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First Day on Earth
A startling, wonderful novel about the true meaning of being an alien in an equally alien world.
"We are specks. Pieces of dust in this universe. Big nothings.
"I know what I am."
Mal lives on the fringes of high school. Angry. Misunderstood. Yet loving the world -- or, at least, an idea of the world.
Then he meets Hooper. Who says he's from another planet. And may be going home very soon.
"We are specks. Pieces of dust in this universe. Big nothings.
"I know what I am."
Mal lives on the fringes of high school. Angry. Misunderstood. Yet loving the world -- or, at least, an idea of the world.
Then he meets Hooper. Who says he's from another planet. And may be going home very soon.
165 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2011
28 people are currently reading
1574 people want to read
About the author
Cecil Castellucci
221 books723 followersCecil Castellucci is an author of young adult novels and comic books. Titles include Boy Proof, The Year of the Beasts (illustrated by Nate Powell), First Day on Earth, Rose Sees Red, Beige, The Queen of Cool The Plain Janes and Janes in Love (illustrated by Jim Rugg), Tin Star Stone in the Sky, Odd Duck (illustrated by Sara Varon) and Star Wars: Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure.
Her short stories have been published in various places including Black Clock, The Rattling Wall, Tor.com, Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine and can be found in such anthologies such as After, Teeth, Truth & Dare, The Eternal Kiss, Sideshow and Interfictions 2 and the anthology, which she co-edited, Geektastic.
She is the recipient of the California Book Award Gold Medal for her picture book Grandma's Gloves, illustrated by Julia Denos, the Shuster Award for Best Canadian Comic Book Writer for The Plain Janes and the Sunburst Award for Tin Star. The Year of the Beasts was a finalist for the PEN USA literary award and Odd Duck was Eisner nominated.
She splits her time between the heart and the head and lives north and south of everything. Her hands are small. And she likes you very much.
Her short stories have been published in various places including Black Clock, The Rattling Wall, Tor.com, Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine and can be found in such anthologies such as After, Teeth, Truth & Dare, The Eternal Kiss, Sideshow and Interfictions 2 and the anthology, which she co-edited, Geektastic.
She is the recipient of the California Book Award Gold Medal for her picture book Grandma's Gloves, illustrated by Julia Denos, the Shuster Award for Best Canadian Comic Book Writer for The Plain Janes and the Sunburst Award for Tin Star. The Year of the Beasts was a finalist for the PEN USA literary award and Odd Duck was Eisner nominated.
She splits her time between the heart and the head and lives north and south of everything. Her hands are small. And she likes you very much.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
August 29, 2011
i met cecil castelluci at a party a couple months ago and talked to her a little bit... she has this amazing personality, sort of radiates strength and wisdom and mysterious good humor, and this book (the first of hers i've read) is the exact same way. there's a lot of space between the sentences, a lot of things that go unsaid, but from behind and between all the words and images you get an intensity of feeling which is really hard to come by; by the end of this book i was literally sobbing and not because it was sad (it both was and wasn't) or because it was joyful (it both was and wasn't) but because it reminded me that i was alive and that that is a rare and valuable thing. technically this novel is classified as YA, though what makes it YA i don't know... maybe because it takes place in high school? or because it is short? and readable? i really wish people didn't have to classify things. or would at least put me in charge of the classifying.
September 24, 2020
Two pages in and I was ready to fight anyone who dared to be mean to my precious Mal. This is such a slim book, with short chapters, and yet Castellucci uses each word with precision to paint a clear and detailed portrait of Mal, as well as those around him. I can clearly picture his mother, Posey, Darwyn, and Hooper, and I feel that I know them so well. And I wanted to cry and cheer in turns. The question at the heart of this book isn't, Are the aliens real? so much as Will Mal find his place on Earth?
I shan't spoil either of them.
I shan't spoil either of them.
August 12, 2014
I won this on Goodreads and was glad that I did. A short book about a teen named Mal who believes that he was abducted by aliens four years earlier. Mal hopes the aliens will come back for him so he can escape his horrible life- taking care of his alcoholic mother, being snubbed at school on a daliy basis and dealing with the fact that his father left them and is never coming back. Overall- a moving book about a boy who feels misunderstood in this world and wishes he could leave it all behind him.
May 28, 2018
Recommended in Levithan's 'Every Day.'
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Ok for the reluctant reader? If you need to get just one book into the skull of a teen boy who doesn't read, this might be it, cuz it's short & also short on romance, short on deep themes, short on challenging originality?
But I found that it to be a superficial accumulation of tropes. It's got the drunk mother, the runaway father, the We Are the Ants pseudo-mysticism, the sort-of-advanced but vulnerable crashed alien (maybe), the homophobic reference, the awkward friends, the pretty girl who doesn't quite like the role she's been cast in.... But they're not gracefully handled, and they're not given any fresh twist or depth.
Even the first page is lame and not an accurate representation of what the rest of the book is going to be about. I should have given up then, but, hey, 150 pp is trivial, no? So, yeah, too bad.
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Ok for the reluctant reader? If you need to get just one book into the skull of a teen boy who doesn't read, this might be it, cuz it's short & also short on romance, short on deep themes, short on challenging originality?
But I found that it to be a superficial accumulation of tropes. It's got the drunk mother, the runaway father, the We Are the Ants pseudo-mysticism, the sort-of-advanced but vulnerable crashed alien (maybe), the homophobic reference, the awkward friends, the pretty girl who doesn't quite like the role she's been cast in.... But they're not gracefully handled, and they're not given any fresh twist or depth.
Even the first page is lame and not an accurate representation of what the rest of the book is going to be about. I should have given up then, but, hey, 150 pp is trivial, no? So, yeah, too bad.
April 12, 2013
This review has had extra outrage added and can be found at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud!
December 4, 2011
The ARC that Scholastic sent me only weighed in at a measly 150 pages. I don’t know about you, but I trust skinny books like I trust skinny chefs (with special exceptions for Courtney Summers’ books and Anthony Bourdain). So when I flipped the book over in my hands and wondered where the rest of it actually was, I was a little wary.
And then I read it. Drawing on that whole skinny chef bit, I sort of ate my words.
First Day on Earth is about a guy named Mal who’s got the world’s biggest chip on his shoulder. Y’all, he’s an angry and extremely pensive kid, and with good reason. His ridiculous excuse of a father walked out on him and his mom when he was younger, his idea of a good day is talking to his mother while she’s sober, he has nary a real friend in sight, his classmates are jerks, and oh yeah this one time he disappeared for a few days because he was abducted by aliens. And he really hates Earth and wants to leave.
It took a few (short) chapters to wrap my head around Mal’s story and his way of narrating. Like I mentioned before, he’s pensive and angry. But he’s a good guy and is just doing things the best way he knows how. What’s more — he rescues animals (!) and takes care of his drunk mom and makes sure she does important things like eat. But it’s hard for him to shake that whole “I’ve been abducted by aliens” thing, even though he’s been going to abductee group meetings. Plus, he’s still really scarred with his abandonment issues. It’s not until you understand why he is who he is that you finally start to sympathize with Mal. And when he’s imagined and formed by Castellucci’s words, it doesn’t take that long. Her writing is sometimes sparse, sometimes achingly descriptive, but you get a clear sense of knowing exactly who Mal is and what he’s going through, regardless:
From page 128:
No one has ever said I’m sorry to me. So maybe I don’t know how to say it, even if I feel it. Instead, I look up at her and try to tell her with my eyes. I hope she understands how much I mean it. I am owed so many apologies that I don’t even know how to give one myself.
From page 83:
I get that feeling in my chest. The one where I feel the hurt inside of me like an extra organ that was put in my body the wrong way.
Then there are parts where you get a sense of Mal’s wry sense of humor, even in the most serious of conversations.
