Reviews

Space Rocks! by Tom O'Donnell

jennareadingbooks's review

4.0

I got this book in a box of random books I received on Etsy. It started off slow, but ended up being pretty cute. Give it a shot if you like sci-fi/alien middle grade books!

lazygal's review

4.0

I so enjoyed Chorkle and its world! The asteroid in which it lives is somewhat under attack, first from hoo-mans and then the Vorem. The first are there because of minerals, but the second have chased the Xotonians across the universe and now they're here to retrieve the Q-sik and wipe out Chorkle and everyone else. This is sci-fi from the alien's point-of-view and what a great view it is. Humans aren't treated as horrible, just fairly clueless and possibly friendly if given a chance; aliens are just like humans, only with more eyes and a love of ogg-ball. Here's hoping there's a sequel. Perhaps with more Pizza?

ARC provided by publisher.

yapha's review

4.0

Chorkle is a Xotonian living on the asteroid Gelo, which has recently been invaded by people from Earth mining the asteroid for iridium. Told from his point of view, the reader gets an interesting look at humans and our customs. Along with the mining company are four children, aged 10-13. Chorkle steals one of their computer devices and teaches himself not only to play their video games, but English as well. When his fellow Xotonians vote to get rid of the invaders, he feels compelled to warn them. Through a series of missteps, he ends up causing the stranding of the four children on Gelo. This hilarious story looks at the opposite side of space travel through fresh eyes (five of them, actually). Recommended for grades 3-6.

scostner's review

4.0

Space Rocks takes the alien invasion theme and turns it on its head. Chorkle lives on an asteroid that humans have decided to use for an iridium mining colony. Of course, Chorkle's people the Xotonians, aren't very pleased by the new arrivals. Suspicion, misunderstanding, and other problems arise as the two races stumble through this "first contact." (Sorry "Star Trek" fans, there is no Prime Directive for these space travellers.) The younger members of the mining colony do have a few things in common with Chorkle including a craving for Feeney's Original Astronaut Ice Cream bars and playing video games like Xenostryfe III. In spite of their presence in an outer space colony, the children are very realistic. They watch movies, play games, argue, race their rocket bikes and talk about their online friends from Joynyt.com. Although Chorkle is Xotonian, he seems to have the same kind of problems human kids do - disagreeing with his parent, dealing with bullies, not being good at sports.

Readers may notice a few similarities between the story and parts of "Lost in Space," such as the kids being included on the mission as part of the PR, unexpected wormholes popping up, etc. Between the possiblity of war between Xotonians and humans, space battles, a really vicious game of oog-ball, and discovering long lost technology, there is plenty of action to you turning the pages. If you enjoy sci-fi/fantasy with humor, action, and characters you can relate to (whatever their species), then check out Space Rocks.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

leafilippi's review

5.0

Space Rocks was a big hit with the second grader at our house. He sneaked his light back on after bedtime last night to get several more late night chapters in. He's already looking forward to the follow up Space Rocks 2: For the Love of Gelo.

tome15's review

2.0

Rather routine children's science fiction story. If tou want to see this kind of thing does right, read "Have Spacesuit Will Travel."

chrissyfitz's review

3.0

I used this book for my summer Book Blasters Book Club. It was cute, and the kids liked it.

aragreenwood's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

There is a point where a person says a bad word, and then somebody else says the same bad word right after the first person, but there is some dashes instead of some of the letters.