THE PLANET, THE PORTAL, AND A PIZZA, by Wendy Mass, Nora Raleigh Baskin Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Oct. 7, 2025, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 8-12)
Two girls. Two different realities. One big adventure. The Planet, The Portal, and a Pizza, by Wendy Mass and Nora Raleigh Baskin is now on shelves.
Twelve-year-old Piper’s life has always been unusual: her parents are clockmakers whose inventions are anything but ordinary, and she’s the only kid she knows with a robotic talking dog. But her life takes a turn for the truly bizarre when she discovers her parents are in jeopardy and the key to saving them is a book full of strange equations.
When Raisa and Lev travel through the portal to Piper’s world, Raisa can finally prove that her mother’s multiverse project worked. Now, she just needs the book containing her mother’s equations to get back to her world…if only she can find it! As Raisa and Piper adventure to the bounds of the multiverse, they’ll need to discover their place in the world if they ever want to find their way back home. —Synopsis provided by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Planet, The Portal, and a Pizza is multiverse novel told through the alternating viewpoints of Piper and Raisa. It’s got a strong hook and enticing cover that will make kids want to pick it up.
What makes The Planet, The Portal, and a Pizza interesting — the multiverse — is what also makes it sort of confusing. As the authors delve more into the science fiction elements later in the novel, it’s easy to get lost in the details. I found myself sort of skimming through those explanations to get back to the meat of the story. That said, it’s still interesting, and by the time you get to this point, you’re more than invested enough to finish.
This science-fiction mystery has enough quirks to appeal to a broad group of readers — who wouldn’t want to read about a robotic dog who has a video player in his derriere? — but will more likely be better suited to upper elementary kids who are more math or STEM inclined.
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