Mothership (Ever-Expanding Universe) [Hardcover]

Martin Leicht (Author), Isla Neal (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 10, 2012 | Series: Ever-Expanding Universe (Book 1)

Teen pregnancy is never easy—especially not when extraterrestrials are involved. The first in a new trilogy.

Elvie Nara was doing just fine in the year 2074. She had a great best friend, a dad she adored, and bright future working on the Ares Project on Mars. But then she had to get involved with sweet, gorgeous, dumb-as-a-brick Cole—and now she’s pregnant.

     Getting shipped off to the Hanover School for Expecting Teen Mothers was not how Elvie imagined spending her junior year, but she can go with the flow. That is, until a team of hot commandos hijacks the ship—and one of them turns out to be Cole. She hasn’t seen him since she told him she’s pregnant, and now he’s bursting into her new home to tell her that her teachers are aliens and want to use her unborn baby to repopulate their species? Nice try, buddy. You could have just called.

     So fine, finding a way off this ship is priority number one, but first Elvie has to figure out how Cole ended up as a commando, work together with her arch-nemesis, and figure out if she even wants to be a mother—assuming they get back to Earth in one piece.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Juno meets aliens, sort of, in this wacky debut novel. Sixteen-year-old Elvie Nara’s wisecracking voice is the perfect vehicle for her description of encounters with threatening aliens. An extremely clever premise that is skillfully carried off by the authors. Lots of humor, snarky teen comments, and earthy language abound. This reviewer cannot wait to see the next installment of Elvie’s alien encounters. Teens who like irreverent humor, as well as fans of science fiction, are going to enjoy spending time with Elvie and her friends.”

--VOYA

“This science-fiction–comic romp set in a space-based school for pregnant teens hits the funny bone and adds in an alien conflict for good measure. Elvie narrates the adventure, wisecracking the whole time. Leicht and Neal keep the focus mostly on wacky comedy, but it's a creditable adventure as well. Fans of science fiction and zany comedy should both be satisfied. Pure fun.”

--Kirkus

“The fast-paced action, laugh-out-loud moments, and memorable characters [are a] a whole lot of fun.”

--Publishers Weekly

“This action-packed first volume in the Ever-Expanding Universe series drips with sci-fi kitsch, including ray-gun-toting aliens and 1980s John Hughes nostalgia. There’s something refreshing about these witty, cursing, sarcastic teen mothers in space, led by a sharp, knowledgeable, and vulnerable young heroine.”

--Booklist

“Authors Martin Leicht and Isla Neal balance Elvie’s significant decisions about the future of herself and her baby with plenty of action, humor and interesting characters. This futuristic romp will delight readers and leave them anxiously awaiting the next book in what promises to be a fun, thoughtful trilogy.”

--BookPage (Tipsheet)

“Elvie is such a strong female lead. She’s has a personality and isn’t a wimp, unlike some other female leads in big books. She really stood up for herself when she needed to, and I really like that. Overall, Mothership was a very interesting book to read, unlike any book I’ve ever read before. It was really funny with sad parts too- and I learned a new word or two!” (HelloGiggles.com)

About the Author

Martin Leicht decided at the age of three that he wanted to spend his life spinning stories, and he went on to receive his MA from the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at NYU. He lives in New York City, though his heart will always be in Philadelphia.

Isla Neal grew up in a small mountain town in Southern California and earned her MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Teens at the New School in in New York City, where she currently lives and works.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (July 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442429607
• ISBN-13: 978-1442429604
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars for serious, this is a good read! July 23, 2012

By Emily Cooney

Format:Hardcover

I wasn't sure what to expect from a YA book about a pregnant teenager grappling with an alien crisis but figured what the heck?! The book is fantastic. It is fast-paced, creative, and smart. The authors did a wonderful job in creating the heroine, and providing a framework (albeit unusual) for working through difficult life issues and choices. I loved Elvie, and really appreciated the fine balance of her being a "silly teenage girl" and a "smart young woman" at the same time. There are a couple of points where I did go "c'mon!" when a part of the story didn't totally work for me, but acknowledge that in the overall scheme it made sense. Anyone from the Philly area will definitely enjoy many of the references! Overall a great read, and worth sharing with your friends - especially Dads who have little girls!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wacky and engaging July 20, 2012

By The Compulsive Reader VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Elvie had a plan: get good grades and get a great job after school that allows her to travel the universe. But that plan got derailed by Cole, and now she's pregnant and attending the Hanover School for for Expecting Teen Mothers on a space ship orbitting Earth. Things are going as well as can be expected considering Elvie is pregnant and her arch-nemesis is a fellow student at the school...and pregnant with Cole's baby as well. But when a bunch of hot pirates board the ship just a few weeks short of Elvie's due date and tell the girls that they're not safe, things get interesting. And when it turns out that Cole is one of her so-called rescuers...well, then things get complicated.

