The True Meaning of Smekday

Smek #1

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 by a remarkable new talent.

Genres: Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fiction, Humor, Fantasy, Audiobook

426 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2007

About the author

Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He was neither the smart one (older brother) or the cute one (younger sister), but he was the one who could draw. He took a lot of art classes as a kid, trying to learn to draw better, and started painting when he was 11. And later in life he was drawn down to Tucson in order to hone his skills, get a BFA from the University of Arizona, and meet his physicist wife Marie (who is both the smart and cute one).

Adam is nearsighted, bad at all sports, learning to play the theremin, and usually in need of a shave. He can carry a tune, if you don't mind the tune getting dropped and stepped on occasionally. He never remembers anyone's name until he's heard it at least three times. He likes animals, spacemen, Mexican food, Ethiopian food, monsters, puppets, comic books, 19th century art, skeletons, bugs, and robots.

Garlic and crosses are useless against Adam. Sunlight has been shown to be at least moderately effective. A silver bullet does the trick. Pretty much any bullet, really.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before reading Adam Rex’s delicious banquet of pop culture skewers dipped in saucy social commentary and served alongside a heaping helping of warm, filling comfort food, the phrase "I love J.LO" had NEVER been part of my working vocabulary. Well folks…*burp*…I love J.LO. Now, I’m not referring to "Ms. Diva from the Block junky trunk", but rather the sweetest, charmingest, most Booviful Boov ever to invade Earth in search of oranges and urinal cakes:

Smekday is definitely a feel gooder with smarts. The story is structured as an essay entitled “The True Meaning of Smekday” being written by 11 year old Gratuity Tucci (aka Tip) for a contest. The winner of the contest will have their essay placed in a time capsule to be opened in 100 years. Because of her unique experiences during the Boov invasion, Gratuity decides to write her essay so that future kids will understand what really happened.

The essay begins by describing the Christmas invasion of Earth by the Boov. Upon taking over Earth, the Boov rename it Smekland after their leader, Captain Smek. The day of the invasion (i.e., Christmas) is renamed Smekday…hence the title of the book.

Following the invasion, all humans in America are required to relocate to Florida on “Moving Day.” The parallel to our treatment of Native Americans is very intentional and well done.

'Noble Savages of Earth,' [Captain Smek] said. 'Long time we have tried to live together in peace.' (It had been five months.) 'Long time have the Boov suffered under the hostileness and intolerableness of you people. With sad hearts I now concede that Boov and humans will never to exist as one.'
I remember being really excited at this point. Could I possibly be hearing right? Were the Boov about to leave? I was so stupid.
'And so now I generously grant you Human Preserves - gifts of land that will be for humans forever, never to be taken away again, now…So that's when we Americans were given Florida. One state for three hundred million people. There were going to be some serious lines for the bathrooms.

Well it turns out Gratuity’s mom, who disappeared prior to the invasion, was actually abducted by the Boov and so Tip heads off to Florida hoping that her mom will be there. Now Tip loves to drive (yes, she is only 11 but she has mad driving skills) and so rather than be transported by the aliens, she decides to make her own way to Florida.

This decision is total sweetness for us, the reader, because that leads to Gratuity quickly meeting up with the aforementioned J.Lo and the two travel together across America where zaniness and madcapery ensue. Much of the fun (as well as the problems they run into) stem from Tip and J.Lo not being able to communicate effectively as a result of both language and cultural difference.

YOU have no room to laugh, that's all. I'm not doing any worse with Boovish than you did with English.
‘Get off of the car,' J.Lo huffed. 'I am an English superstar.'
Uh-uh. There's no comparison. 'Gratuity' in written Boovish has seventeen different bubbles that all have to be the right size and in the right place. 'J.Lo' in written English only has three letters, and you still spelled it 'M-smiley face-pound sign.’

I had a lot of fun with this. In fact, I may have had such an enjoy on that I missed some of Rex’s subtle social commentary. No matter, I definitely intend to read/listen to this with my two daughters (6 and 11) and so will have a chance to pick up on anything I missed. By the way, the daddy/daughters re-read may definitely lead to a ratings up tick.

In the meantime, this is a quality, quality children’s book that adults should enjoy as much as their kids. If you are still not convinces, I will leave you with the two stars of the book breaking down the 10 reasons why you should read this. Enjoy!!