From page 101:
(Mal) “Couldn’t you preach peace or something? Couldn’t you help us?”
If he could help us, then maybe he would help me.
(Hooper) “No.”
“Why not?”
“Do you help ants?”
“What?”
“When you see an anthill, do you try to tell them what to do? Tell them where a better source of food is?”
“No,” I say. “But we’re not ants. Humans have a higher consciousness. Humans have souls. Humans have opposable thumbs. Art. Literature. Infrastructure. Quiche.”
First Day on Earth isn’t your plot-driven alien-action novel. This is not a book about adventure, nor is it filled with a bunch of funny one-liners. And this is definitely not a Kissing Book (but there is a smidgen of a crush!). It’s the kind of book that makes you think about your meaning in this world, and follows a story of a boy who just wants answers to big questions. And the whole alien thing? It certainly plays its role, but not in the way that you’d think. It’s woven in the fibers of the story in the way of theme, not planted as a plot device. First Day made me enjoy this story in a way that I didn’t expect, especially considering the fact that it had less than 200 pages and various one-sentence chapters that led me to its final page.
Not all of Mal’s questions are answered, but just enough were so that I didn’t pull any of my hair out, and it definitely left me thinking and wondering after I’d closed the book. The best part is that everything seemed to come around full circle — a book with a cover that sparked wonder, ended with it, as well.
And then I read it. Drawing on that whole skinny chef bit, I sort of ate my words.
First Day on Earth is about a guy named Mal who’s got the world’s biggest chip on his shoulder. Y’all, he’s an angry and extremely pensive kid, and with good reason. His ridiculous excuse of a father walked out on him and his mom when he was younger, his idea of a good day is talking to his mother while she’s sober, he has nary a real friend in sight, his classmates are jerks, and oh yeah this one time he disappeared for a few days because he was abducted by aliens. And he really hates Earth and wants to leave.
It took a few (short) chapters to wrap my head around Mal’s story and his way of narrating. Like I mentioned before, he’s pensive and angry. But he’s a good guy and is just doing things the best way he knows how. What’s more — he rescues animals (!) and takes care of his drunk mom and makes sure she does important things like eat. But it’s hard for him to shake that whole “I’ve been abducted by aliens” thing, even though he’s been going to abductee group meetings. Plus, he’s still really scarred with his abandonment issues. It’s not until you understand why he is who he is that you finally start to sympathize with Mal. And when he’s imagined and formed by Castellucci’s words, it doesn’t take that long. Her writing is sometimes sparse, sometimes achingly descriptive, but you get a clear sense of knowing exactly who Mal is and what he’s going through, regardless:
From page 128:
No one has ever said I’m sorry to me. So maybe I don’t know how to say it, even if I feel it. Instead, I look up at her and try to tell her with my eyes. I hope she understands how much I mean it. I am owed so many apologies that I don’t even know how to give one myself.
From page 83:
I get that feeling in my chest. The one where I feel the hurt inside of me like an extra organ that was put in my body the wrong way.
Then there are parts where you get a sense of Mal’s wry sense of humor, even in the most serious of conversations.
From page 101:
(Mal) “Couldn’t you preach peace or something? Couldn’t you help us?”
If he could help us, then maybe he would help me.
(Hooper) “No.”
“Why not?”
“Do you help ants?”
“What?”
“When you see an anthill, do you try to tell them what to do? Tell them where a better source of food is?”
“No,” I say. “But we’re not ants. Humans have a higher consciousness. Humans have souls. Humans have opposable thumbs. Art. Literature. Infrastructure. Quiche.”
First Day on Earth isn’t your plot-driven alien-action novel. This is not a book about adventure, nor is it filled with a bunch of funny one-liners. And this is definitely not a Kissing Book (but there is a smidgen of a crush!). It’s the kind of book that makes you think about your meaning in this world, and follows a story of a boy who just wants answers to big questions. And the whole alien thing? It certainly plays its role, but not in the way that you’d think. It’s woven in the fibers of the story in the way of theme, not planted as a plot device. First Day made me enjoy this story in a way that I didn’t expect, especially considering the fact that it had less than 200 pages and various one-sentence chapters that led me to its final page.
Not all of Mal’s questions are answered, but just enough were so that I didn’t pull any of my hair out, and it definitely left me thinking and wondering after I’d closed the book. The best part is that everything seemed to come around full circle — a book with a cover that sparked wonder, ended with it, as well.
July 23, 2013
This weird little book requires its readers to be very open minded about truth and reality (which can be a big ask for young people if they're anything like I was when growing up - I've learned to be less judgemental as I've gotten older). We don't know whether Mel is fantasising about his alien contact experience, or if it is supposed to have been real, and we don't know whether Hooper is supposed to be believed by the reader or not. He smells different, has long fingers and is definitely very strange, but then so are all the people at Mel's Alien Contact discussion group. And Mel generally seems to be pretty good at assessing the degree and likelihood of craziness in the other participants of the group, so maybe Hooper is really the alien that he claims to be.
I began by thinking that our narrator, Mel, was going to be a particularly irritating character - if you read the back cover it includes a paranoid-sounding diatribe against normal boring people and their inability to understand his specialness based on his amazing alien abduction experience (which certainly doesn't make the book unattractive to Young Adults as they feel much of this too), but I found he grew on me. Mel has a softer, more sensitive side, which worries about the welfare and dependence of his alcoholic depressive Mum, and wonders if she will collapse or blossom if he leaves her to go to College, and this feeds into his ambivalence about the prospect and school success. He picks up stray and lost animals which have come to harm from human indifference, and he secretly values people and watches and understands them and their interactions. He's a sensitive and intelligent observer in a world of posturing hormones at school, and its no wonder he finds it impossible to relate to the more apparently assured of his peers.
In the end, I was able to let go my wish to know the 'truth' what was being perceived by both Mel and his friends in the abduction group, and enjoy the metaphor of his alienation and that of Hooper, and just watch them operate and interact in this unpredictable world of the novel, but I'm not sure that I would have been able to do that when I was a YA myself. I think the lack of an obvious truth or a reliable narrator would have been very irritating to me when I was looking so hard for definitive answers to my questions about the world and my own identity. These memories make me worry about the potential popularity of this title in my library, or my ability to recommend it, but I did appreciate on a personal level the originality of concept.
I began by thinking that our narrator, Mel, was going to be a particularly irritating character - if you read the back cover it includes a paranoid-sounding diatribe against normal boring people and their inability to understand his specialness based on his amazing alien abduction experience (which certainly doesn't make the book unattractive to Young Adults as they feel much of this too), but I found he grew on me. Mel has a softer, more sensitive side, which worries about the welfare and dependence of his alcoholic depressive Mum, and wonders if she will collapse or blossom if he leaves her to go to College, and this feeds into his ambivalence about the prospect and school success. He picks up stray and lost animals which have come to harm from human indifference, and he secretly values people and watches and understands them and their interactions. He's a sensitive and intelligent observer in a world of posturing hormones at school, and its no wonder he finds it impossible to relate to the more apparently assured of his peers.
In the end, I was able to let go my wish to know the 'truth' what was being perceived by both Mel and his friends in the abduction group, and enjoy the metaphor of his alienation and that of Hooper, and just watch them operate and interact in this unpredictable world of the novel, but I'm not sure that I would have been able to do that when I was a YA myself. I think the lack of an obvious truth or a reliable narrator would have been very irritating to me when I was looking so hard for definitive answers to my questions about the world and my own identity. These memories make me worry about the potential popularity of this title in my library, or my ability to recommend it, but I did appreciate on a personal level the originality of concept.
