Aventura intergalactica a lui Jamie Drake

by Christopher Edge

Jamie’s dad is an astronaut. This is a good thing – because how cool is that? And a bad thing – because he’s going to be orbiting the Earth for several months and Jamie already misses him badly. Doing his homework at the observation lab one night, Jamie inadvertently picks up a weird signal on his mobile phone. Could it be from an alien civilisation with a message for humankind, a message that Jamie has to get to his father before it’s too late? But how do you rescue an astronaut without heading into space yourself?

From the author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright.

Cover illustration by Matt Saunders.

Genres: Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Space, Fiction, Childrens, Family, Adventure

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2017

Reviews

[Matt Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher Edge has been on my radar since I heard about The Many Worlds of Albie Bright. What’s more, I’m a bit of a science and maths geek, so when I saw this book at the local library I couldn’t resist picking it up.

Jamie Drake’s dad is an astronaut orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station. Surely this is every child’s dream, but Jamie doesn’t see the hype – he just misses his dad. Things take a strange turn as he visits an old observatory and accidentally picks up a strange signal on his phone. From here, Jamie and his dad’s stories begin to draw closer until the surprising finale.

My instant reaction is that this book does for middle grade fiction what the Big Bang Theory does for sitcoms – it brings science to life. In fact, the book is bursting with scientific and mathematical concepts. Even the title of the book brought a smile to my face with it play on an existing scientific concept. Now some of the concepts introduced are quite complex, but Edge’s narrative presents these in an easy to understand manner. As such, I can see children being enthralled by concepts such as the Fibonacci Sequence and Drake’s Equation.

The book isn’t just about science though. At it’s heart is a story about family dynamics. Indeed the book begins with Jamie’s own formula for a stable family. Edge presents Jamie’s conflicting emotions with great effect and at times the plot will tug at heart strings or force a wry smile. Couple this with the the scientific background, alien encounters and a down-to-earth lead character and you can see why this book is a winner.

I devoured this book over a couple of sittings – I just couldn’t put it down. As a teacher, the scope for using this book are huge. More importantly, this is a book that will engage children on many levels.

[Kalina Mincheva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ахх, силно стопляща душата история за Космоса, извънземния живот и пътуването сред звездите. Но най-вече за силата на семейството и за светлината, която грее във всеки от нас и която крие неподозиран потенциал. Математиката и научната фантастика едва ли са раждали по-интересна детска книжка досега ❤️

[Мария · Rating 5 out of 5]

Бащата на Джейми е астронавт и е изпратен с мисия в космоса и докато Джейми си задава въпроса дали баща му ще се върне и дали има извънземни единствения въпрос, който вълнува съучениците му е как се ходи до тоалетна в космоса? 🤣
Интересна, космическа и образователна детска история, която ме пренесе там горе сред звездите.

[Nai | Libros con(té) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I used to think that Dad was the star of our family’s solar system, but now I know that the light shines in all of us. Buzz showed me that. Sometimes things go wrong and we might spin out of orbit, but all we need to remember is that we’re not alone. We all get this one brief moment in the sun, and if you’re lucky enough to fill yours with love, let it shine."

3,5/5 stars

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Страхотна научно-фантастично ориентирана книжка за малчовци между 8-12 години.

Историята е завладяваща и близка до тях, като им предлага точно на правилните места и в правилното количество любопитни научни факти за Космоса.

В книгата също се повдига темата за развода, което е много важно представяне на доста наболял проблем, който децата преживяват трудно.


Идеална за фенове на:

📖 Космоса
📖 извънземни
📖 семейни истории


Книжни поздрави,
Криси

[Jack Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy how these books explain scientific concepts.
I bought this for my class again and gave it a read before I give it to them. It’s a fun book that tries to, once again, explain some pretty full on concepts in a way children will understand.