3.5 stars. RECOMMENDED!!

P.S. I really enjoyed listening to the audio version of this story performed by Bahni Turpin. Her narration was like a one woman stage play, greatly enhancing the pleasure factor. I highly recommend it for fans of audio books.

[Lata · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5-5 stars. This book was such a hoot! (No, I didn't see the movie.) I've been meaning to read this book for ages, and when I stumbled across the audiobook narrated by Bahni Turpin (I'm a big fan of her work), well, it was a no-brainer.
Bahni Turpin does a wonderful job voicing Gratuity "Tip" Tucci, really giving me a great sense of the character's humour, determination, integrity and love. As far as J.Lo was concerned, once I got over my initial surprise over his odd sentence construction and accent, I really enjoyed Ms. Turpin's interpretation of this character, too.
The story is full of humour, and I found myself frequently chuckling, and occasionally laughing out loud (yes, I got odd looks!)
I enjoyed the way Gratuity and J.Lo got along, gradually growing close over their road trip across the U.S., and I loved their interaction with Frank (Shouting Bear). How Gratuity and J.Lo figured out how to deal with the alien invasion was often funny and surprisingly touching, too, at times.
This was definitely one of my more enjoyable audio reads so far this year.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much my favorite children's book of the past few years, and one of my favorite books overall. It has such a sense of gamboling fun, even with the aliens are busy herding up humanity and shunting them off to states that they themselves don't particularly like.

J-Lo, the alien character is charming, and I wish he could be my own friend. Rex put a lot of emotion into that lovable squat fireplug, and my only "J-Lo" related dismay is that while readers of this book might know that J-Lo named himself after a popular earthen star, hopefully making himself more acceptable to the people he would soon conquer, lots of OTHER people (here I speak of foolish non-readers of this book) might get the wrong idea of ME, Paul Tobin, when I'm out in public and suddenly say, "Boy, I really like J-Lo!"

Still, having casual passers-by believe that I'm into Jennifer Lopez is a small price to pay for such an overly solid and completely enjoyable book. How much did I love this book? Well, shortly after finishing it, I was flipping through an art dealer's table at the San Diego Comic Convention, and to my surprise came across the original art for the very last page in the book, with Gratuity and her mother and J-Lo all together. And I snapped the art up, and now it's on my wall. I'll have a little piece of J-Lo forever.

Umm...you understand I'm not talking about Jennifer Lopez, right?

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

On one of my twice yearly bus trips to visit Mom I saw parts of a movie called Home. Parts because I tend to sleep most of the time on the bus and could not get myself awake enough to watch the whole thing. But I did see it on cable once I got back down to the casa. I learned then that the movie was inspired by this book (and its sequel, which I am reading now) so I made a note and ordered them both but never took them back to Mexico with me. The idea of me moving back to Arizona to be with Mom had already come up and I decided to wait until I was here to read these books.

So to make a long story longer, I'm here now and I chose The Real Meaning Of Smekday as my first official book of the year. Considering the movie title and the fact that in the book all Americans were sent by the Boov to Arizona, I think it was an appropriate choice.

So, the alien Boov come to the planet, take it over, shove all the people off first to Florida and then to Arizona. Our main character is an awesome young lady by the name of Gratuity Tucci, whose mother has disappeared. Gratuity (or Tip, as her friends call her) is all alone and knows she needs to find Mom, so she sets off with her cat Pig to drive to Florida. Along the way she meets J.Lo, a Boov who is also on the run because of a terrible mistake he has made. They form an unlikely but wildly entertaining partnership.

I loved their conversations and the slowly growing awareness between them that maybe they could actually become friends. I also liked the way serious topics were introduced in ways that easily contribute to good conversations about them, which is good for both younger and adult readers.

There are of course differences between the movie and the book, but each format has points in its favor. I'm off to read the next book now, and then I think I'll watch the movie again. Might as well, I've been hearing the soundtrack in my head most of the time while reading!

[babyhippoface · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Boov jumped off his antler spool and went back inside the MoPo...."

I think I'm going to memorize this line. And next time someone asks me a question I don't want to answer, I'm gonna hit 'em with the Boov.

