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Cosmic: A Funny and Touching Story About Space and Identity for Kids
Liam has always felt a bit like he's stuck between two worlds. This isprimarily because he's a twelve-year-old kid who looks like he's about thirty. Sometimes it's not so bad, like when his new principal mistakes him for a teacher on the first day of school or when he convinces a car dealer to let him take a Porsche out on a test drive. But mostly it's just frustrating, being a kid trapped in an adult world. And so he decides to flip things around. Liam cons his way onto the first spaceship to take civilians into space, a special flight for a group of kids and an adult chaperone, and he is going as the adult chaperone. It's not long before Liam, along with his friends, is stuck between two worlds again—only this time he's 239,000 miles from home.
Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of Millions and Framed, brings us a funny and touching story of the many ways in which grown-upness is truly wasted on grown-ups.
Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of Millions and Framed, brings us a funny and touching story of the many ways in which grown-upness is truly wasted on grown-ups.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 15, 2008
284 people are currently reading
2592 people want to read
About the author
Frank Cottrell Boyce
77 books263 followersFrank Cottrell Boyce is a British screenwriter, novelist and occasional actor.
In addition to original scripts, Cottrell Boyce has also adapted novels for the screen and written children's fiction, winning the 2004 Carnegie Medal for his debut, Millions, based on his own screenplay for the film of the same name.
His novel Framed was shortlisted for the Whitbread Book of the Year as well as the Carnegie Medal.
He adapted the novel into a screenplay for a 2009 BBC television film. His 2009 novel Cosmic has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
He is married and the father of seven children.
In addition to original scripts, Cottrell Boyce has also adapted novels for the screen and written children's fiction, winning the 2004 Carnegie Medal for his debut, Millions, based on his own screenplay for the film of the same name.
His novel Framed was shortlisted for the Whitbread Book of the Year as well as the Carnegie Medal.
He adapted the novel into a screenplay for a 2009 BBC television film. His 2009 novel Cosmic has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
He is married and the father of seven children.
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January 6, 2010
Close your eyes. Lean back. Take a breath. Now think. Think about the books you read when you were a child. Think about the ones you loved. The ones you still think about sometimes. The ones that encouraged you to consider the world around you.
Got them in your head? Great. Now just pluck out for me the ones that took place in outer space. Go on. I can wait.
What’s that? You can’t think of any significant children’s books that took place in space? Would The Little Prince count? I guess so, but that’s not really the kind of space I mean. I’m talking about real space. The kind we blasted into in the 1960s and then never returned to. Where are the books about kids in space that have remained within the public consciousness? Fact of the matter is, there aren’t any. Oh, there are tons of books where kids go to space, sure. But how many of them are classics? How many of them are memorable? How many could you tell to the person on the street and get a spark of recognition in return? For now, none. But let me call you back in fifteen years and maybe your answer will be different. Because by then Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce should hopefully have found its readership. And if it has, we’re one step closer to having a space-based chapter book that everyone can enjoy.
What happens when a twelve-year-old boy goes through such a growth spurt that he looks like he’s thirty? Well, in the case of Liam, inadvertent space travel. All right. Maybe not all that inadvertent. Liam’s a pretty good kid, but looking like a grown-up has gotten him into sticky situations. There was the time he was the only kid tall enough to ride the roller coaster, which in turn led to him getting free rides (and freaking out his dad). The time he almost got away with driving a car out of a dealership. And then there was the time he found himself on a rocket hurtling through space without knowing how to get it back. That sort of brings us up to speed because when the novel opens, that’s where Liam still is. He sort of won a contest for the world’s greatest dads and conned his classmate Florida into pretending to be his daughter. And then they sort of got flown to China where she was going to be one of the first kids to go to outer space. And then he kind of sort of won a competition to be the legal guardian that went along with the kids. Only now something has gone wrong and Liam’s finding that being the “sensible adult” is a lot harder when you want to scream and yell and run around like all the other kids freaking out around you. Instead, it’s up to him to get them safely home. Big job. Big kid.
Consider one mister Frank Cottrell Boyce. Here we have a man who has written books like Millions and Framed. He’s sort of a one-namer writer. And his shtick, as I see it, is to write books that star boys, have high-concept ideas, are laugh-on-the-subway-and-get-strange-looks funny, and then also make you think about life, death, the universe, and everything in it. Millions paired boys finding two duffle bags full of money with questions about God and Jesus. Cosmic, for its part, pairs the story of a twelve-year-old who looks thirty with ample consideration of the eye of infinity and our place in the universe. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. This then is a book that’s amusing for all kids, but will make some of them consider the big picture as well.