May 5, 2012
I picked this book up on a whim because I've been looking to get into more science fiction lately and this only had a vague hint of it. And what might that hint be? Aliens. Yes, who can resist that? Not me, of course. I wanted to see how the little green guys-or Mal's gray people-fit into the tale. It was a quick but surprisingly insightful read.
Mal is an interesting character. His dad left the family, his mother is an alcoholic, he has no friends, he was abducted by aliens. Basically, if anyone had an excuse for feeling sorry for themselves, it'd be him. But he managed to capture my attention not through any sob story but through his dry humor, outlook on life and observations of high school in general, and perception of the Earth's importance in the wide expanse of space. Yeah, for a kid with so many issues, he manages to be pretty deep.
Then he meets Hooper, and everything gets both funnier and worse as time goes on. Mal has to deal with himself, wondering if he's going crazy, remember how to interact with humans, discover his own wants and needs and dreams. It's wonderful.
I loved how the outcasts were portrayed in this book. How Mal had two 'friends' because they were all the odd ones out, so they banded together so they would never be the only one sitting alone. Perfection, because that's exactly how things in high school work. Strength in numbers and all that. Especially when he notes that they're not really friends but hang out anyway. And how even the popular kids had their dissenters. And the boy who will like or say anything just to fit in for a few brief moments. I think everyone knows someone like that guy.
What I'm trying to say is, although this book is short, it still packs a punch and leaves you thinking. It's definitely worth the read and I definitely recommend that you pick it up!
ADDICTIVE ALIENS. 4/5 stars
Mal is an interesting character. His dad left the family, his mother is an alcoholic, he has no friends, he was abducted by aliens. Basically, if anyone had an excuse for feeling sorry for themselves, it'd be him. But he managed to capture my attention not through any sob story but through his dry humor, outlook on life and observations of high school in general, and perception of the Earth's importance in the wide expanse of space. Yeah, for a kid with so many issues, he manages to be pretty deep.
Then he meets Hooper, and everything gets both funnier and worse as time goes on. Mal has to deal with himself, wondering if he's going crazy, remember how to interact with humans, discover his own wants and needs and dreams. It's wonderful.
I loved how the outcasts were portrayed in this book. How Mal had two 'friends' because they were all the odd ones out, so they banded together so they would never be the only one sitting alone. Perfection, because that's exactly how things in high school work. Strength in numbers and all that. Especially when he notes that they're not really friends but hang out anyway. And how even the popular kids had their dissenters. And the boy who will like or say anything just to fit in for a few brief moments. I think everyone knows someone like that guy.
What I'm trying to say is, although this book is short, it still packs a punch and leaves you thinking. It's definitely worth the read and I definitely recommend that you pick it up!
ADDICTIVE ALIENS. 4/5 stars
March 7, 2012
I have mixed feelings about this one -- it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The dry, clipped tone made it hard to get emotionally invested in Mal, though his detachment makes sense charater-wise, and the sparse writing, while evocative, left everything feeling underdeveloped. But it's still a thoughtful, tender read about an outsider finding his place, and Mal's unique voice grew on me the longer I read. This would be an excellent parallel read with Boy21, another book about what it's like to feel like an alien stranded on an unfamiliar world. Longer review later.
April 24, 2020
A sad, young man grapples with his loneliness and wishes to leave behind all the sadness. But he meets someone claiming to be of alien life form, and guides him to where his home really is.
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. —OSCAR WILDE"
"You’re ignorant. Asleep. I’ve been to outer space and back again. I’ve been caged. I’ve been probed and spliced and diced and I am being tracked. They are going to take me again one day. I know it because I heard them say it in my brain. They are out there and they are watching us. And you just move like a sleepwalker from class to class whenever the bell rings. I think you are sheep. But one day, I’m going with them. And I’m going to be free."
"They’re playing grunge music in the flashback-at-five section. Nirvana — “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” In here, it smells like sour grapes."
"I heard the front door click. Softly, not like other times when Dad left in the morning and the door just closed in the background, but as though someone were deliberately trying to be quiet. That’s what made it so loud. It was weird."
"There is a question that I always ask myself. I ask it many times during the day. How far away from here is far away enough? How far away would I be willing to go? My answer is always the same. You? I bet you’d think the moon was far away enough. I say the moon is still too close. Here’s the thing with the moon. You can still see it. Mars? Too recognizable. Jupiter is too stormy and everyone is always looking at Saturn’s rings. Maybe Neptune. No one ever knows when Neptune is around. It just sits in the sky, disguised as a star. But those aren’t the places that I’d go to. Those places are still too close. I’ve got my eye on something farther away than that."
"“People, they leave the terrible behind. They leave the people who don’t understand. They leave because they’re burned out. They leave for a better life. They leave the way things are, for the way things could be. They start over. They go across the ocean. They discover new lands. They settle the West. You can call them whatever you want — explorers, conquerors, settlers, pioneers,”"
"I go back to reading. Always solace in a book. Always silence in there."
"There are days it seems like something impossible. Like I’m in a cage that looks like a house. But then I remember. I escaped from here once. Maybe I can do it again."
"Before and after is how things are divided."
"And I think I broke. Right then. There was this stinging in my eyes. And this swell of salt. I had been numb for what seemed like an eternity."
"But I like the sun. The sun is a star. I wonder what constellation we’re in."
"Experiments. It seems unbelievable to me that school teaches us to be the experimenters. The observers. The prodders. The measurers. The destroyers. We are never taught what it would be like if the tables were turned. We are never taught what it would be like if we were the rat in the maze. Or the frog on the dissecting table. Or the atom being split. We don’t like to think about that. We like to think that we are being civilized."
"I think about it for exactly a nanosecond. No."
"I know he’s impressed that I’ve solved a simple human puzzle. Hello and good-bye are not as simple as everyone thinks."
"There are so many animals in the pound. The young ones, the puppies and kittens, are cute, but the old ones, toothless or limping, are cute, too. They’re all in cages, just looking at you like they can’t understand what they’ve done to be locked up like this. I know exactly how they feel. Even on the good days, because I know that good days only last a day. Maybe it would be better to be free."
"Why is the hardest question in the world to answer."
"Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt! May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine. May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agonized as in that hour left my lips; for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love. —CHARLOTTE BRONTË (JANE EYRE)"
"“I love how you humans are always watching and listening. Even though you don’t actually watch or listen in the right way.”"
"“Mal, I have shown you how Earth is very far removed from the center of this galaxy. It is a tiny planet far flung out away from anything. You are all likely to die out before your species learns how to even escape your own solar system. My people are not in the habit of exterminating or colonizing. We’re explorers. We’re scientists. We’re interested in the beauty of life. There is not much beauty here, as advanced as you are. Your species is terrible. A terrible species. Selfish. Evil. Cruel.”"
"“I’m all alone,” he says. And for all the alone he likes being, I realize that he’s lonely. I know all about lonely and it’s terrible."
"I am owed so many apologies that I don’t know how to give one myself."
"I am fluctuating between feeling like I want to throw up and being happy about walking away. Maybe the unknown-ness, of letting it all go, is exactly like shooting off in a rocket headed for the stars. Maybe my heart is already in orbit. So much of this isn’t going the way I expected."
"“Actions,” Hooper says. “Actions are the true words of humans. Words can be said or written and they can seem so beautiful. Seem so true. But I have noticed that a human speaks much louder with his or her actions and not with their words at all.”"
"“Where I am from, words match actions. All of the environment works together. We think of the long goals and not the short ones. We never lie. But sometimes that can cause great pain. But where I am from, the truth is much better served. Consequences are weighed very carefully.”"
"“You have a game here. I have played it at the shelter. Chess.” “I love chess,” Darwyn says. “I’m very bad at it.” “In chess, you have to consider a few moves ahead. What the action and the reaction will be. You observe before you act. Here it seems as though you act before you observe.”"