I enjoyed it. Was a fun read.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was used for one of the literacy units while on SBT2 in year 5. I read the book regularly with the class both within literacy lessons and at the end of the day. The children loved the book and were very engaged. The storyline was fast-paced and exciting as well as not being predictable.
The story follows a young boy, Jamie, whose dad is an astronaut and is going on a big mission. Jamie comes into contact with aliens through his phone and works with them to try and protect his dad.
I would use this book with year 4 or year 5 children as a read-aloud story or to use for a literacy unit. I would also recommend this book to children to read individually if we were not using it in class.
There is one upsetting chapter towards the end of the book where the reader is lead to believe Jamie's dad has died. You, therefore, need to know the class well before using this book and consider whether it is appropriate for the individuals within the class. There are other upsetting themes including divorce which may need to be considered.

[The Book Lender · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamie Drake’s dad is famous. He’s an astronaut, and he’s currently orbiting the earth on the International Space Station, about 400kms above the planet’s surface. Soon he will launch a series of tiny interstellar probes, which will search the galaxy for signs of alien life. What could possibly go wrong?

Back on earth, Jamie misses his dad. Not only is he not around to help Jamie prepare for his algebra test, but he’ll also be missing Jamie’s 11th birthday. While his dad is in space, Jamie, his younger sister and his artist mother are living with his ex-rocker grandfather. To get away from the noise and chaos of his home life, Jamie goes for a walk and finds himself at a seemingly abandoned observatory. That’s when things start to get weird.

Despite having a very contemporary setting (smartphones, laptops and Skype are all key plot elements) I had a strong sense of nostalgia while reading The Jamie Drake Equation. This family drama/sci-fi-from-a-child’s-eye-view story reminded me of classics from my own childhood - especially Chocky by John Wyndham and the film E.T. There is some real science and maths in here, too (Fibonacci sequence, golden ratio, how astronauts got to the toilet) as well as some big sci-fi ideas. It also addresses themes of responsibility, parental fallibility, family cohesion and growing up.

The Jamie Drake Equation could be enjoyed by readers who like tales of science fiction, space travel, aliens, maths, defunct heavy metal bands called Death Panda, science and family drama, probably in the 9-12 age range.

The Jamie Drake Equation will be published in March 2017. An uncorrected proof copy of the book was given to me by the publisher for review purposes.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamie's Dad is going to miss his birthday, but it isn't really his fault as he's an astronaut on the International Space Station! Jamie decides to explore the abandoned observatory which his dad used to visit and there he finds a lot more than just a telescope. When his phone interrupts a signal, he finds himself talking to someone from beyond the stars.
I love reading about space and really enjoyed the settings of this book. Jamie is a great character and everything is explained so well, understandable to all ages.

[Ola · Rating 5 out of 5]

“ground control to major tom”
this book is just so so so ahhh
as a person who loves space and wants to be an astrophysicist: i loved this book
and i am in LOVE with professor Forster, she’s exactly the kind of a badass astrophysicist i want to become (except that i am not keen on investigating life in the other parts of the universe, i’m more of a star/black hole kind of person)
it’s an incredibly smart story, which makes us wonder if we really are alone in the universe
it also makes us appreciate life more
“a moment is all we are”

[Helena TM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book it was amazing! It’s about a boy called Jamie’s who’s dad is an astronaut and soon he is going to orbit the earth which for Jamie is bad because he is going to miss his dad a lot then his dads space shuttle loses air and he will die so Jamie finds a way to save him but becomes a star

[Amairo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Много интересна и затрогваща детска книжка, която освен това и показва много интересен поглед към Космоса. Всичко вътре е много добре особено и ми напомни защо толкова обичам математиката. Препоръчвам с две ръце.

[Emma Andje · Rating 4 out of 5]

*actual rating is 3.75 stars*

[P.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read and worth the time. BZZZ was a great character. Or should I say BZZZ were great characters? Whichever is correct, how could you not love a lovable alien book?

[Eliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Jamie Drake Equation
Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ (3/5) or 6.57/10 overall

Characters - 7

Atmosphere - 7

Writing - 7

Plot - 6

Intrigue - 7

Logic - 6

Enjoyment - 6

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pentru o carte de copii, a fost chiar interesantă, adică a avut destul de multe plot-twist-uri , încât să rămân cu gura căscată, însă nu a meritat 5 stele.