Now admittedly, I wasn’t hooked on Cosmic from the get go. The beginning was fun, but then Liam started to get into trouble and I was less amused by that. And about the time he was making a fool of himself in front of the real dads in China, I was positively embarrassed for him, and not sure I’d want to pick up the book again. But when Liam started competing with the other dads to become the one that went into space, I was hooked again. And after that the story just got more and more exciting. The multiple near death experiences didn't hurt either.
After a while I realized that some of this book feels a bit like the movie Big. A kid gets a body of a grown man and suddenly the world is his oyster. The difference of course being that in Big the boy can go back to looking like a kid and in Cosmic Liam will just have to grow into his. It occurred to me after a while that adults reading this book would identify with it immediately. You find yourself in the body of a grown-up and everyone starts expecting you to act like a sensible human being with responsibilities? That’s my life every day! No wonder Liam eventually thinks to himself, “What’s the point in forfeiting your childhood if all you get for it is filling in forms?” So obviously grown-ups are going to relate to Liam, but would kids? Well, sure! Talk about the ultimate wish fulfillment. To live in the world and find yourself getting free rides at the amusement park, free car rides, and all the perks that go with the job . . . where’s the downside? Boyce shows the downside, but I don’t know how many kids will care. The fact that Liam’s a hoot to go along with (even when he’s being impossibly thick) was just a nice plus.
After all, Boyce is a funny writer. He knows how to craft a good line. Example A: “I don’t think the world has vanished. But it is worrying not being able to see it. After all, Earth is where I keep all my stuff.” When Liam’s dad tells him to get a friend who’s not an online companion his argument is, “You need a friend who is visible to the naked eye.” And Boyce is the master of funny (and always pertinent) chapter headings like “The Ice-Cream Man of the Gobi Desert”.
It’s also just a great book about dads and how important they are. Adults reading will understand pretty early on that Florida’s supposedly perfect father that she's always comparing Liam to is just a figment of her imagination. In fact, fathers are sort of the most consistent theme of the book. Early on Liam comes to the conclusion that his dad only speaks on five separate topics of conversation. Then, when he finds himself a kind of pseudo-father, he steals his dad’s book on how to talk to teens, and finds himself in the old man’s shoes. Finally, even when he’s in the most trouble, Liam can’t help but think that his dad may still find him, even in the farthest reaches of space. It’s this childlike faith that keeps reminding you that for all his posturing, Liam’s really just a kid like the rest of them. And when Liam acts like a kid, it always makes sense. He doesn’t do it randomly. He just reacts to situations like a child would want to and the result is sometimes funny, sometimes disastrous. Which in turn makes his sacrifice at the end all the more impressive.
Some may feel that the book is too doggone English to appeal to American kids. I don’t. The Britishisms aren’t a problem, though I did have to look up what a satnav was. Ditto haribo. Not that they aren’t easy to look up, but you may scratch your head a little when you run across them. Still, kids today have grown up on a steady diet of Harry Potter. In nine out of ten occasions they’ll be able to parse what it means when Liam says of chips, “the moment they make contact with your tongue they stop being crisps and become soggies.” Honestly I worry more about the celebrity gossip repeated by Florida. I’d like this book to age gracefully, but its technological references and mentions that Tom Cruise’s teeth are completely false may make it difficult to peruse thirty years from now.
Interestingly, the book I pair this one with in my head is actually Moonshot by Brian Floca. Now, granted, Moonshot is a picture book and Cosmic is a wordy bit of fluffy genius, but the two share one significant thing in common. They have a good solid appreciation of that feeling of awe and fear we have sometimes when we gaze up at the moon. When Floca writes, “They go rushing into darkness, flying toward the Moon, far away, cold and quiet, no air, no life, but glowing in the sky,” how different is it from Boyce when he says, “The surface is white as paper and the shadows are sharp and definite” and later “The stars were getting just a bit dimmer. Like someone was drawing a curtain over them. But I knew what was behind the curtain now. Behind the curtain was everything, and I was nothing.” In both cases, the authors are dealing with a feeling that writers for centuries have grappled to put to paper: wonder. Wonder and awe. These are books that look into the blackness that surrounds the earth and presses upon us from all sides, and makes it manageable and comprehensible to young minds. They acknowledge the fear and they counter it with beauty.