Smekday is funny, silly, and entertaining. Gratuity/Tip is a terrific heroine, spunky and anxious and bold. But my favorite character was J.Lo. Who knew Boov could be so big-hearted? (Plus, who knew urinal cakes were apparently so delicious?)

Although it's a bit long for a read-aloud, I can't help but think kids would roll every time J.Lo opens his mouth. Especially if I could get my Latka-from-Taxi voice down just close enough. That's what J.Lo sounds like in my head: Latka. With a touch of Stitch, of "Lilo &" fame.

The conversations between Gratuity and J.Lo were far and away my favorite part of the book. They're funny enough reading silently, but read them aloud, and I just start to giggle like a... silly giggling thing (nods to Georgia Nicolson). I particularly enjoyed reading random bits of dialogue out loud to my family, who always laughed and looked at me like I was a Boov. "WHAT are you READING?" was usually the next thing to escape their lips. >smurrfle< Still makes me giggle.

Love that M:-)#.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

The critics have spoken:



"This is the bestest book in the whole widest world!!!" - Felix, The Other New York Review of Books



"Two thumbs up! Way up or this one!" - Roger Fleabert & Gene Whiskel, At the Libraries

I leave it to the reader of this review to go and find out why the cat world raves about this book, and I'll leave it to Steve's and Ceridwen's reviews to clinch the intention to read this funny, touching and intelligent book.

For my part, I'm going to send this off to my nieces ASAP as soon as I can pry it from the claws of Puck:

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. Tip's story was a blast to follow, and I really enjoyed her and J.Lo's friendship throughout it. I thought it was so fun to see how different people would react to a hostile alien invasion and Tip's reactions to them. The ending actually made me laugh, but I won't spoil it. If you like plucky characters, I think you'd like Gratuity "Tip" Tucci

I listened to this on audio, and honestly, Bahni Turpin is becoming one of my favorite narrators. She made the experience that much more enjoyable, so I definitely recommend picking up the audiobook if you get the chance.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was für ein wundervolles Kinderbuch!
Es ist unerwartet philosophisch und regt zum Nachdenken an - aber erst auf den zweiten Blick. Vor allem ist es sehr unterhaltsam, lustig, spannend und abenteuerlich. Den kleinen Boov J.Lo muss man einfach ins Herz schließen.
Der später gedrehte Trickfilm kann mit der Buchvorlage leider nicht mithalten. Er ist nur noch ein zuckersüßer, anspruchsloser Abklatsch von DreamWorks. Nicht einmal der kleine Boov durfte seinen Namen behalten. Da wollte man wohl seine Namenspatin Jennifer Lopez nicht verärgern.

Manchmal braucht es ein Kinderbuch, um zu zeigen, was Gerechtigkeit ist.

[Lightreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the wreckage of America post alien invasion, an eleven-year-old girl sets off on an epic road trip with one of the invaders and a cat.

OMG. OMG OMG my feels, I can't. This is hilarious and sad and wonderful and quirky. I giggled, I sniffled, I gasped. I got my feels everywhere, which doesn't happen for just any old book.

Basically, if you are a sucker for very brave, very angry little girls; if two people tentatively reaching out from opposite sides of a war and a language barrier and a lot of rage to find their best friend on the other side will leave you verklempt; if you will enjoy the use of alien ethnic jokes to make a joke about human ethnic jokes; if you love cats. Run, do not walk.

So, so good.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had to describe this book in a word, I'd call it a romp. It's fun, it's funny, it's a fast-paced adventure. And it's very clever. Too clever, in fact; one gets the impression that the author is very impressed with himself, and cracks himself up with how witty and clever he can be.

Somewhere on GoodReads, I saw a description of a book (don't recall which one) as "it's like a friend's little brother--he's really funny and entertaining for a little while, and then you want him to go away." That's an excellent synopsis of this book.

