Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there is some cartoonish violence, with science-fictiony weapons that vaporize things, and lots of explosions. Once character is knocked out, and otherwise only non-character aliens are hurt. There is also some mild swearing.
Families can talk about some of the issues the author raises. What are the parallels between what the Boovs do to humans and what Europeans did to Native Americans? Are the Boovs ultimately good or bad? What do you think of the way Americans organized themselves in Arizona? What do you think would really happen if all Americans were shipped to Arizona?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
This is good, silly fun, the kind of story in which the main characters bicker over a walkie-talkie about what to call their plan (Operation: Catastrophe vs. Operation: Piggyback, both puns) even while running and being shot at by marauding alien monsters. And the evil alien monsters love fighting and musical theater, and "fought one another in a three-hundred-year-old civil war that is believed to have started over a parking space." You know, the kind of goofy, off-the-wall humor that many kids think is just hilarious.
Illustrated with a few comic strips (could have used more of those) and other drawings, the book bogs down in places, and would have benefitted from a firmer editorial hand: lopping off about 150 pages would have done the story no harm and done more to hold the interests of the kind of kids who will be drawn to something like this. Still, this will be a popular choice for fans of Terry Pratchett and Larry Gonick, and, with its abundance of strange creatures, whacky scenes, and silly accents and voices, it should make a great read-aloud.
From The Book
I hit five abandoned stores, and found crackers, diet milkshakes, bottled water, really hard bagels, Honey Frosted Snox, tomato paste, dry pasta, a bucket of something called TUB! that came with its own spoon, and Lite Choconilla Froot Bites, which broke my usual rule against eating anything that was misspelled. The Boov had told me some things he liked, so I also carried a basket of breath mints, cornstarch, yeast, bouillon cubes, mint dental floss, and typing paper.
"Hey, Boov!" I shouted on my return. I could see him under the car, banging away. The car, I should mention, now sported three extra antennas. The holes in the windows were somehow not there anymore. There were tubes and hoses wrapped around, connecting certain parts of the car to certain other parts of the car, and a few of what I can only describe as fins. These appeared to be made from metal he'd salvaged from the convenience store. One of them showed a picture of a frozen drink, and the word "Slushious".
Plot Summary:
In essays for school and a time-capsule contest, Gratuity Tucci describes her cross-country road trip with a Boov alien she calls J.Lo. The Earth has been invaded, her mother kidnapped, and all Americans are herded into a reservation in Arizona. From there she and J.Lo work to stop yet another invasion by even worse aliens, the Nimrogs, who were inadvertently drawn to Earth by J.Lo.
Related Books:
Funny Science Fiction:
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
Truckers by Terry Pratchett
Club Earth by Gail Gauthier
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett
Related Web sites:
Official Site
Author's Blog
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual ContentA reference to how babies are made, human and Boovish. |
 |
|||
ViolenceMuch cartoonish violence: a man is hit on the head and knocked out, weapons cause explosions and fire, references to alien body parts after an explosion. |
 |
|||
LanguageAssorted mild swearing: "Hell," "Jesus," "ass," "boob," etc. |
|
|||
Message |
|
|||
Social BehaviorThere is some racial tension between Native Americans and whites, and between African Americans and whites. |
 |
|||
CommercialismCar brand mentioned. Most of the other products named are imaginary spoofs on real products and places, especially DisneyWorld. |
 |
|||
Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoSeveral types of alcohol mentioned. |
|
|||