Fifteen years from now, I like to think, I’ll meet you again. And I’ll tell you to close your eyes. I’ll tell you to lean back. I’ll tell you to take a breath and to think. Think about a book about kids in space that is memorable, classic, and in the pubic consciousness. And maybe, just maybe, your eyes will flutter open and you’ll shoot me a pitying look of mild disgust as you say sarcastically, “Uh, like ‘Cosmic’? Hello?” That’s what I’m shooting for right now. Because as novels for kids go, Boyce has managed to write one that’s just the right mixture of fun and philosophy. Kids will love it and grown-ups will love to read it with them. Doesn’t matter how tall or short you are, because Cosmic is for you.
Ages 9-12.
Got them in your head? Great. Now just pluck out for me the ones that took place in outer space. Go on. I can wait.
What’s that? You can’t think of any significant children’s books that took place in space? Would The Little Prince count? I guess so, but that’s not really the kind of space I mean. I’m talking about real space. The kind we blasted into in the 1960s and then never returned to. Where are the books about kids in space that have remained within the public consciousness? Fact of the matter is, there aren’t any. Oh, there are tons of books where kids go to space, sure. But how many of them are classics? How many of them are memorable? How many could you tell to the person on the street and get a spark of recognition in return? For now, none. But let me call you back in fifteen years and maybe your answer will be different. Because by then Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce should hopefully have found its readership. And if it has, we’re one step closer to having a space-based chapter book that everyone can enjoy.
What happens when a twelve-year-old boy goes through such a growth spurt that he looks like he’s thirty? Well, in the case of Liam, inadvertent space travel. All right. Maybe not all that inadvertent. Liam’s a pretty good kid, but looking like a grown-up has gotten him into sticky situations. There was the time he was the only kid tall enough to ride the roller coaster, which in turn led to him getting free rides (and freaking out his dad). The time he almost got away with driving a car out of a dealership. And then there was the time he found himself on a rocket hurtling through space without knowing how to get it back. That sort of brings us up to speed because when the novel opens, that’s where Liam still is. He sort of won a contest for the world’s greatest dads and conned his classmate Florida into pretending to be his daughter. And then they sort of got flown to China where she was going to be one of the first kids to go to outer space. And then he kind of sort of won a competition to be the legal guardian that went along with the kids. Only now something has gone wrong and Liam’s finding that being the “sensible adult” is a lot harder when you want to scream and yell and run around like all the other kids freaking out around you. Instead, it’s up to him to get them safely home. Big job. Big kid.
Consider one mister Frank Cottrell Boyce. Here we have a man who has written books like Millions and Framed. He’s sort of a one-namer writer. And his shtick, as I see it, is to write books that star boys, have high-concept ideas, are laugh-on-the-subway-and-get-strange-looks funny, and then also make you think about life, death, the universe, and everything in it. Millions paired boys finding two duffle bags full of money with questions about God and Jesus. Cosmic, for its part, pairs the story of a twelve-year-old who looks thirty with ample consideration of the eye of infinity and our place in the universe. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. This then is a book that’s amusing for all kids, but will make some of them consider the big picture as well.
Now admittedly, I wasn’t hooked on Cosmic from the get go. The beginning was fun, but then Liam started to get into trouble and I was less amused by that. And about the time he was making a fool of himself in front of the real dads in China, I was positively embarrassed for him, and not sure I’d want to pick up the book again. But when Liam started competing with the other dads to become the one that went into space, I was hooked again. And after that the story just got more and more exciting. The multiple near death experiences didn't hurt either.
After a while I realized that some of this book feels a bit like the movie Big. A kid gets a body of a grown man and suddenly the world is his oyster. The difference of course being that in Big the boy can go back to looking like a kid and in Cosmic Liam will just have to grow into his. It occurred to me after a while that adults reading this book would identify with it immediately. You find yourself in the body of a grown-up and everyone starts expecting you to act like a sensible human being with responsibilities? That’s my life every day! No wonder Liam eventually thinks to himself, “What’s the point in forfeiting your childhood if all you get for it is filling in forms?” So obviously grown-ups are going to relate to Liam, but would kids? Well, sure! Talk about the ultimate wish fulfillment. To live in the world and find yourself getting free rides at the amusement park, free car rides, and all the perks that go with the job . . . where’s the downside? Boyce shows the downside, but I don’t know how many kids will care. The fact that Liam’s a hoot to go along with (even when he’s being impossibly thick) was just a nice plus.