"It strikes me that a heart can be blue and still live. A heart can be blue and, with enough time, can warm again."
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. —OSCAR WILDE"
"You’re ignorant. Asleep. I’ve been to outer space and back again. I’ve been caged. I’ve been probed and spliced and diced and I am being tracked. They are going to take me again one day. I know it because I heard them say it in my brain. They are out there and they are watching us. And you just move like a sleepwalker from class to class whenever the bell rings. I think you are sheep. But one day, I’m going with them. And I’m going to be free."
"They’re playing grunge music in the flashback-at-five section. Nirvana — “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” In here, it smells like sour grapes."
"I heard the front door click. Softly, not like other times when Dad left in the morning and the door just closed in the background, but as though someone were deliberately trying to be quiet. That’s what made it so loud. It was weird."
"There is a question that I always ask myself. I ask it many times during the day. How far away from here is far away enough? How far away would I be willing to go? My answer is always the same. You? I bet you’d think the moon was far away enough. I say the moon is still too close. Here’s the thing with the moon. You can still see it. Mars? Too recognizable. Jupiter is too stormy and everyone is always looking at Saturn’s rings. Maybe Neptune. No one ever knows when Neptune is around. It just sits in the sky, disguised as a star. But those aren’t the places that I’d go to. Those places are still too close. I’ve got my eye on something farther away than that."
"“People, they leave the terrible behind. They leave the people who don’t understand. They leave because they’re burned out. They leave for a better life. They leave the way things are, for the way things could be. They start over. They go across the ocean. They discover new lands. They settle the West. You can call them whatever you want — explorers, conquerors, settlers, pioneers,”"
"I go back to reading. Always solace in a book. Always silence in there."
"There are days it seems like something impossible. Like I’m in a cage that looks like a house. But then I remember. I escaped from here once. Maybe I can do it again."
"Before and after is how things are divided."
"And I think I broke. Right then. There was this stinging in my eyes. And this swell of salt. I had been numb for what seemed like an eternity."
"But I like the sun. The sun is a star. I wonder what constellation we’re in."
"Experiments. It seems unbelievable to me that school teaches us to be the experimenters. The observers. The prodders. The measurers. The destroyers. We are never taught what it would be like if the tables were turned. We are never taught what it would be like if we were the rat in the maze. Or the frog on the dissecting table. Or the atom being split. We don’t like to think about that. We like to think that we are being civilized."
"I think about it for exactly a nanosecond. No."
"I know he’s impressed that I’ve solved a simple human puzzle. Hello and good-bye are not as simple as everyone thinks."
"There are so many animals in the pound. The young ones, the puppies and kittens, are cute, but the old ones, toothless or limping, are cute, too. They’re all in cages, just looking at you like they can’t understand what they’ve done to be locked up like this. I know exactly how they feel. Even on the good days, because I know that good days only last a day. Maybe it would be better to be free."
"Why is the hardest question in the world to answer."
"Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt! May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine. May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agonized as in that hour left my lips; for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love. —CHARLOTTE BRONTË (JANE EYRE)"
"“I love how you humans are always watching and listening. Even though you don’t actually watch or listen in the right way.”"
"“Mal, I have shown you how Earth is very far removed from the center of this galaxy. It is a tiny planet far flung out away from anything. You are all likely to die out before your species learns how to even escape your own solar system. My people are not in the habit of exterminating or colonizing. We’re explorers. We’re scientists. We’re interested in the beauty of life. There is not much beauty here, as advanced as you are. Your species is terrible. A terrible species. Selfish. Evil. Cruel.”"
"“I’m all alone,” he says. And for all the alone he likes being, I realize that he’s lonely. I know all about lonely and it’s terrible."
"I am owed so many apologies that I don’t know how to give one myself."
"I am fluctuating between feeling like I want to throw up and being happy about walking away. Maybe the unknown-ness, of letting it all go, is exactly like shooting off in a rocket headed for the stars. Maybe my heart is already in orbit. So much of this isn’t going the way I expected."
"“Actions,” Hooper says. “Actions are the true words of humans. Words can be said or written and they can seem so beautiful. Seem so true. But I have noticed that a human speaks much louder with his or her actions and not with their words at all.”"
"“Where I am from, words match actions. All of the environment works together. We think of the long goals and not the short ones. We never lie. But sometimes that can cause great pain. But where I am from, the truth is much better served. Consequences are weighed very carefully.”"
"“You have a game here. I have played it at the shelter. Chess.” “I love chess,” Darwyn says. “I’m very bad at it.” “In chess, you have to consider a few moves ahead. What the action and the reaction will be. You observe before you act. Here it seems as though you act before you observe.”"
"It strikes me that a heart can be blue and still live. A heart can be blue and, with enough time, can warm again."
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December 29, 2020
Huh. I want to have strong opinions about this book. My only problem is that I don’t remember it. At all. Did I like it? Hate it? How am I supposed to know. What was it?
The best I can tell you is that I couldn’t have hated it, I would have remembered something about it. Seriously. I’m not sure this has ever happened to me. I haven’t the faintest inkling of what this is. I’d be tempted to say I added this as a mistake except that I do actually remember deciding to listen. I think I remember listening. Like, in an abstract way, you know, walking to work and having this on while I did so.
But, other than that. Nothing. Nada.
Other than that. I’ve watched a shit-ton of Star Wars lately, finally saw the Clone Wars TV show, as well as the Rebels TV show, finished up Season two of The Mandolorian. So there’s that. I have thoughts on those, but this probably isn’t the forum for that.
What else? Nothing. This might be the shortest review I’ve done in years. Should probably do a better job remembering stuff. I mean, Jesus, I can’t believe how there is a hole in my brain where the memory of this book should be. I suppose I’ll have to shrug this one off.
Next time, I’ll remember.
The best I can tell you is that I couldn’t have hated it, I would have remembered something about it. Seriously. I’m not sure this has ever happened to me. I haven’t the faintest inkling of what this is. I’d be tempted to say I added this as a mistake except that I do actually remember deciding to listen. I think I remember listening. Like, in an abstract way, you know, walking to work and having this on while I did so.
But, other than that. Nothing. Nada.
Other than that. I’ve watched a shit-ton of Star Wars lately, finally saw the Clone Wars TV show, as well as the Rebels TV show, finished up Season two of The Mandolorian. So there’s that. I have thoughts on those, but this probably isn’t the forum for that.
What else? Nothing. This might be the shortest review I’ve done in years. Should probably do a better job remembering stuff. I mean, Jesus, I can’t believe how there is a hole in my brain where the memory of this book should be. I suppose I’ll have to shrug this one off.
Next time, I’ll remember.
March 1, 2022
I don’t know what to say.
On one hand, this book was a beautiful exploration of humanity through the eyes of a teen who feels like he doesn’t belong.
Oh the other hand, it’s not something everyone would like. I understand why it has a low rating, but it was perfect for me. If I owned a copy…I would’ve left highlights in it.
On one hand, this book was a beautiful exploration of humanity through the eyes of a teen who feels like he doesn’t belong.
Oh the other hand, it’s not something everyone would like. I understand why it has a low rating, but it was perfect for me. If I owned a copy…I would’ve left highlights in it.
March 22, 2020
Sometimes an alien is what you need to remember how human you are.
Read
November 28, 2025Bookshelf reread. Another in plastic casing from library sale.
The book follows Mal, who’s father just up and left when he was younger and his mom broke because of it. It sounds like his dad was always a crappy guy and still is, because he would always tell his wife her nose ruined her beauty. Shortly after his departure, he sent divorce papers and started a new family with no further contact. Early on after he left, Mal wandered off into the desert during some event and wasn’t found until days later, miles away. There are lots of medical theories for what happened, but he silently believes he was abducted by aliens, and he wants to go back.
