Mars Patel Series

Mars and his friends have escaped the Martian colony and returned to Earth, to find that all the adults have vanished! A thrilling sci-fi adventure based on Season 3 of the Peabody Award–winning podcast.

After Mars Patel fled the Martian colony and its erupting volcano, he headed for Earth with JP, Toothpick, Aurora, Cupcake (everyone’s favorite two-hundred-pound tardigrade), and genius billionaire Oliver Pruitt. But when they finally arrive, Mars is shocked to find that all the adults on Earth have mysteriously vanished. Aurora, the popular new principal of Pruitt Prep, thinks Earth is better off without the adults, while Mars, who’s now a celebrity, is desperate to find his mom. As tensions rise and new mysteries are revealed—including a secret lab, an impending election, and a wild new discovery on Mars—will Mars and his friends manage to unravel the truth? Or is Oliver Pruitt outplaying them all? A vibrant cast brings to life this tech-rich page-turner, based on the award-winning podcast.

Mars is on Mars! But as techie colonists and scrappy rebels clash, can Mars and his friends survive long enough to discover the planet’s dark secrets? Based on Season 2 of the Peabody Award–winning podcast.

Six months ago, Mars Patel boarded a spaceship to travel to Oliver Pruitt’s colony on the planet Mars, and now he’s finally there. The journey gave Mars lots of time to bond with his copilots, but Mars and his new friends soon discover that Pruitt’s colonists aren’t the only people living on the inhospitable planet. A splinter group, led by the mysterious Fang, are desperate to go back to Earth—and they don’t care who they hurt in the process. Amid the slick subterranean colony filled with rules and giant, terrifying tardigrades who poop a lot, Mars searches for answers about Oliver Pruitt’s supposed plans—and the real reason the eccentric billionaire has been so invested in him all this time. Featuring thrilling technology, a diverse cast, and a gripping plot, this extraterrestrial adventure, a follow-up to The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, is also based on the popular and award-winning podcast.

Based on the Peabody Award–winning podcast, this tech-filled adventure series pits intrepid Mars Patel and his outcast friends against a brilliant, enigmatic billionaire as they race to figure out why kids are disappearing from their school.

Mars Patel’s friend Aurora has disappeared! His teachers are clueless. His mom is stressed out about her jobs. But Mars refuses to give up—after all, his own dad disappeared when Mars was a toddler, before he and Ma moved to Puget Sound from India. Luckily, Mars has a group of loyal friends eager to help—smart Toothpick, strong and stylish JP, and maybe-telepathic Caddie. The clues seem to point toward eccentric tech genius (and Mars’s hero) Oliver Pruitt, whose popular podcast now seems to be commenting on their quest! But when the friends investigate Pruitt’s mysterious, elite school, nothing is as it seems—and anyone could be deceiving them. Slick science, corporate conspiracies, and an endearingly nerdy protagonist make this first book in the series a fresh, exciting sci-fi adventure.