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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I'm really sad I wasn't able to read this last year, this book is totally worth voting.
I didn't want it to finish, I read few records every day and felt really empty when I was done. The whole time I felt really connected to Alex, like he was recording this for me, and that made me less alone for 11 hard days.
I don't know what to say about the story, but it really has everything; love, family, astronomy, life changing experiences and a main character to fall in love with.
I'm really overwhelmed by the story, it made remember my childhood and how was I at one point inspired by my hobby/passion. It's a different story now, but I'm trying to be brave too.
I didn't want it to finish, I read few records every day and felt really empty when I was done. The whole time I felt really connected to Alex, like he was recording this for me, and that made me less alone for 11 hard days.
I don't know what to say about the story, but it really has everything; love, family, astronomy, life changing experiences and a main character to fall in love with.
I'm really overwhelmed by the story, it made remember my childhood and how was I at one point inspired by my hobby/passion. It's a different story now, but I'm trying to be brave too.
Happy book birthday! <3
This book was absolutely beautiful, in practically every sense of the word! The writing and the plot and the characters and the way little ideas came back just made this book something that was almost comforting to read!
See You in the Cosmos is about 11-year-old Alex, who is a complete astronomy and rocket science nerd, who's goal is to follow in the footsteps of his all-time hero, Carl Sagan, and launch a recording into space for intelligent beings to find. On his golden iPod, he records his everyday life, which is far from ordinary. His mom is suffering from the death of his dad, and thus has many 'quiet days', during which he has to completely be on his own, cook, go to the supermarket, do the laundry etc. His brother lives in LA - several days away, and so he spends his time teaching himself rocket science, looking for his dad's information on genealogy.com, and taking care of everyone. He decides to go to SHARF, a rocket launch contest in the desert, and that sets him on a whole list of meetings and a huge adventure.
Alex is an absolutely amazing character - he was written so well! The whole book is written in the form of recordings, so you read the book in the way he talks. (Please tell me there's an audiobook of this somewhere out there!) This kid is the sweetest, most clueless nerd there is out there - he can tell you anything there is to know about space but gets confused about social norms.
"... and Ken said Sure, knock yourself out, and I said I'm not going to do that because I'm a pacifist and besides, how am I going to check my e-mail if I'm unconscious?" p55
This quote is basically how Alex's mind works throughout the whole novel, and it's so much fun to read! He has the best responses to very simple 'adult' ideas, that to him are totally logical.
The book starts out with him trying to describe the intelligent beings on another planet, and really sets the tone for the whole book, about him trying to figure things out, and people on Earth each being intelligent in their own ways. This comes up a few times. In fact, Cheng is a master of recurring ideas - once Alex learns something - even if it's a tiny little observation or fact, the idea will pop up again from time to time, subtly. Or anytime he meets someone new, there's a little summary of the book that goes through step by step, but that makes total sense to read about in this context. (It would be weird for something like this to happen in, say, Throne of Glass. But here is was perfectly done!)
The side characters were also amazing.
Terra is his half-sister he meets on his adventure to find his maybe-dad, that he heard about on Genealogy.com. She has parent issues and wants to be independent, dropped out of school, but is socially very smart. She understands people in a way the other characters don't and automatically stands for Alex, her half-brother she just met.
Steve is a guy Alex meets at SHARF, and he's a wreck. He's a very smart entrepreneur, but is socially and mentally very, very clumsy, almost to the point of being aggresive. He is supportive in the end but is often the source of arguments.
Zed is some kind of martial arts master that Alex meets on the train and who helps him through his travels. He starts off with this vow of silence, and he's the wise one of the group. He usually comes up with good ideas and bits of wisdom for each of the other characters.
The entire book is a smooth road-trip, with a few bumps along the way, but that generally comes together nicely. It was a beautiful read with the dorkiest character but didn't try to completely hide some social issues. When Terra takes over the recording, or when you can hear other people talking, there is often a more serious conversation going on. The good thing is, even though Alex goes through a lot in this book, nothing can get him down in the end.
OH. He's a science nerd, who loves astronomy and the movie Contact, which is also one of my favorites. Before you go read it, watch Contact, or you'll miss some references! ^^
I already wrote so much about this book and I'm trying not to give too much away! This middle grade / YA book deserves SO much more hype! It's a fast, simple and compulsive read that really got me in a good mood - I almost physically enjoyed reading it in a sense!
I'm giving this a 5/5 feathers - please go read it! It's available everywhere starting today and is so, so worth it!
This book was absolutely beautiful, in practically every sense of the word! The writing and the plot and the characters and the way little ideas came back just made this book something that was almost comforting to read!
See You in the Cosmos is about 11-year-old Alex, who is a complete astronomy and rocket science nerd, who's goal is to follow in the footsteps of his all-time hero, Carl Sagan, and launch a recording into space for intelligent beings to find. On his golden iPod, he records his everyday life, which is far from ordinary. His mom is suffering from the death of his dad, and thus has many 'quiet days', during which he has to completely be on his own, cook, go to the supermarket, do the laundry etc. His brother lives in LA - several days away, and so he spends his time teaching himself rocket science, looking for his dad's information on genealogy.com, and taking care of everyone. He decides to go to SHARF, a rocket launch contest in the desert, and that sets him on a whole list of meetings and a huge adventure.
Alex is an absolutely amazing character - he was written so well! The whole book is written in the form of recordings, so you read the book in the way he talks. (Please tell me there's an audiobook of this somewhere out there!) This kid is the sweetest, most clueless nerd there is out there - he can tell you anything there is to know about space but gets confused about social norms.
"... and Ken said Sure, knock yourself out, and I said I'm not going to do that because I'm a pacifist and besides, how am I going to check my e-mail if I'm unconscious?" p55
This quote is basically how Alex's mind works throughout the whole novel, and it's so much fun to read! He has the best responses to very simple 'adult' ideas, that to him are totally logical.
