From Publishers Weekly
Dedicated science-fiction fans will probably find this novel silly, but others looking for something a little wacky and not too taxing may be amused by its rendition of aliens running amok. Sometimes Mike Pillsbury's made-up stories about space battles seem more real to him than his life with two highly successful parents, a popular older sister and a mob of classmates who "think he's weird." Mike feels like an alien, but he doesn't actually believe he is one until the SOS message he launches into outer space ("I am being held against my will, trapped by ignorance and cruelty....") brings all sorts of strange creatures from other planets to his aid. By the time they arrive, Mike has found a girlfriend and decided that earth isn't so bad after all. Not all of his rescuers, however, agree that he should stay put. Mackel (A Season of Comebacks) glosses over the logistics of Mike's communication with aliens as well as his belatedly discovered intergalactic origins. She spends most of her energy describing the various extraterrestrials (ranging from a pink blob of goo to something that looks very much like a poodle) and lamenting Mike's isolation as a classic nerd. Mike's transformation into a hero, like his encounter of the third kind, is, perhaps, a little too far out of this world. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7Seventh-grader Mike Pillsbury may be a weird kid who doesnt fit in at school, a misfit in his family, and a disaster on the football teambut hes an alien somehow stuck here on Earth, so what does it matter? For years he has told his friends the story of his people, the Hanzels, and of their planets conquest by the evil snakelike Jongs. Then Katelyn, the girl he secretly likes, asks him to help design decorations for a Halloween dance. As they work on the project their friendship grows, but when the ultra-cool multimedia event is sabotaged, Mike flees in despair, rigs up an intergalactic plea for help, and sends out a distress signal that fries his parents satellite dishes. Soon, alien rescuers are turning up everywhere. Finally, Mike can leave Earthbut he realizes that Katelyn means too much to him and that he is starting to find a place for himself in junior high. When a Jong captures a neighbor kid, Mike and Katelyn scramble to save him, and Earth, from neutralization. This humorous, fast-paced science-fiction adventure is set in the real world of adolescent angst, bullies, and first love. Readers will wonder along with Mike what is reality and what is an active imaginationuntil the aliens start popping up. This imaginative romp will appeal to those who enjoyed Gail Gauthiers My Life among the Aliens (Putnam, 1996) and may just win some new sci-fi fans.Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