Mothership is a wacky and hilarious novel reminiscent of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson books...if Rennison had written about teen pregnancy and aliens. Everything about this book, from the characters to the plot, is very quirky, but engagingly so. The humor is intelligent and quick to grab your attention, but not so out there as to lose your attention. Elvie is an excellent narrator; she's plucky, smart, and a little guy crazy, but that doesn't dimish her intelligence. On the surface she may appear to be silly and superficial, but she really is a mature, resourceful character who has a lot of dreams and is struggling to make the best decisions for her baby and herself, and with feeling betrayed by Cole. She definitely doesn't sit around and wait for anyone to save her, and even eight months pregnant, she is kicking butt. The secondary characters are well-developed as well; Elvie's dad is pretty cool, even if he has trouble communicating with her and her best friend Duckie is fun and supportive in the best of ways.... Though Cole does come off as dumb and rather unattractive at first, he does grow on the reader as the book moves along. There is plenty of good action, great laughs, and nice twist at the end of the book to guarantee that readers will be coming back for book two in the Ever Expanding Universe trilogy. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy, fun new series bringing Juno to Space November 2, 2012

By Aliza Hausman VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I picked up this book on a whim after seeing it listed on Amazon Vine. It sounded so preposterous and the cover art was so out-there that it seemed more reasonable to get the book for free than to pay for it. I really had no idea what to expect and my expectations were really low.

Elvie is a heroine in the vein of the award-winning film, Juno. She's sarcastic. She's witty. She's a smart aleck. She's too mature for her age and wise beyond her years...but she's also a pregnant teenager in 2074, when leaps in medicine seem to prevent most teenage pregnancy as well as most diseases and the Space Program is so advanced that you can go to school in space! Circa 2012, Elvie would be that clever outsider in "Glee" club and "nerdy" space club material while still remaining too-cool-for-school.

With the support of a cool, but totally platonic best friend and a wonderful Dad, Elvie decides to spend junior year in space at the Hanover School for Expecting Teen Mothers. She figures that she can use her time in space to try figuring out if she can balance her dreams for her future and being a mother. But at Hanover, where Elvie expects to get her life back on track and avoid general high school drama including any drama surrounding her Baby Daddy, Cole, a dumb, gorgeous classmate, Elvie must face her archnemesis, a typical mean girl type who Cole has also impregnated. That impending catfight alone would make things interesting but Elvie is destined for greater things than she ever imagined.

Because getting her life on track (Elvie dreams of a career working on an innovative Mars project) becomes real complicated for Elvie when her Baby Daddy shows up at the Hanover School along with a bunch of hot commandos who are hijacking the ship.... Elvie has no idea who to trust when Cole arrives, the first time she's seen him since she told him she was pregnant, to announce that her teachers are aliens who want to use all the unborn children on-board to repopulate an alien species.

When Elvie does make her stand (deciding who's the Big Bad and who she should trust), it's epic! Saving herself and a bunch of other pregnant girls while ready to pop is a death-defying feat that may or may not get all of them back to Earth in one piece.

Truly, this is one of those books where you have to suspend disbelief and just go with it because if you do, you'll bust a gut laughing over the fast-paced hi-jinks to a reward and shocking finish. It all hinges on the great characters, in particular, Elvie and amazing dialogue and a crazy back-story that only begins to expand the "Ever-Expanding Universe." The authors give you little tastes of life in 2074 but only enough to keep you wanting more. And the last minute bomb the authors drop on the reader is welcome and leaves you craving more as far as a series though "Mothership" is a great stand-alone novel. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Darn that targeted advertising... July 27, 2012

By DelusionalAngel VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Okay first of all this is considered a YA book. Whenever I read a book that parents might still be buying for kids I like to post warnings if I feel sensitive readers will be ticked off to not learn of before buying a book. Well this is one of those books that needs those warnings. A quick reading of the summary and you'll see that this is a book about pregnant teens, so there should be no surprises there. While we're dealing with a school full of pregnant teens there is actually very little talk of sex (there's really only one sex "scene" and it's not graphic). There is cursing, which will send some people ranting and raving and possibly silently using some 4 letters words themselves, I don't find that offensive, but some people don't even want such words in adult books so, yeah fair warning. There are some brief mentions / discussions of whether or not to terminate pregnancies though as this book is set in the future the laws have changed (I won't spoil it), it's not done in an offensive way especially given the circumstances, but yeah there's that. The strongest warning this book should come with is actually re: the violence. The violent scenes while not overly detailed are still quite graphic and are primarily against the pregnant teens. In other words? Very sensitive readers should just stay away.

That said, I debated between 4 and 5 stars on this one. There were a few things that bugged me here and there. Slightly overused slang (not to the point of abuse, but very very close). Unrealistic scenes even for this story. Still, I ended up going with 5 because, well, it was a fast fun read. I don't mind that this book will be a series and I've been so over picking up new series books, so that's good. I loved Elvie.... I loved her bff Ducky (more of him the future books please). I loved to hate the cheerleaders. My fave actor of all time appears as an alien leader! Decommissioned cruise not quite space ships find new homes as things like schools for pregnant girls. There's not much I can say without spoiling the book. If the book description at all appeals to you and warnings don't offend you then you'll probably at least like it, if not love it. Read more ›