[Trin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a reader, there's a certain type of book I dream about: one that somehow manages to be smart and funny and meaningful. Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday is—wonder of wonders!—just such a book. Don't feel bad if you've never heard of it, however, because it also happens to be a kids' book. But it's one that can be appreciated just as easily by adults, who are just as likely to enjoy the novel's fantastic narrative voice and sharp sense of humor, and may get even more out of Smekday's central metaphor: the story follows precocious 12-year-old Tip after aliens land on Earth and claim it for their own. The Boov then force the human population to relocate—in the case of the residents of the U.S., first to Florida, then to Arizona. (Sound familiar?) Tip, however, is separated from her mother at the beginning of the invasion, and so must travel on her own, encountering on her way one of the aliens who, in fantastic Ford Prefect tradition, has christened himself with the human name of J.Lo. Further—utterly delightful—shenanigans ensue.

Both Tip’s narration and all the characters’ dialogue are a constant source of amusement and a sly cleverness, and Tip and J.Lo’s blossoming friendship made me happy in the way that only a truly epic literary friendship can. I never wanted this book to end. Sadly, it had to, so I shall have to console myself by recommending it to as many people as I can, adults and children—and even Boov—alike.

[Shep · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book at one of my favorite bookstores of all time: A small, charming little shop in Redlands, CA called The Frugal Frigate. I don't live there anymore, but back in 2008 my mom and I were in town and I stopped by the store for old time's sake.

The store had since been bought out by an older couple, but they had maintained its comfortable, cozy charm. Nothing had changed since I'd last visited, and that meant more to me than anything in the world. I'd be heartbroken if anything was different.

The new owners were warm and friendly people, I probably spent over a half an hour chatting books with them. The man, who went over some of his favorite fantasy and sci-fi reads, recommended this book. It seemed odd; the cover was cool, an interesting idea. I knew it would be something unique. I was a bit unsure, but I went on feeling and purchased the book.

And you know what? I'm so happy I did. The True Meaning of Smekday is funny, smart, and unlike anything I've ever read. A true treasure. Everyone should read it.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the funniest, constantly entertaining books I've read in a long time, kids book or otherwise. The narrator is a brilliantly sarcastic young girl, the alien J-Lo is a riot, and the premise never gets tired. I kept waiting for some sappy "kids book" ending to mar the climax, but it never got bad. I'm going to buy a copy to own, just so I can re-read it to Mulzer again.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my word. I need to have children so I can read this to them. Who wants to make some reading-ready children with me? Stephanie? Stephanie?

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gratuity “Tip” Tucci has been assigned a five-page essay on what Smekday–the day that the alien race called the Boov that conquered Earth suddenly left–means to her. But Tip’s story far exceeds the assignment, and before long, she finds herself chronicling her journey from start to finish. Her mother was abducted the day the Boov arrived, and Tip goes on a journey to find her, first in Florida where the Boov relocated all the humans, and then to Arizona (when they decided they wanted Florida for themselves). Along the way, she becomes unlikely allies with a fugitive Boov who calls himself J.Lo and learns of a threat even greater than the Boov: an alien race called the Gorg who conquer every world for its resources. Trigger warnings: death, explosions, violence, severe injury, car accidents, racism (some countered).

I have a tendency to imprint on the first media I come into contact with, so I ended up liking Home (2015) more than its source material, but it’s almost not even a fair comparison. It’s one of those cases of taking the same premise to tell two totally different stories, and Home is definitely geared and sanitized for a younger audience than The True Meaning of Smekday. The film misses a lot of the larger, messier themes like colonialism and racism and trades them for themes of belonging and perspective (but I love the adorable movie ending). I enjoyed the deeper themes of the novel and feel like its slightly older audience would be ready for them. There’s a strong parallel between the Boov “discovering” Earth and relocating its population to British-American treatment of Native Americans, and it includes a Native American side character later in the story.

Character-wise, I didn’t always find Tip to be quite that believable. She often comes off more as a cynical old man than a twelve-year-old girl, which I think is partly her complicated relationship with her mother (with Tip sometimes having to play the mother role herself) and partly the author creeping into the character. J.Lo is about as silly as an alien character who names himself J.Lo would be, but I enjoyed the way his and Tip’s friendship develops over the course of the novel from grudging allies to almost family. The Boov and Gorg cultures are also well-developed, and it’s surprisingly science fiction heavy for a middle grade book. (A little too sci-fi for me, truth be told, but I like the idea of a female lead in a genre that’s often male-centric.)

