Take a photo of a barcode or cover
li3an1na4 's review for:
See You in the Cosmos
by Jack Cheng
I enjoyed the concept of the book more than the book itself. One thing I struggled with was the character of Alex. He's supposed to be 11 years old, but he he came off as much, much younger. If he was supposed to be on the spectrum, it was a phenomenally odd portrayal of that. It feels like a book written by someone who doesn't quite know how kids in the age group he picked think or act.
The book is written as the transcripts of Alex's audio recordings for aliens who might find his Golden Ipod after he sends it to space. Because Alex's character was hard to get a gauge on, the book itself never quite clicked for me. There's a lot that isn't said in the book that the reader has to discern for themselves. As this is middle grade fiction, maybe things are supposed to be more of a puzzle for kids reading the book to catch on to. But I think that the author isn't giving them enough credit.
The whole storyline with Alex's mother was also a bit off. I don't think it's asking that much for a MG-fic book to portray mental illness more accurately. That goes doubly if Alex was supposed to be on the spectrum.
There seemed to be a few storylines that went nowhere and situations that stretched being believable. For example, the Tessa and Steve storyline was completely unnecessary. The introduction of Tessa in itself was borderline stretching credibility.
I did like Alex's love for science and rockets. His bad astronomy jokes were amusing to me. 2.5 rounds to 3 stars.
The book is written as the transcripts of Alex's audio recordings for aliens who might find his Golden Ipod after he sends it to space. Because Alex's character was hard to get a gauge on, the book itself never quite clicked for me. There's a lot that isn't said in the book that the reader has to discern for themselves. As this is middle grade fiction, maybe things are supposed to be more of a puzzle for kids reading the book to catch on to. But I think that the author isn't giving them enough credit.
The whole storyline with Alex's mother was also a bit off. I don't think it's asking that much for a MG-fic book to portray mental illness more accurately. That goes doubly if Alex was supposed to be on the spectrum.
There seemed to be a few storylines that went nowhere and situations that stretched being believable. For example, the Tessa and Steve storyline was completely unnecessary. The introduction of Tessa in itself was borderline stretching credibility.
I did like Alex's love for science and rockets. His bad astronomy jokes were amusing to me. 2.5 rounds to 3 stars.