Invention Club Changing Gears (en Inglés) - James Thomas

A Middle-Grade STEM & Friendship Series

Ages 8-12

The Invention Club is a middle-grade series about creativity, friendship, and what happens when kids who love building things are asked to grow-not just as inventors, but as people.

Set at Claremont Elementary, the series follows three very different kids:

Tommy - a careful planner who believes systems keep people safe

Billy - a brilliant builder learning how to lead without control

Ray - a jokester whose creativity and empathy keep the group human

Through science fairs, invention clubs, public demonstrations, competitions, and quiet turning points, they discover that solving problems isn't just about wires, tools, and ideas-it's about trust, accountability, ethics, inclusion, and learning how to fail together.

Each book tells a complete story while building cumulative emotional growth. Conflicts escalate naturally, relationships deepen, and character development is never reset.

This is a long-form, expandable series ideal for classrooms, libraries, and readers who enjoy smart humor grounded in emotional truth.

Book Four - The Invention Club Changes Gears

After Regionals, everything is supposed to get easier.

Instead, it gets quieter.

New opportunities appear-mentors, advanced labs, bigger ideas-but each one begins to pull the Invention Club in different directions. The pressure isn't about winning anymore. It's about choosing what matters, and whether they can keep building together when their paths aren't the same.

When a routine school day turns into something far more serious, the team is forced to act without a plan, without instructions, and without the safety of a controlled test. Systems fail. Communication breaks. And for the first time, their inventions aren't being judged-they're being relied on.

Tommy tries to hold the structure together when everything around him stops making sense.
Billy pushes to fix what breaks, even when the problem isn't mechanical.
Rey steps into a role he never planned for-one where timing, instinct, and trust matter more than being right.

What they discover changes everything:

The best solution isn't always the one you build ahead of time.
Sometimes it's the one you adapt in the moment.

The Invention Club Changes Gears is a turning point in the series-a story about leadership, trust, and learning when to let go of control in order to move forward.

Because growing up doesn't always mean growing together.
But it does mean deciding how-and with whom-you keep going.