After all, Boyce is a funny writer. He knows how to craft a good line. Example A: “I don’t think the world has vanished. But it is worrying not being able to see it. After all, Earth is where I keep all my stuff.” When Liam’s dad tells him to get a friend who’s not an online companion his argument is, “You need a friend who is visible to the naked eye.” And Boyce is the master of funny (and always pertinent) chapter headings like “The Ice-Cream Man of the Gobi Desert”.
It’s also just a great book about dads and how important they are. Adults reading will understand pretty early on that Florida’s supposedly perfect father that she's always comparing Liam to is just a figment of her imagination. In fact, fathers are sort of the most consistent theme of the book. Early on Liam comes to the conclusion that his dad only speaks on five separate topics of conversation. Then, when he finds himself a kind of pseudo-father, he steals his dad’s book on how to talk to teens, and finds himself in the old man’s shoes. Finally, even when he’s in the most trouble, Liam can’t help but think that his dad may still find him, even in the farthest reaches of space. It’s this childlike faith that keeps reminding you that for all his posturing, Liam’s really just a kid like the rest of them. And when Liam acts like a kid, it always makes sense. He doesn’t do it randomly. He just reacts to situations like a child would want to and the result is sometimes funny, sometimes disastrous. Which in turn makes his sacrifice at the end all the more impressive.
Some may feel that the book is too doggone English to appeal to American kids. I don’t. The Britishisms aren’t a problem, though I did have to look up what a satnav was. Ditto haribo. Not that they aren’t easy to look up, but you may scratch your head a little when you run across them. Still, kids today have grown up on a steady diet of Harry Potter. In nine out of ten occasions they’ll be able to parse what it means when Liam says of chips, “the moment they make contact with your tongue they stop being crisps and become soggies.” Honestly I worry more about the celebrity gossip repeated by Florida. I’d like this book to age gracefully, but its technological references and mentions that Tom Cruise’s teeth are completely false may make it difficult to peruse thirty years from now.
Interestingly, the book I pair this one with in my head is actually Moonshot by Brian Floca. Now, granted, Moonshot is a picture book and Cosmic is a wordy bit of fluffy genius, but the two share one significant thing in common. They have a good solid appreciation of that feeling of awe and fear we have sometimes when we gaze up at the moon. When Floca writes, “They go rushing into darkness, flying toward the Moon, far away, cold and quiet, no air, no life, but glowing in the sky,” how different is it from Boyce when he says, “The surface is white as paper and the shadows are sharp and definite” and later “The stars were getting just a bit dimmer. Like someone was drawing a curtain over them. But I knew what was behind the curtain now. Behind the curtain was everything, and I was nothing.” In both cases, the authors are dealing with a feeling that writers for centuries have grappled to put to paper: wonder. Wonder and awe. These are books that look into the blackness that surrounds the earth and presses upon us from all sides, and makes it manageable and comprehensible to young minds. They acknowledge the fear and they counter it with beauty.
Fifteen years from now, I like to think, I’ll meet you again. And I’ll tell you to close your eyes. I’ll tell you to lean back. I’ll tell you to take a breath and to think. Think about a book about kids in space that is memorable, classic, and in the pubic consciousness. And maybe, just maybe, your eyes will flutter open and you’ll shoot me a pitying look of mild disgust as you say sarcastically, “Uh, like ‘Cosmic’? Hello?” That’s what I’m shooting for right now. Because as novels for kids go, Boyce has managed to write one that’s just the right mixture of fun and philosophy. Kids will love it and grown-ups will love to read it with them. Doesn’t matter how tall or short you are, because Cosmic is for you.
Ages 9-12.
October 4, 2018
I read this with my 10 year old son for his book club run through a local independent book store, and we really enjoyed it!
It is a genuinely humorous and well-written middle grade book. No surprise as the club facilitator is an absolute book genius when it comes to kids and YA titles.
I don't know whether to be surprised or not to find that none of the other parents read the book. Am I unusual for reading the books my kids are reading? Genuine question. I just like to enjoy the books with them and talk to them about what they read.
