H.E.R.O. - Liftoff, Book One

Ten-year-old Theo Roman has just moved to Optima City, the smartest city in America, a place filled with self-driving Sky Taxis, helpful robots, intelligent parks, and technology designed to make life better.

To Theo, it feels like living in the future.

But almost immediately, he notices something strange.

Robots with unusual copper-coil antennas keep appearing wherever he goes. At first, Theo thinks he’s imagining things. Then machines across the city begin behaving in ways they shouldn’t.

With the help of H.E.R.O., the AI robot Theo built with his grandfather, Theo starts searching for answers. What begins as curiosity soon becomes a mystery involving strange signals, connected city systems, and clues that suggest something much bigger may be happening inside Optima City.

But solving a mystery isn’t as simple as Theo imagined. Sometimes trying to fix a problem can make things worse, and sometimes doing the right thing means admitting when you’ve made a mistake.

H.E.R.O.: Liftoff is a fast-paced middle grade adventure for ages 7–10 filled with robots, artificial intelligence, science, mystery, friendship, humor, and heart. Perfect for young readers who love technology, problem-solving, and stories about ordinary kids discovering they may be capable of extraordinary things.

Because in Optima City, the future has already arrived.

And someone, or something, is changing it.