His mom hasn’t functioned since losing her husband, and all her friends now judge her. She just stays at home and drinks and sleep and cries, and Mal has to do everything and take care of her. He grocery shops and feeds her and hates the world and everyone in it, but he’s also a very caring person who rescues animals and takes them to the local vet, who appreciates his gentleness.
The vet is popular girl Posey’s mom, who always extends her mother’s dinner invitations to him and tries to talk to him. She’s dating a popular jerk. There’s also Darwyn, a bigger guy who’s not popular, but is desperate to be and willing to help everyone out just for friendship, which makes him sort of in the in crowd despite being out. Though Mal thinks popularity is stupid, he still offers Darwyn thumbs up of support whenever he succeeds, though the two aren’t friends.
He’s also unofficial friends with two other outcasts just because they’re all outcasts. They do hang out at one guy’s house for video games sometimes, and all being socially awkward, they just get up and leave when they’re ready, having figured out that or a quick goodbye is just easier departure. It seems they consider themselves a friend group more than he does, because they’re upset with Mal after he randomly attends a party he didn’t want to go to and never told them about, which baffles him.
He’s supposed to be scary looking, especially with his shaved head, but he’s also the least likely person to hurt anyone.
One night while attending an Al-anon meeting for family members of alcoholics, he either chooses the wrong night or wrong room and realizes when people start talking that this is a meeting for people who believe they’ve been abducted by aliens. While he always freely repeated his same dad abandonment story in his other group, here he stays silent despite feeling like he belongs because this story is a bigger deal to him, more personal and real, even though he knows these people would support him.
Also at the meeting is a strange guy named Hooper, whose age is hard to judge, his face looks just off, and he has an indecipherable smell. I think he asks Mal out to eat and they find a burrito restaurant, then he requests to be dropped off at a box where he stays, but Mal informs him homeless shelters exist and he’s shocked.
They find a lost dog along the way so Mal picks it up to take to the vet and Hooper is impressed, then he drops him off at the homeless shelter, which to Hooper is a big deal and shows Mal’s kindness, which he already believed. Later when Mal asks Hooper about his alien experience, he says he didn’t have one, but he is in fact an alien, stranded on Earth and eager to go home because it feels wrong here and humanity’s not good.
He doesn’t know whether to believe Hooper or find him crazy, but he takes comfort in Hooper all the same and wants him to be serious. Hooper gives him star charts to look at while Hooper tries to figure out how to get a message through and get a ride back home.
In class, Posey sees the star charts and is impressed because she’s a fan of space and is looking forward to the space launch nearby in a few days. She tries to arrange to go with him, but he shuts her down because he always does.
Hooper finally announces the day and location, and it’s the day of the space launch near where it’s happening in the desert. Mal discusses this with him over the payphone at school while Posey is trying to talk to him, so she overhears and Darwyn also eavesdrops and tries to insert himself into everything.
On the agreed upon day and time, Posey and Darwyn show up at the gas station where Mal waits for Hooper with their own supplies, eager to watch the space launch even though that’s not his plan. He tries to keep them out, but Hooper is perfectly welcoming like their presence is acceptable, so they all go and follow Hooper’s directions.
When a tire goes flat and they have to stop at a mechanic, Darwyn reveals his mom died in an accident when he was younger and all her organs got donated and he never got to say goodbye and just imagines going up to someone who has one of her organs to say goodbye that way, and he doesn’t like his school nickname, Lung (for talking and doing everything, I think?), because it’s a reminder of that. Mal says he could just go up to any lady his mom’s age, tell her that story, look at her heart and say goodbye, cuz a good person would understand.
He decides to try that on the mechanic woman, and Posey comforts him, so Mal takes that chance to ask Hooper to take him with him, but he refuses, saying his time on Earth has been lonely because he’s not part of it and he doesn’t want to do that to someone as kind as Mal, who those who actually know him can only say good stuff about.
Upset, he tries to lash out at Posey’s perfection, but she reveals she’s not perfect and has a burn scar on her body from an iron, which also unknowingly proves her boyfriend is a liar for his locker room talk about her. Mal feels guilty but doesn’t say sorry because no one’s ever said it to him so he doesn’t know how to do it, but he shows it and she accepts.
They drive some more and end up in Victorville, where his father moved. They stop to eat and he asks a waitress about him, using his name but not explaining the relationship. From her reaction, he figures his dad is still not good and she’s experienced it. While he goes to the bathroom, Posey updates the other two on his dad situation and they encourage him to do what he needs to.
His dad is directing the local theater for the play Our Town, which is apparently a famous play by Thornton Wilder, but I had never noticed it mentioned before until I participated in that same play earlier this year. I just wanted to be in a play, I didn’t have the luxury of choosing which one. For a moment I was excited that is was about a town of ghosts, which it sort of is at the end, but not in the way that interests me. It’s meaningful and highly regarded, but not the kind of story I enjoy. Anyway, since that’s happened, I’ve now read two books that specifically reference it.
Mal approaches his dad while he’s unloading a truck, and he asks Mal to help. He does for one box then ignores his dad’s handshake, which angers his dad but he hides it and offers him money to help with the rest of the supplies, but Mal says he has to go and walks away, taking consolation in being the one to walk away this time. His dad didn’t recognize him. I didn’t feel like this was cathartic, personally, wishing he’d made some snide comments, but it made Mal feel better so okay.
He decides to tell the other two the truth about their trip, and Hooper is fine with it, explaining he’s an extraterrestrial. Darwyn is always accommodating so he tries to be okay with it while Posey is instantly certain Hooper’s crazy and this is all concerning. She eases up a bit when Mal finally admits he believes he was abducted too, though now there are spots of doubt for him.
They go the rest of the way to Hooper’s location and drop him off, then drive away. Posey’s been reminding them she doesn’t want to miss the launch the whole trip. They stop the car when they spot the launch happening and are able to watch it, I assume all of it, before Mal suddenly worries that Hooper has no water, as he might just be walking off into the desert to find a new location to be homeless at, so they drive back.
Mal tells them to wait while he runs into the darkness, but it’s pure black without any light and things get uncertain and then he senses he’s in a new place with a new being he knows is Hooper, who gives the choice now to stay aboard or return to Earth. Despite all his wishes over the years and his remaining desire to go, he thinks about how people are waiting for him on Earth and decides to return.
This book was clearly an allegory for loneliness and depression. With an absentee dad giving him unfelt abandonment issues and an alcoholic mother he’s had to take care of since he was little, this warps his view of people and his ability to socialize, leaving him isolated and sad. While he does worry over leaving his mom and how it might break her to lose him too, he hopes it will also inspire her to get stronger and take care of herself. But it’s also understandable he’s so willing to leave her, because he never did anything to acquire the responsibility of being her caretaker and her unpresent presence has added to his sense of isolation and social unawareness. She’s never been a support and guardian for him, so he has none of that connection a child normally gets with their parent.
These things could lead him to imagining the alien stuff as part of his wish to escape this all, a way of escaping the world he unhappily knows without choosing death. But it remains unclear if this is his coping mechanism, or if it’s real and just the thing that brought him comfort, as the ending does say the alien stuff was real. Although it could also be his final confrontation with those feelings to allow himself to choose reality now that he’s interacted with people who’ve shown him they truly care and given him an anchor to help him.
The ending is ambiguous, but not ambiguous that you don’t know his choice, because regardless of interpretation, he still did choose Earth. I don’t know for certain if it is all supposed to be perceived as a metaphor or delusion for coping, like that devastating vampire book I read that one time, or if it’s supposed to be taken more as it is, with the stuff Mal presently experiences being legit.