It is a genuinely humorous and well-written middle grade book. No surprise as the club facilitator is an absolute book genius when it comes to kids and YA titles.
I don't know whether to be surprised or not to find that none of the other parents read the book. Am I unusual for reading the books my kids are reading? Genuine question. I just like to enjoy the books with them and talk to them about what they read.
December 15, 2018
I read this book aloud to my nine year old daughter and Cosmic was in parts 'totally cosmic'.
This was a strange book, the main character is a 12 yo boy who is very tall, has some facial hair and often gets confused as an adult. The characters are from a small town called Bootle in England, which is somewhere near Liverpool I believe. So I needed to watch a bit of Red Dwarf to practice my Liverpudlian accent before we started. The young lad enters a competition with Drax World, a mobile phone company building a theme park in China. He pretends to be the Dad of one of his class mates, a girl who he has a typical 12 yo relationship with. Said relationship becomes confused when they realise that acting as her dad allows them to go and do things normally not allowed for two 12 year olds.
This is a modern day Charlie and the Chocolate factory. A group of Dads and their chosen child end up at the theme park in China training for the greatest ride ever, a shot into space and back. The dads all have their particular hangups with their kids, ie buying what ever they want, pushing to be a winner in everything or removing fun to focus on learning, Very Veruca Salt and Mike Teavee style.
What changes the story is the fact that one of the dads is 12. So reading this aloud was interesting, because there was much in there for the parent to think about when pushing your kids to strive for success, excellence or even tidying their room.
The book seemed to be broken into two parts, there was a fun kids story in there and then there was lots of descriptive stuff about flying around the moon and thought processing of feelings. A big chunk of the last third of the book lost its fun part and I could tell my daughter was, whilst still interested, wanted to return to the fun bits, not the relationship bit. It was a little strange, it was almost if the author had designed this book to be read aloud by a parent to a child between 9 and 11. But I don't know many other friends who still read to their kids when they get past 6.
For a long time, the book was heading for a four. We had a lot of fun for most of the book and had some laugh out loud moments. I had a raft of accents to play with, kids from different backgrounds. My Liverpool and french accents were way better than my middle east accent. So overall we enjoyed the book and the chapter sizes were good for a chapter a night. I would say my daughter would rate this as a 4 star overall as in most nights she was hoping for an additional chapter as she wanted to keep the story going.
Age group: 8-9 onwards.
This was a strange book, the main character is a 12 yo boy who is very tall, has some facial hair and often gets confused as an adult. The characters are from a small town called Bootle in England, which is somewhere near Liverpool I believe. So I needed to watch a bit of Red Dwarf to practice my Liverpudlian accent before we started. The young lad enters a competition with Drax World, a mobile phone company building a theme park in China. He pretends to be the Dad of one of his class mates, a girl who he has a typical 12 yo relationship with. Said relationship becomes confused when they realise that acting as her dad allows them to go and do things normally not allowed for two 12 year olds.
This is a modern day Charlie and the Chocolate factory. A group of Dads and their chosen child end up at the theme park in China training for the greatest ride ever, a shot into space and back. The dads all have their particular hangups with their kids, ie buying what ever they want, pushing to be a winner in everything or removing fun to focus on learning, Very Veruca Salt and Mike Teavee style.
What changes the story is the fact that one of the dads is 12. So reading this aloud was interesting, because there was much in there for the parent to think about when pushing your kids to strive for success, excellence or even tidying their room.
The book seemed to be broken into two parts, there was a fun kids story in there and then there was lots of descriptive stuff about flying around the moon and thought processing of feelings. A big chunk of the last third of the book lost its fun part and I could tell my daughter was, whilst still interested, wanted to return to the fun bits, not the relationship bit. It was a little strange, it was almost if the author had designed this book to be read aloud by a parent to a child between 9 and 11. But I don't know many other friends who still read to their kids when they get past 6.
For a long time, the book was heading for a four. We had a lot of fun for most of the book and had some laugh out loud moments. I had a raft of accents to play with, kids from different backgrounds. My Liverpool and french accents were way better than my middle east accent. So overall we enjoyed the book and the chapter sizes were good for a chapter a night. I would say my daughter would rate this as a 4 star overall as in most nights she was hoping for an additional chapter as she wanted to keep the story going.
Age group: 8-9 onwards.