[BBFeimova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудесен семеен филм би излязъл от тази книга.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

O lectură frumoasă și emoționanta!☺️

[Aya Iskren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Беше интересна, но имаше неща които не разбират.

[Morgan Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Edge’s books because they’re bringing in a element of intrigue about science to a quite relatable world. Apart from the rock star scientist dad (which has featured in another of Edge’s books) most of Jamie’s life is fairly familiar. School, Homework, Anxiety about Divorcing Parents and life in general. Jamie just also happens to have a dad in space and aliens in his phone.
I thought it was another lovely book. Just not my favourite of Edge’s.

[Bethany Sawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because I’ve chosen Christopher Edge as my class’s author of the month so I had to read this before the kids got hold of it! An adorable middle-grade story about Jamie Drake, whose Dad is a famous astronaut on a space mission, which would be great if he didn’t miss him so much. We follow Jamie’s rollercoaster of emotions as his birthday & the big mission approaches, as he contends with his embarrassing family & deliberates on alien life forms.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a 3.5 for me if Goodreads allowed such scores. I enjoyed the math and science in the book and I found the protagonist, middle grader Jamie Drake, to be portrayed authentically. While many youngsters might think it would be awesome to have an astronaut father who is orbiting the planet in the International Space Station and involved in a project intended to find out if there is life out there through further space exploration, Jamie simply misses his father and wants him to come home. While visiting a nearby observatory and meeting Professor Forster, Jamie accidentally downloads data streaming into the Hubble Space Telescope, and his life changes quickly. Suddenly, he's able to solve complicated math equations an envision other worlds. Although he isn't sure if this lifeform is friend or foe, he is certainly curious. As the alien life force makes contact with him, Jamie gains insight into the universe, but his new friend also comes to understand more about the Earth, and when something unexpected happens at the space station, Jamie is able to somehow save his father. How he is able to do so seemed a bit unlikely to me, but I still went with it since I like a happy ending once in awhile. For those who aren't fond of science fiction, don't worry about the book being overloaded with difficult concepts because most of them are easy to digest. The fact that Jamie's parents are struggling and that everything is not as perfect as it might seem adds to the book's accessibility and makes it easy for readers to relate to some of Jamie's feelings of fear and disappointment. While he might sometimes seem to be selfish, there's no denying that it's hard to have your father so far away on your birthday. The author also drops hints about his mother's sacrifices on behalf of his father's career, something that many readers may not have considered before. The book is a fast read, covering territory not frequently explored in most middle grade novels.

[Maranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://thelibrarianstoolbox.wordpres...

The Jamie Drake Equation by Christopher Edge is a 4-6th grade science fiction book.

Jamie Drake is your average boy with one big exception, his dad is an astronaut on the international space station and he is part of a big mission to find life in outer space. Jamie is very proud of his dad but he misses him a lot, especially with his birthday coming up and his dad missing it.

When Jamie stumbles upon a rouge scientist at a dilapidated space observatory, he accidentally downloads something to his phone and starts receiving weird signals. Where could this signal be coming from? Could it really be aliens?

With his dad gone, Jamie doesn’t know who to turn to and decides to investigate himself. But when something goes wrong with his dad’s mission, Jamie knows it is up to him to save his dad from space and all of it’s dangers.

The Jamie Drake Equation was one I was considering for my 4-6th grade STEM book club. It was a good read and would have given us a lot to talk about but I just didn’t think we had enough copies in our library system to make it work.

That being said, this book was full of fun STEM-iness. We learn about the Jamie Drake Equation, we learn about the fibonacci sequence and more space science. But there is also the sci-fi element of the alien’s and Jamie’s interactions with them.

This book is very emotional for a middle school read. That’s not a bad thing, but there’s this almost Armageddon feel to the end and I really don’t want to make the kids cry! We also deal with serious themes like divorce and separation, moving, fear and more.

