See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng is strange and funny and moving story told in the transcriptions of voice recordings 11-year-old Alex Petroski makes on an iPod he intends to send to space on the rocket he has built and will launch at a rocket convention. His unexpected journey takes him from Colorado to New Mexico to Las Vegas to L.A. and back Colorado again.
Alex's father died many years ago, his older brother works far away and checks in rarely, and his mum has been having a lot of her 'quiet days' recently. Alex can cook pretty well for himself and his mum, and has plenty of friends on Rocketforum, where he has learned all his rocket-building skills. With his pocket money from his job at a nearby grocery store Alex has ordered all his rocket parts online and booked his Amtrak tickets from Colorado to New Mexico.
What ensues is a surprising amount of travel and road tripping for an 11 year old on his own, with a lively cast of supporting characters/grown ups. The transcripts of Alex's voice recordings work really well as a storytelling tool, especially in tense situations with Alex narrating. Alex absolutely melts your heart leaving you rooting for him and of course his faithful doggo, Carl Sagan.
See You in the Cosmos is out on March 2nd 2017!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. All views my own, promise!
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