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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
This book is sure to leave you filled with hope for our species.
Alex lives in Rockville Colorado. He is a precocious eleven year old, who is at least thirteen years when it come to responsible. He is the caretaker for his mother who 'has quiet days.' His much older brother lives in Los Angeles, but pays their bills for them. Alex is crazy about rockets and space. He's even built a rocket that he plans to send out into the universe. It will carry his golden ipod filled with information about his life, so that other life forms will know something about earth. This book is composed of these reflections.
When Alex and his dog, Carl Sagan, head off to SHARF, a rocket festival near Albuquerque, New Mexico, he expects to be picked up at the train station by other people and carpool with them to the site. In spite of his train being 2 1/2 hours late, it all works out because someone he met on the train has a friend meeting him and they are on their way to the same festival.
Alex is so open and friendly that he charms his way into many hearts at the event. Even though his rocket crashes almost before it is off the ground, he is able, with the help of one of the organizers, to look forward to building a better one next time.
Through Ancestry, an online family history resource, he discovers that someone with the same name as his dead father lives in Las Vegas. He fantasizes that this is his father, not really dead, but suffering from amnesia, and gets it into his head to go and see him. From there he plans to visit his brother. His new friends are headed that way and he manages to catch a ride with them. By the time his journey is over, Alex ends up learning much more about his family than he could have imagined.
As an adult, there were times when I was terrified for Alex. Thankfully he is lucky enough to connect up with basically kind people. Sometimes they make mistakes, but ultimately, it is their goodness that shines through. There is a deeply philosophical aspect to this novel that fills us with important lessons about life, family and friendship. It reminds us that world is filled with wonder if we open our hearts and minds to it.
Alex lives in Rockville Colorado. He is a precocious eleven year old, who is at least thirteen years when it come to responsible. He is the caretaker for his mother who 'has quiet days.' His much older brother lives in Los Angeles, but pays their bills for them. Alex is crazy about rockets and space. He's even built a rocket that he plans to send out into the universe. It will carry his golden ipod filled with information about his life, so that other life forms will know something about earth. This book is composed of these reflections.
When Alex and his dog, Carl Sagan, head off to SHARF, a rocket festival near Albuquerque, New Mexico, he expects to be picked up at the train station by other people and carpool with them to the site. In spite of his train being 2 1/2 hours late, it all works out because someone he met on the train has a friend meeting him and they are on their way to the same festival.
Alex is so open and friendly that he charms his way into many hearts at the event. Even though his rocket crashes almost before it is off the ground, he is able, with the help of one of the organizers, to look forward to building a better one next time.
Through Ancestry, an online family history resource, he discovers that someone with the same name as his dead father lives in Las Vegas. He fantasizes that this is his father, not really dead, but suffering from amnesia, and gets it into his head to go and see him. From there he plans to visit his brother. His new friends are headed that way and he manages to catch a ride with them. By the time his journey is over, Alex ends up learning much more about his family than he could have imagined.
As an adult, there were times when I was terrified for Alex. Thankfully he is lucky enough to connect up with basically kind people. Sometimes they make mistakes, but ultimately, it is their goodness that shines through. There is a deeply philosophical aspect to this novel that fills us with important lessons about life, family and friendship. It reminds us that world is filled with wonder if we open our hearts and minds to it.
Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.
I don't generally read middle grade/young fiction. I've read a few in the past, and my opinion has always been "not for me". As they are aimed at younger readers, I find the voice to generally be to young for me, personally, to find enjoyable. So when I was sent an unsolicited proof of See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng, I was sure I wouldn't be reading it. The summary on the press release said, "To read the first page is to fall in love with Alex and his view of our big, beautiful, complicated world," so I read the first page, and there was definitely something about Alex's voice. So when I saw it was available on NetGalley - which is now my preferred method of reading - I snapped it up. I'm so glad I gave this book a chance because it's absolutely beautiful.
Alex is a huge fan of space and astronomy, and his hero, Carl Sagan. Wanting to follow in his heroes footsteps, he plans to take his golden iPod, along with his hand built rocket, onto which he's making recordings for lifeforms from outer space, to a rocket launching festival in New Mexico.Things don't go quite as planned, though, and with his golden iPod, he goes on a journey, meeting people along the way, and sharing his experiences with the alien lifeforms through his iPod.
