2018-09-17
Stories are not democratic. Not everybody gets to be the main character.
The hero of this science-fiction novel is an 11-year-old boy named Happy Conklin Jr., and if it had been anybody else, the story wouldn't have worked. His little sister, Kayla, would have defeated the alien menace in about 10 minutes. As her brother describes her, she "knows everything," and she's a master at using "footwork and body language" to keep an opponent off balance. She can also see the future due to events in series opener How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens (2018). Happy's older sister, Alice, would be an even worse protagonist, because her main interests are stealing things and threatening people who get in her way. Happy is just awkward enough to be an underdog: tongue-tied and anxious. His haplessness also allows for some good jokes. A cartoon segment in which he takes 16 panels to respond to a cute girl's comment shows Noth's mastery of comic timing. But it's all the characters, in combination, who make the book worth reading. Even the cute girl is distinctive and appealing, though—as the cute girl—she's a little dull. All the characters, however—even those not related by blood—seem to be white. The plot feels a bit fragmentary (it ends on an abrupt cliffhanger), but plot's hardly the point here.
It's hard not to like a story where everyone deserves to be the main character. (Humorous science fiction. 7-12)
Shows Noth's mastery of comic timing. . . . All the characters, in combination, make the book worth reading. . . . A story where everyone deserves to be the main character.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[A] wonderfully goofy sequel.” —Booklist
“There's never a dull moment in this outlandish romp.” —Book Page
“From its very first outrageous sentence, Paul Noth's How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens is hysterically funny. . . . An incredibly imaginative story. Each decision that Hap makes seems to result in greater strangeness and hilarity; it's impossible to predict what will happen from one page to the next.” —Foreword Reviews on HOW TO SELL YOUR FAMILY TO THE ALIENS
“Strange and original with just the right amount of juvenile humor, this story features off and endearing characters and a wonderfully weird plot. Hap and his family are a delightful cross between dysfunctional and perfectly loving” —School Library Journal on HOW TO SELL YOUR FAMILY TO THE ALIENS
“Happy's narration is pitch perfect for middle- graders . . . Fans of Allen's Gabby Duran and the Unsittables will find a similar combination of warmth and weirdness here.” —BCCB on HOW TO SELL YOUR FAMILY TO THE ALIENS
“Readers will be likewise amused by the random twists, silly inventions, and frequent spot drawings and sequential panels.” —Booklist on HOW TO SELL YOUR FAMILY TO THE ALIENS
“Engaging, original and laugh-out-loud funny . . . I'm so thrilled for everyone, particularly my 500 children, to experience the imagination and brilliance of this world Paul Noth has created. I just hope that I don't get sold to the Aliens myself . . .” —Jim Gaffigan, comedian and bestselling author of DAD IS FAT and FOOD: A LOVE STORY on HOW TO SELL YOUR FAMILY TO THE ALIENS
“Funny, fizzing and forever keeping you on your toes, How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens is a rollercoaster of clever cartoon and pacy plot twists, with some aliens and wrestling thrown in for good measure. Totally original and totally unputdownable.” —Mo O'Hara, New York Times bestselling author of the My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series on HOW TO SELL YOUR FAMILY TO THE ALIENS
“How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens is hilarious and extremely helpful.” —Andy Borowitz, creator of the Borowitz Report on HOW TO SELL YOUR FAMILY TO THE ALIENS
“My favorite New Yorker cartoonist just became my favorite middle reader author—and that was after reading only three pages of his hilarious new book!” —Bob Staake on HOW TO SELL YOUR FAMILY TO THE ALIENS