I don’t like the essay structure of the book, and I don’t feel like it best serves the story that’s being told. Tip’s first essay is barely an introduction on the topic, and she ends up writing the rest of it to be read only after she’s old and dead. Again, this comes off extremely cynical for a kid, and I think the action of the story would have been better from a first or third person narrator instead of in Tip’s “words.” The other genres included are a fun diversion though, from photographs (illustrations) of some of the characters to J.Lo’s comics about Boov life. The ending veers into the ridiculous, at least from an adult perspective, but I can see it working well for a middle grade sense of humor. I’m not quite the right audience for it, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from picking it up.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

re-read 2024:
Soon the Boov was in the ghost suit and Pig was in the car, which would be a good lyric for a bluegrass song now that I think of it."
gosh I love this book.

original review 2019:
"Pass to me the flocked bootpunch."
"Can you describe it?"
"Pink. Fur. Twisty parts."
"That's like, three things in here."
"It will be quivering a little."
"Aha. Here."
Two hours passed and I had to admit I wasn't good for anything except handing J.Lo tools that had been described really well beforehand.

This is one of my heart-happy books. It just brings me joy. There's no other way to describe it. Tip and J.Lo's friendship owns my entire heart, I just love the way they go from not really caring about one another to being willing to do almost anything to keep the other safe. Ahhh, okay, we're gonna try to do a real review here.

This is such a wonderful representation of what humanity would do if our world was invaded by aliens. Most of them go along with it, but several just don't budge. And that, I feel, is so accurate to humanity. Tip is the coolest and the most determined kid and yet still acts exactly like some of the eleven-or-twelve-year-olds I know in my life. Just like "ok, guess i'm going to florida by myself because i'm not getting in that giant ship they want me in" and I love that about her.

I just have a lot of emotions about this story, okay. It's funny, it's bittersweet, it's ridiculous and yet it's wonderful. It's got goofy moments and it's got a lot of heart. And it's got lines like this:

I didn't know how to ask what I was asking. So I just asked it.
“Do you have love?”
“Maaa-aa-aa-aa-aa!” J.Lo laughed. “Of course the Boov love. The Boov love everything!”
I didn't feel up to arguing about it, but I was pretty sure if you loved everything you didn't really love anything.

And it just makes my heart happy.

(just as a side note, there is some language. this is a secular book about secular people, so just be forewarned)

Five stars. Forever and always.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Most everyone thinks of Smekday as the day the Boov arrived, and as the day they left, one year later. But the longer they've been gone, the less I care about that. The Boov weren't anything special. They were just people. They were too smart and too stupid to be anything else."

This is the best, funniest allegory for Manifest Destiny, colonialism, and privilege that you will ever, ever read. Yes, there are cartoons. Yes, there is an entire page that is only the word "meow" repeated. Yes, the allegory is silly space aliens. None of that matters, except in the way that may very well make you start laughing so hard the people around you give you funny looks. You should read this book.

Other reasons to read this book: *POC main character
*Awesome main character
*Three dimensional writing because Letters Are Confusing
*Died of asphyxiation
*Cat named "Pig" actually excuse to turn whole book into a shaggy dog story
*How they really keep Happy Mouse Kingdom so clean
*Chief Shouting Bear Is Not A Crazy Indian
*At least 424 other reasons not listed here (no. pages in book)

Seriously, read it. Or at least make your children read it.

[Tom Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you only read one alien-invasion-slash-road-trip-slash-buddy-comedy-based-piece-of-YA-lit-that-crosses-several-boundaries-into-the-realm-of-best-work-of-fiction-for-a-specific-age-group this year, then make it this one. Please.

Big points for originality of premise, but "The True Meaning of Smekday" still falls into some of the common routines of contemporary young adult lit. It's a hodge-podge of weird and zany components that don't stick together well, which evidently must be tremendously appealing to pre-teens. There's an orphaned girl protagonist, a kitty cat sidekick with a silly name, and funny-talking aliens (obviously). There's some light social commentary about America and junk food, and some fast-paced action with chases and ray guns. The delivery of the story as if it were an essay written by a student, complete with teacher's grading and comments, is something unique that I've never seen, though.

3 stars out of 5. Fun light reading that I'd call "above average" in a heartbeat.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

So get this:
This is a book about colonization and cultural appropriation that predominantly features People of Colour as the main characters.

