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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Through the eyes of a child... This book is written in a child's perspective and touches on so many issues that face children today. 11-year-old Alex Petroski is a kid with a love for rockets and outer space. He designs a rocket, leaves his mom a note and manages to get his underage self and his dog onto a train heading to a rocket convention. This is just the beginning of his adventures, all of which are recorded on his golden iPod for the aliens he intends to send it to. Alex does many things that make me cringe, such as traveling alone, talking to strangers on the internet, getting into cars with strangers, climbing onto a rooftop...the list goes on and on. This book kept me reading to find out what would happen next. I was intrigued by his thoughts and also wanted to read on to make sure he was ok. By the end of the book, I had met many interesting characters and laughed along with Alex. His inquisitiveness and fearlessness are realistic for many kids Alex's age. Great book for middle-grade students, as well as for adults who are looking for a quick read and some insight into the mind of an 11-year-old.
Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for this Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for this Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
Although parts of this one are a bit far fetched, the overall story will warm your heart. I definitely recommend the audio version of this one!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF at 50%
I didn’t know it was a children’s book before I started reading it and since I genuinely don’t like children it wasn’t really enjoyable to hope that the kid would just disappear or shut up all the time.
I didn’t know it was a children’s book before I started reading it and since I genuinely don’t like children it wasn’t really enjoyable to hope that the kid would just disappear or shut up all the time.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"What if the times when we feel love and act brave and tell the truth are all the times we're four-dimensional, the times we're as big and everywhere as the cosmos."
Alex is an 11 year old boy who loves space, rockets (he's building his own!), and looks up to his idol Carl Sagan (he named his dog after him). Alex is 11 but "13 in responsibility years." His older brother lives out of state and rarely visits, and his Mom isn't always reliable. Alex is singularly focussed on getting his rocket to a competition and launching his Golden iPod out into space for aliens to listen to. The book is in the form of these recordings.
It's amazing what you miss as you see the world through the eyes of an 11 year old. As the book progresses from road trip into something else you realise that there's a lot implied here that you've just accepted because that's Alex's reality. He doesn't report these things because it's normal for him and adults haven't had the best track record with him.
Alex takes us on a journey to launch a rocket, to figure out his family, and answer those oh so wonderful questions of identity and purpose - and he inspires the adults around him to think about these questions too,
You'll fall in love with Alex; and the scared and gassy canine Carl Sagan too.
It's amazing what you miss as you see the world through the eyes of an 11 year old. As the book progresses from road trip into something else you realise that there's a lot implied here that you've just accepted because that's Alex's reality. He doesn't report these things because it's normal for him and adults haven't had the best track record with him.
Alex takes us on a journey to launch a rocket, to figure out his family, and answer those oh so wonderful questions of identity and purpose - and he inspires the adults around him to think about these questions too,
You'll fall in love with Alex; and the scared and gassy canine Carl Sagan too.
This is a very sweet book with some quirky characters as well as some real life issues. The format was fun, and the audio was excellent.