Lisa Yee takes us back to Rancho Rosetta Middle School in Warp Speed (Scholastic 2011).  Marley Sandelski may be my favorite student at Rancho Rosetta.  (And I loved Millicent Min, Girl Genius and So Totally Emily Ebers.  I’ve missed Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time, but it’s on my TBR).   Why is Marley my favorite?

• Well, to start with he lives over the old Rialto Theater that his parents run.  He has a secret hideout in the basement that is filled with props and costumes from the days of vaudeville.
• Whenever the beautiful and friendly Emily speaks to him, he answers first in Klingon.  He will do anything for Emily, even model a gown made of trash bags for the fashion show.
• He keeps a Captain’s Log, just like Captain Kirk on Star Trek.  If you haven’t guessed by now, Marley loves Star Trek.
• Marley can run–fast.  He gets lots of practice running from the bullies, who seem to be the only ones paying any attention to him this year.  When his running gets him attention from the track coach and the jocks at school, Marley realizes that he may not be invisible after all.
• Marley makes mistakes–like not realizing Max is a girl–but he tries to make things right.  He remains loyal to his friends.
• Marley learns the power he has to take a stand.  We can all learn from that.