IKR! Wuuuuuuuut.
Rex is a genius. He’s pulled from historical (and current day) examples of colonialism and violent takeovers and just imported them into an alien invasion. You’re reading along thinking “WTF, they can’t ‘give us’ Florida and pretend it’s a huge gift, it was ours to begin with and we won’t all…”

There are a couple of things that happened in the book that smack of real events that I can’t place. Like pulling out random citizens who have no cultural or political authority (and possibly no education) and making them sign treaties with you that you can wave around and insist you have the right to do anything. When did that happen IRL? Because I’m absolutely sure Rex pulled that from real life. Another example is when people would leave their houses (maybe they were evacuated or maybe they only to went for groceries or something) and they’d come back and the Boove would have just moved in and the person would now be homeless, that kind of thing happened all the time early on in the Israel/Palestine conflict at least, probably elsewhere too at different times.
The whole thing SEEMS ridiculous when framed as this over-the-top, hilarious alien invasion by a people who can’t even decipher pig Latin, and that’s kind of the brilliance of it. It’s not at all subtle about anything and there’s no room for misunderstanding, and yet it is so fun. It’s a freaking work of art, is what it is.
Gratuity is an incredible character who is navigating not only alien invasions, but racism and sexism too. More than once she’s accused of being bossy (once by a pair of the most obnoxious boys we’ve all met), and people’s racial assumptions almost cost her the search for her mother. She also makes friends with Chief Shouting Bear (aka Frank) who has no shortage of racism to deal with himself.

All the while she’s driving her hovering car Slushes across the country, keeping her cat Pig and her best friend JLo out of trouble (or at least keeping them all together as they get IN to trouble), and figuring out how to save the world.

Basically:



I just want to add, the bit where JLo explains the history of the Boove world is maybe the most amazing part of the book. The part where the scientists are exiled for saying God was unclean (ie. Discovering climate change) and then God dies of asphyxiation (ie. The ocean can no longer support life) was incredible. I laughed so hard because it was that or cry.

[R.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Review originally posted on LiveJournal, 2007/08/09]

I loved this book SO MUCH I can hardly find words to tell you.

An 11-year-old girl named Gratuity, her cat Pig, and an utterly adorable alien who answers to "J.Lo" end up taking a road trip across the southern USA in a souped-up hovercar to find Gratuity's missing mother and incidentally maybe save the world -- this is a book full of quirky delights and unexpected depths, not to mention some pretty incisive social commentary (albeit deftly handled and never preachy). The cast is diverse without falling into stereotypes, and the writing is smart, funny and in places unexpectedly beautiful.

The moment I was done I wanted to read the book again -- preferably out loud to my middle son so I could watch him enjoy it as much as I did. Since it was first released in 2007, it's available in paperback and at 425 pages, it's a nice meaty read without ever feeling padded or stretched thin. Plus it comes with delightful illustrations (including many in comic book form) by the author, who is clearly one of these people with more talent than anyone has a right to.

[P.S. Since this is an old review it deserves an update: I read the book to my middle son and he loved it. Then I read it again a couple years later to my youngest son and he loved it as well. We went to see the movie ("Home") when it came out and all agreed that it was cute but nothing like the book, and that it really just made us want to read the book over again.]

[Rachel Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvelous and very funny science fiction comedy in which eleven-year-old Gratuity "Tip" Tucci tells the story of how Earth was colonized by aliens, and she ended up traveling cross-country in search of her mother in a flying car called Slushious, in the company of a conflicted alien named J. Lo.

This book has all sorts of elements which I normally hate, from cutesy pop culture references to heavy-handed messages ("colonialism is bad") to mocking Disneyland (easy target). Amazingly, I loved it anyway. It's very, very, very funny, the messages are on-target, and Tip is an extremely likable heroine, if a tad mature for eleven. There are some comic strips incorporated which tell the history of the aliens, and I nearly died laughing reading them.

I also liked that Tip is biracial (African-American/Italian) and it comes up believably, but that's not the subject of the story. Though I have to register my usual annoyance that while she is accurately depicted in the interior illustrations, she's not present on the cover. Seriously, would it kill publishers to occasionally depict people of color on the covers of books in which they are the protagonists?

