Review: The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

It all starts with a school essay.
When twelve-year-old Gratuity ("Tip") Tucci is assigned to write five pages on "The True Meaning of Smekday" for the National Time Capsule contest, she's not sure where to begin. When her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended on the Earth and the aliens-called Boov-abducted her mother? Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it "Smekland" (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod?

In any case, Gratuity's story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo.; a futile journey south to find Gratuity's mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom; a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious; and an outrageous plan to save the Earth from yet another alien invasion.

Fully illustrated with "photos," drawings, newspaper clippings, and comics sequences, this is a hilarious, perceptive, genre-bending novel from best-selling author Adam Rex.

Shona's review 5 of 5 stars

Can my review consist of me just gushing "I loved it, I loved it, I loved it?" No?? Ok then I guess I'll aim for something a little more then. So if you haven't heard, this is the book series that inspired the movie Home... Although it wasn't until after I had watched the movie with my family that I found out about this book... I loved the movie so much that I would have happily sat and watched it again immediately after. And you know what... I'd happily sit and re-read this book right now.

This is pitched as a book for middle grade, which is roughly 8-12, but I know this is a book I could sit down and read with my 6 year old daughter... she actually picked it up to read it the day I bought this and was disappointed that some of the words were a little too hard for her. This book really is suitable for all ages and with 6 people in our house I can see it being read many times.

One of the things that I really loved about this book was the addition of the photos, drawings, newspaper clippings and the little comic sequences, considering that this book is written as an essay from Tip's POV it makes sense that she would include some of those extras pieces, and it really adds an extra depth to her story.