Eyes on the Sky

From acclaimed author J. Kasper Kramer comes a middle grade novel that’s “part gritty historical fiction, part The War of the Worlds” (Kirkus Reviews) about a budding young scientist in 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, who fears her weather balloon experiment has been mistaken for a flying saucer!

Nothing ever happens in Roswell, New Mexico. Dorothy should know. She’s lived her whole life on a rural ranch nearby, surrounded by the difficult memories from her family’s struggles to make ends meet during the Great Depression years ago. At least her older brother Dwight is home safe from the war. Unfortunately, he’s no better to talk to than her ancient pet sheep, Geraldine.

Thankfully Dorothy has her experiments, like launching rockets off the top of her windmill. But one stormy night, she sends a gigantic weather balloon into the stratosphere—and an incredible blast lights up the sky. Suddenly, all the newspapers feature a flying saucer crash in their headlines and the sleepy town of Roswell is alight with gossip and speculation. But what if the so-called extraterrestrial vessel is actually Dorothy’s weather balloon?

When FBI agents start asking questions, she begins to suspect there’s something out there, something dangerous. Either the government is after her for causing a national scandal…or aliens are real!

J. Kasper Kramer is the author of the acclaimed novel The Story That Cannot Be Told as well as The List of Unspeakable Fears and Eyes on the Sky. She’s an author and English professor in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She has a master’s degree in creative writing and once upon a time lived in Japan, where she taught at an international school. When she’s not curled up with a book, Kramer loves researching lost fairy tales, playing video games, and fostering kittens. Visit her at JKasperKramer.com.

ISBN: 9781665944212
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: October 14, 2025

“Part gritty historical fiction, part The War of the Worlds, the novel uses adventure and science fiction to make some pointed observations about the effects of war. . . . Dorothy, Hugo, and the place they call home are vividly rendered. . . . A courageous hero and some unexpected twists make for a compelling read.”"Takes off with the incorporation of science fiction elements, and the meticulous, expertly rendered 1947 desert setting enhances its thrilling conclusion.”