I think anyone over about eight could appreciate this one, if their reading level is up to it.

[Colleen AF · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a bit to get into this one, but perhaps that was because I picked it up 100% convinced it was going to be my new favorite book in the world before I read a single character. As soon as J.Lo appeared I was HOOKED. His Balki-an charm, urinal cake eating habits, and hysterical integrated "The History of the Boov" mini-comics won me over in no time. I've been a fan of Rex's picture books for years with a lovely collection of signed books on my shelf, each one received while I was red-faced and mutter-y at the face of THE REX, and each one awesome. I think everyone in the world should read this book if only for the broom closet joke (which made me laugh much longer than I should have) and the lovely map of the "new united states" which is simply Arizona with a large Texas-shaped middle. Rex's illustrations are particularly at their best here and Gratuity is a unique and likable narrator. Like the sap I am, I teared up happily at the last line. Man I think I need to make a bookshelf for things that made me cry! I'm pathetic, but this book, this book is pretty darn fantastic.

[F.C. Yee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount I loved this book really snuck up on me as I read it. At no point did it ever stop being hilarious and heartwarming.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good the audio book really gave it character too

[Yelania Nightwalker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solicité este libro para reseña porque (y sonará un poco superfluo) me encantó la portada, lo cual me hizo leer la sinopsis y desear leerlo. Lo inicié y me estaba encantando así que fui al cine a ver Home, la película y la amé, reí y casi lloré y me la viví intentando hablar como el Buv :D Lo sé, es raro, a mi edad, pero me encantó como no se imaginan, de modo que tomé el libro de nuevo y lo terminé rapidísimo. ¿Y saben qué? La película y el libro son completamente diferentes.

Empecemos con Tipolina Tucci, quien es animada en su escuela a escribir sobre lo sucedido cuando la invasión de los Buv. Ella cuenta cómo perdió a su mamá y cómo conoció a J. Lo, el Buv, el extraterrestre. Así, nos va narrando una historia que es de lo más divertida. Al principio Tip no quiere a J. Lo, porque a fin de cuentas él representa a esa raza que le ha separado de su madre, sin embargo, conforme va avanzando el tiempo estos dos van desarrollando una amistad de los más bonita.

Mezclado con el ensayo que escribe Tip, hay imágenes y cómics hechos por el Buv que nos cuentan parte de su historia, de cómo llegaron a la tierra y de los malvados Gorg que desean apoderarse de Smeklandia. Creo que Adam Rex hizo un trabajo fenomenal con la amistad que surge entre Tip y J. Lo. Este alien es de lo más divertido, encantador y me inspiraba ternura.  

Ir leyendo toda la travesía de estos dos a lo largo del país, la gente con la que se encuentran, incluso las ciertas críticas sociales que hace el autor, logra que el libro sea muy completo, que los personajes se queden en tu memoria. Siento que la manera en que está narrado y las fotos e historietas que se van hallando conforme se avanza en la novela la hacen muy ligera y sí, hay mucha información pero no lo sientes abrumador, al contrario, quieres conocer más de lo que está pasando y esperas con ansias los diálogos entre Tip y J. Lo porque son geniales. Y el crecimiento que hay en ambos al final del libro, vale mucho la pena.

El verdadero significado del Smekdía es una novela ligera, divertida pero llena de significado (como su nombre lo indica), que nos demuestra que no debemos prejuzgar a las personas porque nos podríamos llevar una verdadera sorpresa. 

[Kezermezer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a year since the aliens left, and the National Time Capsule committee is collecting essays on The True Meaning of Smekday, one of which will be chosen to go into the capsule and unearthed in one year.

What aliens? What is Smekday? We're about to find out, through the essay of (then) 11-year-old Gratuity Tucci, who lived through the invasion.

The True Meaning of Smekday has been described as "truly wonderful" and "snappy". I was really hoping for a story like that, but I try to keep my expectations neutral as reviews are just personal opinions, after all.

In my experience, this book was only occasionally wonderful and infrequently snappy. It started out promisingly but never really delivered. My ten-year-old son and I laughed out loud a few times (mostly in the very first section), and I was sometimes struck by a well-written and vivid scene or sentence (eg "So we watched the storm, watched the wind push the rain around in billowing sheets like the ghosts of old oceans.") but I wanted the whole book to be like that. It was a shame and a frustration to catch these glimpses of laugh-out-loud humor and lovely prose but to most of the time be stuck in average writing and meandering plot work.