Oh my god, Alex is the most adorable young boy I think I've ever come across in fiction! At first, I was kind of worried; I was enjoying it, but I knew this book was for younger readers, and having them read a book about a boy who goes off on his own to a rocket festival for several days, meeting up with strangers... it made me feel really uncomfortable. I was worried that young readers might be inspired by Alex for the wrong reasons, and feel it's ok to go off and do things on their own. But this side of things is dealt with; although it all feels like a fun adventure for Alex and he doesn't realise the seriousness of what he's done, or just how lucky he has been, it is dealt with, with the serious a situation like this in real life would be dealt with.
But Alex is just wonderful! He is so smart, but also quite innocent, too, and it's because of both these qualities that the way he sees the world is so gorgeous. This book will make you think; I think we lose something as we grow up and become adults, and so looking at the world through the eyes of a child is so eye-opening. Alex is still learning, and doesn't know everything, so he makes absurd guesses, and sometimes his absurd guesses come closer to the truth than the actual answers to his questions. I think the reason I enjoyed this book so much is because I am an adult, because I know what Alex doesn't, or understand what he's yet to grasp, which makes him all the more adorable.
See You in the Cosmos is also a heartbreaking novel - though although it may not break the heart of the book's target audience, it will make them pause and realise something isn't quite right here. Alex doesn't have the best home life, but he wouldn't say that. He loves his mum, who goes off for very long walks, or has quiet days where she does and says very little. But he enjoys looking after her, going grocery shopping with the money his older brother sends over and cooking all the meals. He enjoys his part-time job at the gas station, where he organises the magazines for $5 a day, which he saves up for his rocket parts and train ticket to the festival. He loves his older brother, who now lives in LA for his job, who he hasn't seen in well over a year. He doesn't know any different, and he's happy. He doesn't seem to realise that his mother's behaviour is cause for concern, he doesn't realise that she should be looking after him, not the other way round, that it shouldn't have been so easy for him to be able to go to the rocket festival all by himself. But we know, and so our hearts break for him, but at the same we adore him even more, because he's such a happy, lovely little boy who has no complaints. This is his normal, and he's happy.
I loved pretty much everyone Alex meets on his little adventure. His story could have turned out so differently if the people he met weren't kind and concerned people. You've got to love Zed, the wonderful man who won't leave Alex on his own when he knows he shouldn't have been making his way to the rocket festival on his own in the first place, even though his friend doesn't want to bother with a kid who talks too much and asks too many questions. Zed looks out for him, and he's just awesome. And then there's Terra, Terra who has a story of her own that comes about all because of meeting Alex. God, this book is so full of beautiful and heartbreaking moments!
I'm sure older children will enjoy the story of this lovely half-Filipino, half-white-American boy who is obsessed with all things space, but I actually think adults will love it more. It's an absolutely gorgeous debut novel, and I implore you all to give it a go! It really has made me think differently about middle grade/young fiction, and I'll definitely be picking up more novels in this category in future.
Thank you to Puffin via NetGalley for the eProof.
I don't generally read middle grade/young fiction. I've read a few in the past, and my opinion has always been "not for me". As they are aimed at younger readers, I find the voice to generally be to young for me, personally, to find enjoyable. So when I was sent an unsolicited proof of See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng, I was sure I wouldn't be reading it. The summary on the press release said, "To read the first page is to fall in love with Alex and his view of our big, beautiful, complicated world," so I read the first page, and there was definitely something about Alex's voice. So when I saw it was available on NetGalley - which is now my preferred method of reading - I snapped it up. I'm so glad I gave this book a chance because it's absolutely beautiful.
Alex is a huge fan of space and astronomy, and his hero, Carl Sagan. Wanting to follow in his heroes footsteps, he plans to take his golden iPod, along with his hand built rocket, onto which he's making recordings for lifeforms from outer space, to a rocket launching festival in New Mexico.Things don't go quite as planned, though, and with his golden iPod, he goes on a journey, meeting people along the way, and sharing his experiences with the alien lifeforms through his iPod.
Oh my god, Alex is the most adorable young boy I think I've ever come across in fiction! At first, I was kind of worried; I was enjoying it, but I knew this book was for younger readers, and having them read a book about a boy who goes off on his own to a rocket festival for several days, meeting up with strangers... it made me feel really uncomfortable. I was worried that young readers might be inspired by Alex for the wrong reasons, and feel it's ok to go off and do things on their own. But this side of things is dealt with; although it all feels like a fun adventure for Alex and he doesn't realise the seriousness of what he's done, or just how lucky he has been, it is dealt with, with the serious a situation like this in real life would be dealt with.
