks Saga, Book 1

By: Scott Donnelly

Narrated by: Michael Smyth

Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Scout Brooks, a freshman at Kings Town High School. He's socially awkward, lazy, and immediately falls into the nerd crowd, buddying up with fellow outcasts, Chuck Taylor and Phil Easton. All is not looking good for ol' Scout. That is, until he joins the AstroNogs—an after-school club run by the oddball astronomy teacher, Professor Ed Nog.

After an explosive first meeting, Scout finds himself named the latest member of the EIA—Earth’s Intergalactic Ambassadors. The group is a secret branch of the government led by Nog, and they’ve been involved in a cosmic feud with a race of robotic aliens from the Crab Nebula area. After a couple of unfortunate “mishaps”, Scout and a small team are sent to a faraway planet called Bethani, the home base of the robotic aliens. What was planned as a rescue mission soon turns into a battle for their lives.

Note: This legacy edition includes "The Freshman Intruder", an original flash fiction story set in the Scout Brooks universe. It was originally published in the now out-of-print collection, The Scout Brooks Saga’s Hidden World.

©2020 Scott Donnelly (P)2022 Scott Donnelly

A Fun Story

An enjoyable read for kids and adults alike. Plenty of action with a little silliness thrown in.

Fantastic Sci-Fi Adventure

As is the case for most students entering high school for their first year, life can be complicated and intense. More so if they are labeled “nerd.” Scout, Chuck, and Phil all fall into that category and thrive in it. The fun begins when Scout searches to find something cool to do and joins the AstroNogs, an afterschool group. What Scout didn’t know was life was just going to become ten times more complicated and intense. Before Scout can go off on his space adventure, he has some revenge to extract on their bully which just complicates everything more.

Scott Donnelly, the author, delivers a fascinating story that has pieces within that resonate with all of us – like most of our high school life! Donnelly creates characters and develops them into characters one cannot help but enjoy. The listener recognizes the bully, the bigger brother who believes himself a musician, and the shy quiet girl that captures hearts. While some of the antics of the bully are a bit more dramatic, it is the emotions the “nerd” experiences that resonate with me. Donnelly communicates those feelings and emotions perfectly. The storyline is smooth and riveting. The additional characters are unique and vivid.

The narrator, Michael Smyth gives an excellent performance that captures the listener and keeps them invested in the story and characters. His unique voices for each character fit their personality well and are flawlessly delivered. His cadence is steady and smooth. Smyth is a talented performer who further enhances the story with his flawless and polished performance.

This is one book that brings back memories of high school experiences with the labeling of “groups,” the bullies, and those rare educational role models that become a mentor. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to fans of sci-fi, young adult, and anyone looking for a fun book.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.