This is a read I would recommend a caregiver reading with their child. But I think any 5th-6th grader could get through it alone. In terms of being full of STEM goodness, this one rocks!

I think this one gets a 3.5 from me. Good but not quite what I was expecting/looking for.

[McKayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably learned more from this 170-ish-page kids' book than I did in four years of high school science. It's difficult to walk the line between educating and entertaining, and Edge walks that line well. Though the text does sometimes get a bit weighty with the scientific language, I think most science-minded kids are going to really geek out for this cool story.

Speculative science fiction isn't a genre I'm necessarily a huge fan of—I like to pick things apart too much—but The Jamie Drake Equation offers a possibility for alien contact that doesn't seem wholly unreasonable. And then there's the human speculation of the story: what would life be like if your dad was up on the International Space Station? Quite the work trip to explain to your friends. The blending of the mundane and the fantastical was very interesting, and I actually wish this book were longer.

My only real complaint was with the characterization. Jamie is a pretty generic character. We don't get to know him beyond some basic stuff, such as his relationship with his dad and the fact that he's bad at math. Because of this, he is easy to project yourself onto, which I suppose is useful for younger readers trying to see themselves in Jamie's story, but it also made it seem like Jamie could have been replaced by really any other sixth-grade boy. I was also hoping for more of a friendship to develop between Minty and Jamie, but she really didn't serve much purpose in the story at all. Overall, it felt like a very interesting plot plugged in with a bunch of random people.

All that being said, I enjoyed The Jamie Drake Equation quite a lot, and would highly recommend it to any science-minded middle schooler. I wish I had this book to explain some of the grittier details of astronomy to me when I was a freshman in college.

[jess (bibliophilicjester) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great!! I liked how it had the science behind the book at the end (the infinite lives of Maisie day also had that, which is the other book I've read by edge)...it's a nice addition for actual kids reading this as well as a refresher for adults. Or maybe new stuff to adults, who knows. I was kind of surprised to recognize the Fibonacci sequence before the book told me 😂 look at my brain pulling random memories from the depths of my school days, lol.

I especially loved the professor Jamie meets as well as his teacher at school. I think I just like when adults in books are good examples to kids and also don't treat younger people like they're stupid. That one part when the professor starts explaining complicated math to Jamie and is like, you follow me, yeah? And he's like (LOL NO) yeah yeah, so what's next? 😂 She just goes on like surely this small child understands my explanation of advanced math. Moving on. I don't think I'm explaining this well, but I definitely liked it. And I liked how his teacher finds lots of encouraging things to say to her students when they're doing creative projects!

There's a bit of cheesiness at the end which 🙄🙄 I mean, I guess lots of books for younger readers have that stuff but still. I'm going with 4.25 stars for being a quick and enjoyable read, for having legit tension with the space walk, and for the doctor who references 😂 my ratings are ridiculous, but I think this is an exceptional middle grade scifi book with a lot of roots in reality but with tons of imaginative bits, kind of like the scifi version of magical realism?

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm coming back to this review after having gained just a bit of distance. You know what I'm tired of? Young male protagonists who have problems centered around inability to express their emotion and communicate with others having all their problems solved by the arrival of aliens. Literally. This is the second middle grade book in a row, at least the third that I can remember off the top of my head, where the young boy doesn't ever really have to process his emotions or complete his character arc in any meaningful way because aliens arrive (or another mythical creature or scientific device) and intervene, making his problems go away on their own. I mean, what? This is a real problem. What are we teaching kids, boys in particular, if we're telling them that they can rely on ALIENS to arrive and save them from having to process their own emotions. Not a good look, authors.

Plausibility issues made it difficult for me to fully engage with the story. If you’re going to set your story in the real world, your science better be right. But it was not.

Also the author depicts the destruction of the International Space Station, which gets hit by an immense solar storm and plummets to the earth. As a space nerd I was honestly aghast at this development. And a little miffed at the author’s cavalier treatment of it.

Features divorce.