But Alex is just wonderful! He is so smart, but also quite innocent, too, and it's because of both these qualities that the way he sees the world is so gorgeous. This book will make you think; I think we lose something as we grow up and become adults, and so looking at the world through the eyes of a child is so eye-opening. Alex is still learning, and doesn't know everything, so he makes absurd guesses, and sometimes his absurd guesses come closer to the truth than the actual answers to his questions. I think the reason I enjoyed this book so much is because I am an adult, because I know what Alex doesn't, or understand what he's yet to grasp, which makes him all the more adorable.
See You in the Cosmos is also a heartbreaking novel - though although it may not break the heart of the book's target audience, it will make them pause and realise something isn't quite right here. Alex doesn't have the best home life, but he wouldn't say that. He loves his mum, who goes off for very long walks, or has quiet days where she does and says very little. But he enjoys looking after her, going grocery shopping with the money his older brother sends over and cooking all the meals. He enjoys his part-time job at the gas station, where he organises the magazines for $5 a day, which he saves up for his rocket parts and train ticket to the festival. He loves his older brother, who now lives in LA for his job, who he hasn't seen in well over a year. He doesn't know any different, and he's happy. He doesn't seem to realise that his mother's behaviour is cause for concern, he doesn't realise that she should be looking after him, not the other way round, that it shouldn't have been so easy for him to be able to go to the rocket festival all by himself. But we know, and so our hearts break for him, but at the same we adore him even more, because he's such a happy, lovely little boy who has no complaints. This is his normal, and he's happy.
I loved pretty much everyone Alex meets on his little adventure. His story could have turned out so differently if the people he met weren't kind and concerned people. You've got to love Zed, the wonderful man who won't leave Alex on his own when he knows he shouldn't have been making his way to the rocket festival on his own in the first place, even though his friend doesn't want to bother with a kid who talks too much and asks too many questions. Zed looks out for him, and he's just awesome. And then there's Terra, Terra who has a story of her own that comes about all because of meeting Alex. God, this book is so full of beautiful and heartbreaking moments!
I'm sure older children will enjoy the story of this lovely half-Filipino, half-white-American boy who is obsessed with all things space, but I actually think adults will love it more. It's an absolutely gorgeous debut novel, and I implore you all to give it a go! It really has made me think differently about middle grade/young fiction, and I'll definitely be picking up more novels in this category in future.
Thank you to Puffin via NetGalley for the eProof.
Note: I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children's Puffin in exchange for an honest review.
This has been compared to [book: Wonder] by A.J. Palacio. But I don't think it's exactly on the same scale as Wonder. This book was incredibly cute and just heart warming. It deals with a lot of hard topics for kids but done in a way that makes it easier to understand. I believe Jack Cheng really did capture the essence of what an 11 year old boy is and how he would feel. Over all this book was well written and well researched. Well done Mr. Cheng!
This has been compared to [book: Wonder] by A.J. Palacio. But I don't think it's exactly on the same scale as Wonder. This book was incredibly cute and just heart warming. It deals with a lot of hard topics for kids but done in a way that makes it easier to understand. I believe Jack Cheng really did capture the essence of what an 11 year old boy is and how he would feel. Over all this book was well written and well researched. Well done Mr. Cheng!
I really enjoyed this as an audio book. It took the story to another level.
3.5 actually~
I gave 5 stars for audiobook because it's THAT good.
It was fun following alex's journey. I kinda enjoyed it.
I gave 5 stars for audiobook because it's THAT good.
It was fun following alex's journey. I kinda enjoyed it.
This was so gosh dang cute. I absolutely adored every second of this book. The format of it is really interesting, too, and what I think made me like it so much. The story follows 11-year-old Alex, who is IN LOVE with space. His dream, at the beginning of the book, is to send his Golden iPod, which he’s been recording Earth sounds on, into space on a rocket so that other lifeforms will someday intercept it and hear what Earth is all about. What ensues after that is the journey of a lifetime. It’s full of all sorts of drama and angst that I did not expect from this sweet-sounding story, and it nearly tore my heart out.
The format of the story are Alex’s recordings, and I want you to just imagine how an 11-year-old talks–super fast and all at once. Alex is over the moon excited about space and his hero, Carl Sagan, and talks about both of these pretty constantly. This was a super fast read, and very, very enjoyable overall.
The format of the story are Alex’s recordings, and I want you to just imagine how an 11-year-old talks–super fast and all at once. Alex is over the moon excited about space and his hero, Carl Sagan, and talks about both of these pretty constantly. This was a super fast read, and very, very enjoyable overall.
The best part is Alex petroski and innocent four dimensional feeling that are completely true to everyone.The book is very written very well and the story will live with you forever.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes