Parents want to know what I do as a librarian to get their kids to try something new. And the truth is—nothing. There is not much I can do, except wait along with them for The Book: a story so original, so absorbing and so laugh-out-loud funny that the minute I read the last page, I want to start at the beginning again. The True Meaning of Smekday is that book…This first novel by Adam Rex will captivate fans of the wordplay and characters in Terry Pratchett's Discworld and of the outrageously entertaining satire of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy…Although it's a book for children, adults will find this page turner, really a satire about the conquering of foreign cultures, entertaining as well. Its pacing and cadence make it a perfect story for reading aloud, and it's almost impossible to resist sharing great lines with people nearby.
—The New York Times
Who knew the end of the world could be so hilarious? With a misfit cast of characters led by a precocious 11-year-old narrator named Gratuity "Tip" Tucci and a bumbling alien named J.Lo who has an appetite for dental floss and air fresheners, Rex's high-octane fantasy could fairly be called an apocalyptic comedy. After the Boov (technologically advanced aliens) conquer Earth (or Smekland, as they call it, after its discoverer), they decide that humans must live on preserves; all Americans must move to Florida. Tip, driving her mother's car with her cat Pig for a passenger, meets the unexpectedly helpful Boov J.Lo, who, she later discovers, has bungled a mission and is on the lam. Parallels between the Boov and European settlers and their treatment of Native Americans deepen the impact of the story, but the author goes well beyond delivering a single political message. Incorporating dozens of his weird and wonderful illustrations and fruitfully manipulating the narrative structure, Rex skewers any number of subjects, from Disney World to various fleeting fads. Some of the best jokes come from throwaways and from J.Lo's and Tip's attempts to understand each other (when Tip asks if his society has boys and girls, he says, "Of course. Do not to be ridicumulous," and calmly lists the "seven magnificent genders" of the Boov). Picture book aficionados will already know Rex from Frankenstein Makes a Sandwichand Pssst! (reviewed Sept. 10); now another audience can savor his wit. Ages 8-up. (Oct.)
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Gr 4-8 Where does one begin when asked to write a five-page essay on the meaning of Smekday? If you are 11-year-old Gratuity Tucci, you begin prior to the arrival of the aliens, before your mother started receiving cryptic messages through a mole in the back of her neck, and before all Americans are forced to move to reservations in Florida to make room for the influx of an alien race known as the Boov. In a rebellious snit, Tip decides to drive her mother's car to Florida, rather than take the Boov rocketpods, and finds herself caught up in a most outlandish road trip with her cat, Pig, and her very own renegade Boov, J.Lo, for company. First-time novelist Rex has written an imaginative, wacky, hilarious sci-fi story that will appeal to fans of Eoin Colfer and Jon Scieszka. Lively cartoon-paneled illustrations are interspersed throughout and add to the fun. This is a fast-paced adventure with a whip-smart protagonist, a lovable and resourceful extraterrestrial, and plenty of social commentary.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK
Gratuity Tucci ("Tip" for short) has a problem. Aliens have invaded Earth, stolen her mother, and now she and the rest of humanity are being shunted onto small reservations while the invaders (the Boov) take over the rest of the planet. In avoiding this plan, via her family car, Tip runs across J.Lo, a renegade Boov with problems of his own. Together, girl and alien attempt to locate Tip's mother only to discover that an even greater alien threat is imminent. It's up to the two heroes to defeat the invaders, Boov and otherwise, and save the day. The humor in this story is undeniably unique, containing a skewed worldview that children will certainly enjoy. Yet while the first half of the book is an entirely funny road trip of the Kerouac-meets-E.T. variety, the second half slows down considerably. Rex has such a nice grasp of small tender moments amidst a world gone haywire, it's a pity the book wasn't pared down significantly. Inspired but problematic. (Fiction. 11-15)
"First-time novelist Rex has written an imaginative, wacky, hilarious sci-fi story that will appeal to fans of Eoin Colfer and Jon Scieszka. Lively cartoon-paneled illustrations are interspersed throughout and add to the fun. This is a fast-paced adventure with a whip-smart protagonist, a lovable and resourceful extraterrestrial, and plenty of social commentary."—School Library Journal
"The humor in this story is undeniably unique... the first half of the book is an entirely funny road trip of the Kerouac-meets-E.T. variety."—Kirkus Review
"[G]uaranteed to tickle the middle-school funny bone." —Booklist
"Adam Rex has created a book that is so snappy and fun and angst-giddy that you really can't put it down, because to do so would mean going back to the harsh-world reality in which you live and almost die. But reading a book this captivating is always worth the risk of being abducted by aliens with weak immune systems." — Jack Gantos, author of 2012 Newbery Medal winner Dead End in Norvelt
"This is a truly wonderful book about what happens when a girl named Gratuity and a cat named Pig join forces with an alien named J.Lo to try to save the world from another group of aliens who... Okay, it gets complicated. But trust me: it never stops being funny." — Dave Barry
Aliens called Boov have invaded the earth and forced all Americans to move to Florida. Instead of going by rocketpod like the others, 11-year-old Gratuity Tucci drives from Pennsylvania in her mother’s car with her cat, Pig. Along the way, she picks up a renegade Boov (with the earth name J.Lo because humans can’t pronounce Boov names), who adapts her car so it can float. A hilarious, heartwarming buddy adventure is born! On audio we are denied the cartoons from the book, but who cares when we have the spirited and talented Bahni Turpin? Turpin is a vocal genius. She can express any emotion, and her timing accentuates every satirical line. Most remarkable are the two completely distinct characters who constantly play off each other—the feisty, self-reliant Gratuity and the droll, lip-smacking J.Lo. A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
