Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens, by Alex McCall

So how could I not want to read a book called Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens?  I was expecting a book loaded with silliness, and I wasn't terribly disappointed on that front.  But Alex McCall's book isn't just silliness, it qualifies as legitimate, fun, young-adult fiction.  In a near-future Aberdeen, Scotland, the adults have all disappeared, the kids survive in clans, hiding out for fear of the robot chickens that scour the landscape, looking for victims.

In some ways this is a pretty standard survive and fight back after a natural disaster/ apocalypse/ alien invasion story.  Alex McCall keeps it light, but the kids have to figure out how to be heroes, how to fight these giant robot chickens, and how to survive and return to their prior way of life.  It's a clever twist on a standard genre, thoroughly enjoyable, creative, and entertaining.  A movie version by the creators of the Wallace and Gromit films would be fitting for the tone and content of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!