Synopsis: Gratuity "Tip" Tucci is assigned to write an essay on the "True Meaning of Smekday" for the National Time Capsule contest. Tip's essay has her reliving the year when aliens named the Boov took over the Earth, abducted her Mom, and forced all Earthlings to move to Florida, then later to Arizona. On her journey South then West, she is joined by an alien Boov mechanic, who has dubbed himself J. Lo., and her fickle cat, Pig. Both of whom, along with her fabulous hovercar, Slushious, help her save the Earth from a s
econd alien invasion.
Review: I wasn't sure I was going to like this novel. I don't generally care for alien invasion stories. I only decided to give this book a shot because I loved Rex's picture book, Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. Thankfully, Rex has impressed me a second time. While this is an alien invasion story, it's also a great story about the friendship between Tip and J.Lo and a spot-on commentary of today's pop culture with charming and hilarious illustrations to boot.
Tip is an incredibly savvy and practical kid. She manages to live on her own for a while after her Mom is abducted, and she also taught herself how to drive so that she could make the trek to Florida with just her cat, Pig. For as smart as she is, though, and considering the alien invasion, she could be totally jaded and difficult to befriend, but she's not. For instance I love when she first lets J.Lo. into her life. "The Boov lunged forward, and I instantly regretted everything, except then I realized he wasn't attacking me. It must have been a hug, because I can't think of any better word for it." Or take the conversation J. Lo and Tip have about families. "Families are meaning you have to care about some people more than others, he said. But all peoples are just as good. Alls have a job to do." These two characters come to have a great tolerance for each other's cultures, and certainly appreciate the job each does in their make-shift family (and just wait until you find out what Pig's job is).
And for adults who need just a bit more of an incentive to read with their 10 year old, Rex has done a fabulous job of high-lighting some pop-culture follies. J. Lo is in a convenience store and notes, "People who want to understand better how the human race was conquered so easily need to study those stores. Almost everything inside was filled with sugar, cheese, or weight-loss tips." There are also the many references to Happy Mouse Kingdom in Orlando. I wonder what that might really refer to : ) Of course, while we may scoff at it being the most "perfect place in the world" some kids do actually survive both invasions living underneath the park. And finally if none of the other pop-culture smack-downs get you laughing, my favorite is an alien's description of a casino. "I was told to go to the large offensively colored building. The building where humans who are bad at math give away their money!" I would be one of those humans who are bad at math, and I still found this hilarious.
Finally, no review of this book could be complete without a comment on the great illustrations. It's easy to appreciate Rex's talent when you look at any of the numerous illustrations that are supposed to be Polaroids, but the comic-strip drawings are also fabulous, especially as these ones help move the story along. I also think these are more appealing to boys, which is a good catch given that the main character is a girl. I only wish there had been more illustrations. Given the length of this book and that there really aren't any chapter breaks, this book could be slightly daunting to some readers. Additional illustrations would have helped pace the book a bit better, especially if reading aloud.
All in all, though, a fun book filled with memorable characters, catchy language, and heroic actions that will have most readers hoping to meet an alien.
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