It’s an easy read. Easy chapters, compelling enough to keep going, only about 150 pages, getting its story done without bogging down on details. I think the simplicity of its shortness also adds to it having more poignance, like you don’t get to the cling to the partaking in of the story for long, but it can linger with you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2011
"I've been to outer space and back again. I've been caged. I've been probed and spliced and diced and I am being tracked. They are going to take me again one day. I know it because I heard them say it in my brain. They are out there and they are watching us. And you just move like a sleepwalker from class to class whenever the bell rings.
I think you are sheep.
But one day, I'm going with them. And I'm going to be free."
Mal moves through his high school as an outsider, with few friends, and minimal interaction with others. His father left years ago to start a new life, and his mother has been falling apart ever since. Mal is also convinced that when he was younger, he was abducted by aliens, studied, and returned to earth. Since that time, he's convinced that he will (should) be going back to space, because he feels he has no place in this world. When Mal meets Hooper in a support group, and learns that Hooper is an alien (so he says), and needs help to return to his planet, Mal decides that not only will he help Hooper, but he will go along with him, too. In the end, though, Mal must make a decision that is based not only on what may be out there, but what may be waiting for him here.
I love Cecil Castellucci's work, and thought this was an interesting shift for her (a male narrator, and also the subject matter). As Mal makes friends with Posey and Darwyn throughout the novel, readers can begin to sympathize with him more; at the beginning of the book, he's simply not very likable at all. This is a quick, entertaining read, one that I enjoyed a lot while in the story, even though extraterrestrial life is not something I think about at all. I don't know about teaching this one, but it could definitely be used to discuss themes of friendship, and feeling outcast.
I think you are sheep.
But one day, I'm going with them. And I'm going to be free."
Mal moves through his high school as an outsider, with few friends, and minimal interaction with others. His father left years ago to start a new life, and his mother has been falling apart ever since. Mal is also convinced that when he was younger, he was abducted by aliens, studied, and returned to earth. Since that time, he's convinced that he will (should) be going back to space, because he feels he has no place in this world. When Mal meets Hooper in a support group, and learns that Hooper is an alien (so he says), and needs help to return to his planet, Mal decides that not only will he help Hooper, but he will go along with him, too. In the end, though, Mal must make a decision that is based not only on what may be out there, but what may be waiting for him here.
I love Cecil Castellucci's work, and thought this was an interesting shift for her (a male narrator, and also the subject matter). As Mal makes friends with Posey and Darwyn throughout the novel, readers can begin to sympathize with him more; at the beginning of the book, he's simply not very likable at all. This is a quick, entertaining read, one that I enjoyed a lot while in the story, even though extraterrestrial life is not something I think about at all. I don't know about teaching this one, but it could definitely be used to discuss themes of friendship, and feeling outcast.
April 2, 2012
Mal is not your average teenager. Yes, he has not-uncommon teenage problems (he doesn't really fit in; his parents are divorced) but there are also ones that most people don't have to deal with (his mom is an alcoholic and so he takes care of her instead of the other way around; his dad walked out and Mal hasn't seen him since) and the problem that is almost unheard of (Mal believes he was abducted by aliens). Not surprisingly, Mal keeps all these problems to himself, but especially that last one. People are mean and teenagers are the meanest of all.
Then he meets Hooper at a support group for people who have been abducted by aliens (or "taken"). But unlike everyone else at group, Hooper says he is an alien. He and Mal are good friends, so Mal isn't happy to hear that Hooper's going home soon.
I found out about this book completely by accident and I'm so glad I did. It's incredibly different from everything else I read, and while no, I don't believe that aliens come and abduct us (or are walking among us), it was incredibly moving.
Mal's had an awful life and hand dealt to him, so I think that if his worst fault is believing that he was abducted by aliens, he's still ahead the game.
Honestly, though, I think that the "alien" thing is just a metaphor for how a lot of people feel in high school---so completely other. It felt---at least to me---like everyone else had everything together and knew how to behave in all situations and I just felt like a complete dork. (Just me? Possibly.)
This is a great book, and I hope more people pick up on that.
Highly recommended.
Then he meets Hooper at a support group for people who have been abducted by aliens (or "taken"). But unlike everyone else at group, Hooper says he is an alien. He and Mal are good friends, so Mal isn't happy to hear that Hooper's going home soon.
I found out about this book completely by accident and I'm so glad I did. It's incredibly different from everything else I read, and while no, I don't believe that aliens come and abduct us (or are walking among us), it was incredibly moving.
Mal's had an awful life and hand dealt to him, so I think that if his worst fault is believing that he was abducted by aliens, he's still ahead the game.
Honestly, though, I think that the "alien" thing is just a metaphor for how a lot of people feel in high school---so completely other. It felt---at least to me---like everyone else had everything together and knew how to behave in all situations and I just felt like a complete dork. (Just me? Possibly.)
This is a great book, and I hope more people pick up on that.
Highly recommended.
April 29, 2011
Mal is not as he appears; when Hooper says, "Mal means bad." Mal replies, "In Latin or French or Spanish, but I'm not Spanish. And I am not bad.".
He scares people, but takes care of his mother, rescues animals and goes to group. Mom is a devastated mess after Dad sneaks out leaving his family abandoned and confused. They want an explanation, what they get are legal documents. This along with Mom's drunken reaction to it make Mal's life grim. He goes to school, endures derision, comes home, deals with Mom, plays an occasional online game with Mark and Samir; rinses and repeats. He also has been abducted by aliens.
Ostensibly, the book is a narrative of a few weeks that result in Mal, Hooper (an alien he befriends- or is it vice versa?)Posey and Daarwyn traveling to the desert to see a private rocket lift off and covertly take Hooper to a desert rendezvous with his spaceship. Under it all Mal must sort out choosing to be a human among humans, a friend among friends and a man instead of a child.
Some language (ish, jocks in the locker room-really guys, must you?)
He scares people, but takes care of his mother, rescues animals and goes to group. Mom is a devastated mess after Dad sneaks out leaving his family abandoned and confused. They want an explanation, what they get are legal documents. This along with Mom's drunken reaction to it make Mal's life grim. He goes to school, endures derision, comes home, deals with Mom, plays an occasional online game with Mark and Samir; rinses and repeats. He also has been abducted by aliens.
Ostensibly, the book is a narrative of a few weeks that result in Mal, Hooper (an alien he befriends- or is it vice versa?)Posey and Daarwyn traveling to the desert to see a private rocket lift off and covertly take Hooper to a desert rendezvous with his spaceship. Under it all Mal must sort out choosing to be a human among humans, a friend among friends and a man instead of a child.
Some language (ish, jocks in the locker room-really guys, must you?)
November 6, 2011
This book is written in a very particular style which i wasn't used too. I felt like each sentence or paragraph had a philosophical meaning behind it, that i would love to quote. Also i did win this book on Goodreads.
This book is about a boy named Malcolm (aka. Mal) whose life is turned upside down when his father leaves his mother and him. Ever since that day his mother is a drunk who cant do anything for herself and Mal takes care of her and tries to go to school and lead a normal life. Mal constantly feels like a alien in his world and longs to leave with the aliens who he thinks took him. When Mal was 12 alien took him and probed him since then he's been longing for them to return and take him from this hell he calls his life.
He meet Hooper who goes to this alien group where they talk about there stories to each other. Hooper tells him he's an alien and Mal thinks this is his chance to get away from his crappy life unto something better. From Hooper, Mal learns about life and that maybe everyone has a little bit of crazy and weird and just plain alien in them.
This book is about a boy named Malcolm (aka. Mal) whose life is turned upside down when his father leaves his mother and him. Ever since that day his mother is a drunk who cant do anything for herself and Mal takes care of her and tries to go to school and lead a normal life. Mal constantly feels like a alien in his world and longs to leave with the aliens who he thinks took him. When Mal was 12 alien took him and probed him since then he's been longing for them to return and take him from this hell he calls his life.
