Frank Carlson Library

Teenagers Zak and his alien friend, Erro, are trying to make it across the Plateau of Leng before the rising sun reveals them to the robot guards of Planet Alcatraz, but suddenly mountain-sized crystals start rising through the desert sands, threatening to trap them in a circle with a giant scorpion--and the boys must figure out how to escape this series of hazards.

After stowing away on a spacecraft, Zak and his alien friend, Erro, did not expect to end up on the prison planet called Alcatraz, but here they are; their latest plan to escape involves stowing away on another spacecraft--unfortunately this one is only going to Alcatraz's nearby metallic moon, a prison just as deadly as Alcatraz itself.

When Zak, a human teenager from Earth Base Zeta, and his teenage Furling friend, Erro, stowed away on a military spacecraft they thought they were going to see a space battle--instead they ended up on the prison planet, Alcatraz, and now they are being pursued by the prison's killer drones through a jungle which may be just as deadly as any drone.

From multiple perspectives, tells of a time capsule project and the middle schoolers who contribute, including future journalist Nora Tucker and newcomer Elidee Jones, whose brother is in the local prison.

"This is a story of a life-changing friendship, a lost puffin, and a lonely artist. It's the story of an entire lifetime, and how one event can change a life forever. From masterful storyteller, Michael Morpurgo, and world-class illustrator, Benji Davies, comes a magical new story. This truly beautiful tale will enchant readers of all ages."--

Fifteen-year-old Henry Forrest lies about his age and enlists in the Marines to escape from his abusive father, but when he is immediately sent to the Philippines he finds himself in the middle of the Japanese invasion--and as he grows up he will have to endure the Bataan Death March, overcrowded prisons, and the Japanese factory in Tokyo where he is eventually sent as slave labor.