This is not to say it was all bad, just that it could and should have been so much better. There was a thread of fun running throughout, most especially because of Gratuity's partner in crime, a Boov named J.Lo who is very fun to read aloud if you're one of those parents who does the voices. It's also peppered with well-done illustrations, including some cartoon-strip-esque narratives in which J.Lo explains things about Boovish culture and history.

A note about the cussing - there is cussing, and it's not (just) 'turd' or 'oh my God'. It's 'ass' and 'hell' and the like. Appropriate words for an 8 year old? That's up to the parents of course, but for that reason and because it was sometimes intensely wrenching (I'm thinking particularly of the scene where Tip's mom gets abducted [the second time]) I felt like it was only borderline appropriate for my ten year old and better suited for 11 or 12 and up.

[Eva Mitnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is actually a very very long essay written by Middle School student Gratuity Tucci for a contest, the winning essay of which will be placed in a time capsule to be opened in 100 years - in 2113. In it, Gratuity (Tip to her friends) describes the invasion of the Boov and the subsequent relocation of all humans to Florida (and then to Arizona, as the Boov decide they want Florida for themselves). Tip's mother was taken by the aliens early on, and so 12-year-old Tip takes her cat and drives (yes, drives) off in search of her. Early on, she meets up with a stray handyman Boov, who reengineers her car to fly. Gradually, Tip and the Boov, who calls himself J.Lo, become uneasy friends and allies, as they avoid the Boov, meet all sorts of strange humans, and then find themselves dealing with an even more fearsome set of aliens, the Gorg.
This is an extremely funny book - the dialogue, whether tongue-in-cheek or absolutely outrageous, is snappy and Tip and J.Lo are both loveable, if often irascible and just plain nuts. J.Lo speaks English with a distinctly Boovian and very ludicrous accent - when he first meets Tip and is bluffing her, he says, "Then...then...I will have onto shoot with my gun!" and when that doesn't work, he tries "NO GUN! So I will have to...have to...SHOOT FORTH THE LASERS FROM MY EYEBALLS!" Tip carries around an antique polaroid camera, and so the book is illustrated with drawings depicting the polaroids, messily taped into the book.
First-rate, tip-top SF for all ages - Read This Book!!

[Karen Naftel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite book. Of all time.
It has so many elements that never cease to amaze me, no matter how many times I read and reread it. Which is quite a few times. The characters are really lovable. Gratuity is very matter-of-fact when she writes and I love her sarcastic humour. J.Lo...well, how can you describe an alien who has so many quirks and looks like a squat mix of frog arms and elephant legs. I love the hilariousity of it all. Mostly all of Gratuity and J.Lo's conversations made me laugh out loud, which got me a couple weird looks but it was worth it. The randomness is definitely a reason I love this book. I mean, from the whole plot basically, to the 7 genders of the Boov to pages 410 to 413, this book will surprise anyone. I also really enjoyed the comics provided by J.Lo. They were educational and funny at the same time!
It's a pretty awesome book.

[thefourthvine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Smekday, my forever girl. I love this book. I adore it. I'm always an obnoxious book proselytizer (mention a book and watch me rec! forever!), but this book cranked me up to 11. I forced people to read it. I bought a copy for a bed-bound friend. I read this out loud to my Best Beloved. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

I love Tip, I love the alien races, I love the humor, I love the edges hidden inside the humor. I love all the characters, particularly J.Lo, hapless alien repairperson and brave friend to Tip. I love the cartoons and the illustrations and basically every word of the book. Basically, I love this book so much someday my kid is going to HATE it. (And I will still read it to him. Because I love it.)

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hilarious "essay" by Gratuity Tucci on what "Smekday" means to her since the alien Boov took over the world. Rex is also an illustrator, and there are lots of fun pictures and comics to tell parts of the story. I did think that it needed to be divided up into more parts. The first hundred pages is one segment, and the last three hundred are another, with no chapter breaks at all. I could have used a couple of breaks. But it was very, very fun, and I absolutely loved J.Lo the Boov.