He meet Hooper who goes to this alien group where they talk about there stories to each other. Hooper tells him he's an alien and Mal thinks this is his chance to get away from his crappy life unto something better. From Hooper, Mal learns about life and that maybe everyone has a little bit of crazy and weird and just plain alien in them.
May 29, 2011
This book really grabbed me. It is a thin volume that is spare and packed with meaning.
Mal is an angry teen with good reasons for the anger. His mom is a drunk who just tries to wash down life's disappointments (hubby that left) and Mal is left to pick up the pieces and hold it together.
Mal harbors a secret - he was abducted by aliens, poked, probed and dropped back in the desert. While at a meeting he meets Hooper - who later confides that he is an adventurous, explorer-alien.
In the midst of this mish-mash of characters there is Posey a sweet, pretty girl who knows some of Mal's secrets (eg: rescuing animals). Darwyn who is something of a hanger-on who will do anything for acceptance (eg: bringing the alcohol to parties so he will be invited by the popular kids).
Loved Castellucci's spare prose- she crafted an exquisite tale of isolation and alienation.
Mal is an angry teen with good reasons for the anger. His mom is a drunk who just tries to wash down life's disappointments (hubby that left) and Mal is left to pick up the pieces and hold it together.
Mal harbors a secret - he was abducted by aliens, poked, probed and dropped back in the desert. While at a meeting he meets Hooper - who later confides that he is an adventurous, explorer-alien.
In the midst of this mish-mash of characters there is Posey a sweet, pretty girl who knows some of Mal's secrets (eg: rescuing animals). Darwyn who is something of a hanger-on who will do anything for acceptance (eg: bringing the alcohol to parties so he will be invited by the popular kids).
Loved Castellucci's spare prose- she crafted an exquisite tale of isolation and alienation.
July 25, 2015
Mal has a lot going on in his life. He's angry that his father left his mother and that she can't deal with it. She drinks and makes him feel guilty about thinking about a future where he's not taking care of her. Is his feeling that he was abducted by aliens real, or something to help explain his feeling hollow and helpless?
This is a very fast read. It reminds me a lot of Boy 21 at times. I liked the writing and all the characters, and at times the story felt very real. Recommend to reluctant readers who like adventure, realistic fiction or quirky plots.
This is a very fast read. It reminds me a lot of Boy 21 at times. I liked the writing and all the characters, and at times the story felt very real. Recommend to reluctant readers who like adventure, realistic fiction or quirky plots.
August 9, 2011
Was Mal really abducted by aliens? He believes he was and now he's met a guy who claims to be an alien that needs help getting home. I really enjoyed this story of a kid who lives a very sad and lonely life and all the ways he is trying to cope and make sense of it all. When he goes on a road trip to take his friend to the landing place, he realizes that there are times when we all have reasons to feel like aliens.
October 14, 2012
As much as I harp on about not liking science fiction, I think I subconsciously love it. Seriously, I tore through First Day On Earth by Cecil Castellucci, which okay, reads more like a contemporary young adult book than hard science fiction. But you know what? For a reader like me that is perfect.
Read the rest of my review here
Read the rest of my review here
April 24, 2012
This is the perfect novel for teens who are looking for a book about not fitting in, but don’t want to read the typical teen angst book. I loved how Castellucci took an interesting approach this is familiar topic. I was connected to Mal and I wanted to know if he had really been abducted, who Hooper was, and what would happen with Mal’s future.
Read more of my review at http://bourg.info/2012/04/24/first-da...
Read more of my review at http://bourg.info/2012/04/24/first-da...
October 7, 2012
Mal is an outcast. Not because his dad left he and his mother. Not because his mother drinks too much and depends on Mal for everything. Not because he has no friends and hates school. Mal believes he was abducted by aliens when he was twelve and that changed his life forever. When he accidentally drops in on a support group for abductees, his encounter with Hooper changes his viewpoint on everything. This thin volume is chock full of character and thoughtfulness. You won't soon forget Mal.
August 5, 2011
Her writing isn't anything crazy or stupendous but I love it's honestly and unflinching reality. Quick read but really dense and emotional.
January 9, 2012
This YA book gives an excellent portrayal of the alienation and isolation many teens feel. Especially powerful when dealing with the absence of Mal's (the protagonist) father.
July 22, 2017
Is this novel YA fiction, sci-fi/fantasy . . . or what? Well, you read it and let me know!
It's a very quick read, and I raced through it; I was never quite sure where it was going, and I'm not sure I know where it ended, but I enjoyed the ride. Mal is about 16 or 17; he lives with his mother, a deeply disturbed alcoholic who seems to have given up on life after Mal's father disappeared on them one day.
Mal believes he was "taken" by aliens, tested and prodded, and returned, and he doesn't know why, even though he has memories of the experience. So the question is, is Mal just imagining things, creating an alternate reality to supplant the painful one in which he feels like an alien on his own planet? Is he delusional or did he really have an encounter with aliens? He doesn't even seem to know the answer.
And we don't really know either, which I love -- I expected it to be simple: a story in which he's deeply disturbed and has retreated into a fantasy, or a story about a kid who was abducted by aliens and then returned. But it's not simple. It's not clear. What is clear is a lot of interesting drama and characters packed into a few pages which can be ready very quickly.
I've never really read anything quite like First Day on Earth, which might be making too much of it, but it was an odd little story and I liked it. Beyond the weird alien abduction theme, we have an angry and anti-social kid with very realistic problems, and ultimately his explanations make sense because they are his reality, and one that we can really believe.
It's a very quick read, and I raced through it; I was never quite sure where it was going, and I'm not sure I know where it ended, but I enjoyed the ride. Mal is about 16 or 17; he lives with his mother, a deeply disturbed alcoholic who seems to have given up on life after Mal's father disappeared on them one day.
Mal believes he was "taken" by aliens, tested and prodded, and returned, and he doesn't know why, even though he has memories of the experience. So the question is, is Mal just imagining things, creating an alternate reality to supplant the painful one in which he feels like an alien on his own planet? Is he delusional or did he really have an encounter with aliens? He doesn't even seem to know the answer.
And we don't really know either, which I love -- I expected it to be simple: a story in which he's deeply disturbed and has retreated into a fantasy, or a story about a kid who was abducted by aliens and then returned. But it's not simple. It's not clear. What is clear is a lot of interesting drama and characters packed into a few pages which can be ready very quickly.
I've never really read anything quite like First Day on Earth, which might be making too much of it, but it was an odd little story and I liked it. Beyond the weird alien abduction theme, we have an angry and anti-social kid with very realistic problems, and ultimately his explanations make sense because they are his reality, and one that we can really believe.
June 13, 2017
If I had to pick a Cecil Castellucci book that I didn't love, it would probably be this one. I want to say that this is probably the first book of hers that I read where the main character was not female. It's not something that I prefer but it's not a deal breaker for me.
I felt that Mal was a little too angst-y for me - which almost seems silly because Rose in Rose Sees Red has a hefty portion of angst as well. I was not really invested in Mal's story until he meets Hooper, which was 2/3rds into the book at this point. It seemed that he was mostly interior monologuing about about the mundane. I was a little sad Hooper was introduced to late in the story because I was more interested in his character.
I also wanted more closure with Mal's dad. By "closure" I mean "punch him in the face." That might have drove me a little mad because I wanted a confrontation, but Mal remained passive in my opinion. Especially when his dad makes a comment about having to pick up his daughter. What a jerk.
Again like most of the Castellucci books I've read, there has to be a sad element but I felt that that livened up the book for me. my fav part was when Hooper was telling Mal why he can't go with him. It was heartbreaking but I felt in that conversation it showed how much he cared for Mal.
