Book Description: When a mysterious orb crashes in the woods near Sylvan Lake, twelve-year-old Xris Smith does what any curious kid would do-he sneaks out after bedtime to investigate. What he finds changes his life forever: a tiny blue alien named Varnok, stranded on Earth and hiding from the U.S. military.With his engineer father's help, Xris must keep Varnok safe, evade relentless government agents, and return the alien to his ship before it's too late. But the deeper they go, the more Xris discovers that his dad may know more about aliens than he's letting on-and that Earth might not be as isolated as they all believed.Part sci-fi adventure, part heartfelt coming-of-age story, The Orb at Sylvan Lake is a thrilling tale of friendship, family secrets, and how one boy's courage reaches the stars.