[Tracy Lander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought this home from school as no one has read it, we have Escape Room and Black Hole Cinema Club both of which have been read. Thought if I read it I could recommend. I certainly will be!

Jamie Drake is the son of Dan, an astronaut on the International Space station. Dan will be conducting a space walk before returning to earth, but missing Jamie's birthday. The space walk is special he has to release Light Swarms to travel into space looking for alien life forms.

While talking to him on the phone Jamie is walking up Beacon Hill, Dad says they was an observatory at the top once. Jamie goes to find it - but someone is using it. When Professor Forster realises that he is not there because he is a spy she explains that's what she is doing too. She has to leave Jamie in the observatory for a minute to check the ground station. At this point Jamie looks at his phone - it's nearly out of charge, he plugs it in her laptop....big mistake.
Things get very weird.
How does he do that Maths test?
What is that drawing of and how did he do it?
Is there an alien on his phone? Dad and Professor Forster don't think so.
Will Dad make it home the following week?
And what will happen to their family after Jamie overhears a conversation he shouldn't have been listening to?

[Justine Laismith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is science fiction at its best. Admittedly I am no astronomy expert, but from the way this story is written, the alien/science concept is plausible and characters are believable. The pacing is good, all the way to the end when the tension peaks. There is nothing too technical that a lay-person can’t understand, yet if you were someone STEM-inclined, this is not too contrived either.
This story reminded me very much of Tim Peake while he was in space. His interactions with school children created a lot of excitement. The author successfully portrayed this and the main character’s conflict with this new-found fame.
Whilst there is a steady growth of non-fiction books about women in STEM who have made an impact in society, fiction books with them are still few and far between. So I was very pleased that the professor in the story is a female astronomy expert. I was also glad that we touched the sacrifices one partner makes so that the bread-winner can fulfil his career ambitions. Along this vein, the children who tag along also lead transient lives of international kids.
In summary, this is not just a book about a middle-grade boy and astronomy. There are layers underneath. A great read.

[Snarhooked · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book would be good for children with an interest in STEM subjects, to encourage them to read fiction. It might also inspire a previously unknown interest in science/maths from those who are just fans of a good book.

Jamie Drake's Dad is famous. He is an astronaut on the ISS involved in a mission send out tiny probes far out into space. The hope is that these will be found by any intelligent life out there and a response will be sent back to Earth.

The news is full of the mission and Jamie's school is putting on a whole week of events. But Jamie just wishes his Dad could be back home already. Things aren't going great for Jamie but when he is out for a walk one night he comes across an old observatory and accidentally discovers something amazing.

The author does a great job of interweaving science and maths to the story. There are details of the training to be an astroanut, life in space, the Fibonacci sequence, and the Goldilocks zone. As an adult I enjoyed spotting the facts in a work of fiction, it helped the plausability of the story.

[Nadezhda Turkova · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Уравнението на Джейми Дрейк" е книга за ценностите в семейството и за извънземния живот в необятните Вселени. Книжката въвлича човек в заинтругуващата история на Джейми, неговото семейство и Бъз.
Кристофър Едж е заложил на сигурно като е разгледал семейните ценности и проблеми. Авторът успешно намира баланс между сериозната тема, която засяга и извънземния сюжет.
Идеята на книгата е да наблегне на това колко е важно семейството за едно подрастващо дете и как то не трябва да спира да вярва.
В книгата ми хареса темата за семейните ценности, която е заложена. Хуморът на автора се изтъква винаги в подходящия момент и кара човек да се засмее с глас. Искаше ми се краят да беше по-развит и да бъде по-ясно описан. Действието се развива бързо. Смея да твърдя, че сюжетът е оригинален, но ми липсва привързаност, към който и да било от героите.
"Уравнението на Джейми Дрейк" е книга, както за малки, така и за големи. Всеки може да си вземе поука от нея. Ако ви се чете нещо леко и в същото време да ви накара да се замислите - "Уравнението на Джейми Дрейк" е перфектното четиво!