I felt that Mal was a little too angst-y for me - which almost seems silly because Rose in Rose Sees Red has a hefty portion of angst as well. I was not really invested in Mal's story until he meets Hooper, which was 2/3rds into the book at this point. It seemed that he was mostly interior monologuing about about the mundane. I was a little sad Hooper was introduced to late in the story because I was more interested in his character.
I also wanted more closure with Mal's dad. By "closure" I mean "punch him in the face." That might have drove me a little mad because I wanted a confrontation, but Mal remained passive in my opinion. Especially when his dad makes a comment about having to pick up his daughter. What a jerk.
Again like most of the Castellucci books I've read, there has to be a sad element but I felt that that livened up the book for me. my fav part was when Hooper was telling Mal why he can't go with him. It was heartbreaking but I felt in that conversation it showed how much he cared for Mal.
December 19, 2011
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2011/12/f...
Where can I possibly begin with how much I really, really, REALLY liked this book?
In theory and from the description, it's a book about Mal, who is an alien. And all he wants to do is go back to where he's from. And in his Alateen group, he's met this guy named Hooper who is crazy. Who also claims to be from another planet. As soon as the two of these guys who feel like the loneliest people on Earth meet, though, Hooper knows he has to go back to his home star. Mal doesn't want to let him go because he's finally forged a friendship with someone, and Mal is desperate to go with him.
I don't think this book is at all about the aliens. I don't believe for a second either one of these guys is an alien or from another planet.
These two guys are as human as human gets.
Mal is angry. His home life sucks. Mal's mom and dad recently divorced after being apart for a few years. Mal's mom has sunk into alcoholism and deep depression and his dad has just disappeared all together.
(This is where I am going to get personal, which I try not to do too much in reviewing).
This is the first time I can recall ever truly feeling like I connected with a character dealing with a father issue. Mal's dad is gone. Completely gone. He left nothing in his wake, though Mal knows where he lives. His dad hasn't bothered calling, hasn't bothered checking in, doesn't care. He's moved on. He's living a new life with a new wife and kids and has completely divorced himself from Mal.
Mal has every effing right in the world to be as angry about it as he is. Every moment Mal got angry, I was angry with him. I've been there. It sucks. Everything Mal felt is completely authentic. Reading this thin little book brought out some gross emotions I'd shoved deep down because it hit that little nerve I like to keep buried. But it felt GOOD to feel them right along with this character. And
When a parent walks out of your life with no explanation, it's hard to articulate what that really feels like. And the fact is, no one truly can understand what it feels like unless they've been there. It's not about the divorce or about what it feels like when parents split. Having a parent walk out on you is devastating and horrific on a whole different level. Knowing they've got a new life -- one without you, one with new kids and a new wife -- and knowing they're never going to come back to see you? It wrecks you. Mal's mom becomes an alcoholic, and Mal is abandoned. When it happens to you when you're 15, you feel like an alien and like you truly, honestly do not belong here. You've been dropped somewhere completely foreign without the support you deserve to have.
It sucks. And it penetrates everything -- Mal cannot relate to the people around him because he feels so foreign. He can't forge the connections he wants because he can't piece himself together. Moreover, he doesn't believe anyone has ever felt as low as he has. He thinks everyone around him has it good compared to him. And how could he not, really?
Through the metaphor of the alien, of course, Mal DOES begin to piece himself together. It's never once about the alien or the spaceship but becoming whole and one with oneself. And it so does that right in the end. . Remember: he's 15. That's how you rationalize. That's how I rationalized it all, too.
What Castellucci does in so few words is so powerful. It resonates. I only wish we could have gotten a little more. I would have loved knowing more about Mal in the after, wanting to know more about how he put what he figured out to use when he "comes back" to earth. I wanted to know more about Darwyn and Posey. But it makes sense why I don't. Because really, I'm Mal throughout the story and cannot possibly know more than what I figure out in those final, crucial moments.
I cannot, CANNOT applaud Castellucci enough for getting this so, so, SO right.
This is why I love speculative fiction.
Where can I possibly begin with how much I really, really, REALLY liked this book?
In theory and from the description, it's a book about Mal, who is an alien. And all he wants to do is go back to where he's from. And in his Alateen group, he's met this guy named Hooper who is crazy. Who also claims to be from another planet. As soon as the two of these guys who feel like the loneliest people on Earth meet, though, Hooper knows he has to go back to his home star. Mal doesn't want to let him go because he's finally forged a friendship with someone, and Mal is desperate to go with him.
I don't think this book is at all about the aliens. I don't believe for a second either one of these guys is an alien or from another planet.
These two guys are as human as human gets.
Mal is angry. His home life sucks. Mal's mom and dad recently divorced after being apart for a few years. Mal's mom has sunk into alcoholism and deep depression and his dad has just disappeared all together.
(This is where I am going to get personal, which I try not to do too much in reviewing).
This is the first time I can recall ever truly feeling like I connected with a character dealing with a father issue. Mal's dad is gone. Completely gone. He left nothing in his wake, though Mal knows where he lives. His dad hasn't bothered calling, hasn't bothered checking in, doesn't care. He's moved on. He's living a new life with a new wife and kids and has completely divorced himself from Mal.
Mal has every effing right in the world to be as angry about it as he is. Every moment Mal got angry, I was angry with him. I've been there. It sucks. Everything Mal felt is completely authentic. Reading this thin little book brought out some gross emotions I'd shoved deep down because it hit that little nerve I like to keep buried. But it felt GOOD to feel them right along with this character. And
When a parent walks out of your life with no explanation, it's hard to articulate what that really feels like. And the fact is, no one truly can understand what it feels like unless they've been there. It's not about the divorce or about what it feels like when parents split. Having a parent walk out on you is devastating and horrific on a whole different level. Knowing they've got a new life -- one without you, one with new kids and a new wife -- and knowing they're never going to come back to see you? It wrecks you. Mal's mom becomes an alcoholic, and Mal is abandoned. When it happens to you when you're 15, you feel like an alien and like you truly, honestly do not belong here. You've been dropped somewhere completely foreign without the support you deserve to have.
It sucks. And it penetrates everything -- Mal cannot relate to the people around him because he feels so foreign. He can't forge the connections he wants because he can't piece himself together. Moreover, he doesn't believe anyone has ever felt as low as he has. He thinks everyone around him has it good compared to him. And how could he not, really?
Through the metaphor of the alien, of course, Mal DOES begin to piece himself together. It's never once about the alien or the spaceship but becoming whole and one with oneself. And it so does that right in the end. . Remember: he's 15. That's how you rationalize. That's how I rationalized it all, too.
What Castellucci does in so few words is so powerful. It resonates. I only wish we could have gotten a little more. I would have loved knowing more about Mal in the after, wanting to know more about how he put what he figured out to use when he "comes back" to earth. I wanted to know more about Darwyn and Posey. But it makes sense why I don't. Because really, I'm Mal throughout the story and cannot possibly know more than what I figure out in those final, crucial moments.
I cannot, CANNOT applaud Castellucci enough for getting this so, so, SO right.
This is why I love speculative fiction.
November 21, 2019
First Day on Earth was a very intriguing book to say the least. I definitely did not know what to expect when I first started reading but was quickly entertained. The writing style of the author is interesting and not like most other books. It was almost poetic at times. The book deals with many themes that some readers may be able to connect to such as depression, grief, loneliness, anger, wanting to fit in, not knowing your place in the world, thoughts of running away, standing out from others, etc. The author also threw in the twist of the ideas of alien abductions and the existence of extraterrestrials. This added a bit of uniqueness to the book while also subtly giving new meaning and purpose to the plot and the themes relating to it. Overall I would recommend this book if you're looking for a different, yet thought provoking read.
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