The book starts out with him trying to describe the intelligent beings on another planet, and really sets the tone for the whole book, about him trying to figure things out, and people on Earth each being intelligent in their own ways. This comes up a few times. In fact, Cheng is a master of recurring ideas - once Alex learns something - even if it's a tiny little observation or fact, the idea will pop up again from time to time, subtly. Or anytime he meets someone new, there's a little summary of the book that goes through step by step, but that makes total sense to read about in this context. (It would be weird for something like this to happen in, say, Throne of Glass. But here is was perfectly done!)
The side characters were also amazing.
Terra is his half-sister he meets on his adventure to find his maybe-dad, that he heard about on Genealogy.com. She has parent issues and wants to be independent, dropped out of school, but is socially very smart. She understands people in a way the other characters don't and automatically stands for Alex, her half-brother she just met.
Steve is a guy Alex meets at SHARF, and he's a wreck. He's a very smart entrepreneur, but is socially and mentally very, very clumsy, almost to the point of being aggresive. He is supportive in the end but is often the source of arguments.
Zed is some kind of martial arts master that Alex meets on the train and who helps him through his travels. He starts off with this vow of silence, and he's the wise one of the group. He usually comes up with good ideas and bits of wisdom for each of the other characters.
The entire book is a smooth road-trip, with a few bumps along the way, but that generally comes together nicely. It was a beautiful read with the dorkiest character but didn't try to completely hide some social issues. When Terra takes over the recording, or when you can hear other people talking, there is often a more serious conversation going on. The good thing is, even though Alex goes through a lot in this book, nothing can get him down in the end.
OH. He's a science nerd, who loves astronomy and the movie Contact, which is also one of my favorites. Before you go read it, watch Contact, or you'll miss some references! ^^
I already wrote so much about this book and I'm trying not to give too much away! This middle grade / YA book deserves SO much more hype! It's a fast, simple and compulsive read that really got me in a good mood - I almost physically enjoyed reading it in a sense!
I'm giving this a 5/5 feathers - please go read it! It's available everywhere starting today and is so, so worth it!
"See you in the cosmos, carl sagan" is a book that explores the complexities of being and eleven year old who's "13 in responsibility years". Alex is an eleven year old aspiring rocket scientist with a distant older brother and mentally unstable mother. He's obsessed with making it to a rocket launching festival and recording his journey for any potential aliens that might find his golden ipod. This story really explores the boundaries of tween maturity. Alex continues to apply juvenile solutions to the complex adult problems he's facing. Great read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
some 6th graders would probably like, too, but I'd say this is more of a 3-5/4-6 kind of book.
See You in the Cosmos contains the transcriptions of an eleven-year-old boy's voice recordings. Alex loves space and science to the point where he has built a rocket he's going to send into space. With this rocket he wants to send his own version of the golden record that was sent along the Voyager spacecraft. In his case it is a golden iPod.
The book follows his journey to the launch and onward, with him doing his best in explaining humans and earth to other lifeforms who might come across his recordings.
Though not explicitly mentioned in the book, Alex is heavily autistic coded. This has lead many people to compare this book to ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’, and I can definitely see where they're coming from. But to me, a real life autistic person, this story has a way more accurate portrayal of an autistic kid, not to mention it being a LOT less offensive and stereotypical.
There’s a lot of realism in his meltdowns (his “hurricanes” as he calls them), thought processes, humor, and the way he uses and responds to language. I could see a lot of myself and my autistic friends and family in him.
Obviously not every autistic person sees the world like Alex, since there are as many variations of autism as there are autistic people in the world, but it is nice to see it portrayed so well!
The book follows his journey to the launch and onward, with him doing his best in explaining humans and earth to other lifeforms who might come across his recordings.
Though not explicitly mentioned in the book, Alex is heavily autistic coded. This has lead many people to compare this book to ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’, and I can definitely see where they're coming from. But to me, a real life autistic person, this story has a way more accurate portrayal of an autistic kid, not to mention it being a LOT less offensive and stereotypical.
There’s a lot of realism in his meltdowns (his “hurricanes” as he calls them), thought processes, humor, and the way he uses and responds to language. I could see a lot of myself and my autistic friends and family in him.
Obviously not every autistic person sees the world like Alex, since there are as many variations of autism as there are autistic people in the world, but it is nice to see it portrayed so well!
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm so glad I listened to this one on audiobook. I can't imagine the book had the same effect. Alex is an 11 year old kid who loves space, rockets, and his dog, Carl Sagan. Everything is told through audio recordings on his golden iPod. He plans to put this iPod into the rocket he's going to launch in hopes that the aliens who find it will learn more about earth. The audio version with a full cast really sells this concept.
The reader/listener learns not just about earth but about Alex's life as he hitchhikes a ride to the rocket convention and later goes on a mission to find his biological father. He meets many more characters along the way. Alex's voice is very juvenile, so the reader/listener tends to connect the dots faster than he does, and there is an innocence to the story because of that.
This was pretty fast paced with several dramatic turns. I was rooting for Alex and hoping that everyone in his life came out on the winning side. If you like character-driven books with introspection and perseverance, you'll enjoy this.
The reader/listener learns not just about earth but about Alex's life as he hitchhikes a ride to the rocket convention and later goes on a mission to find his biological father. He meets many more characters along the way. Alex's voice is very juvenile, so the reader/listener tends to connect the dots faster than he does, and there is an innocence to the story because of that.
This was pretty fast paced with several dramatic turns. I was rooting for Alex and hoping that everyone in his life came out on the winning side. If you like character-driven books with introspection and perseverance, you'll enjoy this.