June 23, 2008
Here's my blog post:
A few years ago I fell hard for Millions, Frank Cotrell Boyce’s first book for children. The outlandish situation (two boys feverishly spending large amounts of money), the characterizations (particularly of the two boys and their father), the subtle handling of the big emotional and theological themes (of grief and faith), the laugh-out-loud humorous moments (my favorite being the playground economy), and the remarkable voice of narrator Damian (the younger of the two boys) made it a memorable novel for me as well as for my students when I read it aloud to them. Boyce’s next novel, Framed, did not win me over the same way. Fortunately, he has gone one better with his newest book, Cosmic.*
“I’m not exactly in the Lake District.”
Indeed he is not. He’s not even on Earth. With that small, understated sentence Boyce hooks us up with his twelve-year old narrator, Liam, a “great lad.” Great as in being really tall; tall enough to ride any amusement park ride he wishes, tall enough to drive, tall enough to be repeatedly mistaken as an adult. Say on his first day at a new secondary school as a “gifted and talented” student when he is initially identified as a teacher. Great as in being really, really good at the multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. Great as being really smart and really brave. Great as in having a sweet and thoughtful and sensitive way that stands him in good stead when he ends up in a rocket coming back from the moon.
With a bunch of kids.
Who think he is a dad.
Boyce gets Liam’s voice just right. A screenwriter, he knows how to set-up scenes, create engaging dialog, and make a completely improbable situation believable. As he did with Millions, Boyce brings in deep philosophical ideas in a kid-friendly, convincing, and moving way. With this one it is about dads, about what it is to be one, what it is to be an adult. To the book’s readers, Liam is convincingly a kid throughout his story, even as he convinces the adults he encounters that he is an adult. And not just any adult — an adult just like his dad.
A completely lovely book; highly recommended.
* The book will be published in the US in July, but is already available at audible; thanks to Kelly Herold who alerted me to this fact.
A few years ago I fell hard for Millions, Frank Cotrell Boyce’s first book for children. The outlandish situation (two boys feverishly spending large amounts of money), the characterizations (particularly of the two boys and their father), the subtle handling of the big emotional and theological themes (of grief and faith), the laugh-out-loud humorous moments (my favorite being the playground economy), and the remarkable voice of narrator Damian (the younger of the two boys) made it a memorable novel for me as well as for my students when I read it aloud to them. Boyce’s next novel, Framed, did not win me over the same way. Fortunately, he has gone one better with his newest book, Cosmic.*
“I’m not exactly in the Lake District.”
Indeed he is not. He’s not even on Earth. With that small, understated sentence Boyce hooks us up with his twelve-year old narrator, Liam, a “great lad.” Great as in being really tall; tall enough to ride any amusement park ride he wishes, tall enough to drive, tall enough to be repeatedly mistaken as an adult. Say on his first day at a new secondary school as a “gifted and talented” student when he is initially identified as a teacher. Great as in being really, really good at the multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. Great as being really smart and really brave. Great as in having a sweet and thoughtful and sensitive way that stands him in good stead when he ends up in a rocket coming back from the moon.
With a bunch of kids.
Who think he is a dad.
Boyce gets Liam’s voice just right. A screenwriter, he knows how to set-up scenes, create engaging dialog, and make a completely improbable situation believable. As he did with Millions, Boyce brings in deep philosophical ideas in a kid-friendly, convincing, and moving way. With this one it is about dads, about what it is to be one, what it is to be an adult. To the book’s readers, Liam is convincingly a kid throughout his story, even as he convinces the adults he encounters that he is an adult. And not just any adult — an adult just like his dad.
A completely lovely book; highly recommended.
* The book will be published in the US in July, but is already available at audible; thanks to Kelly Herold who alerted me to this fact.
December 6, 2016
for fiction club, children's books group
What a hoot! Easy to suspend disbelief despite ridiculous premise. Mostly funny, both clever and slapstick. Also some tender & wise & exciting bits. So glad I was alerted to this; hope to read more by the author.
What a hoot! Easy to suspend disbelief despite ridiculous premise. Mostly funny, both clever and slapstick. Also some tender & wise & exciting bits. So glad I was alerted to this; hope to read more by the author.
December 4, 2009
I've had this ARC sitting on my shelf for a few months now, and if I'd known how much fun it would be and how much I'd like it, I would have read it as soon as I got it. But it's a new author for me, and the blurb didn't make it sound all that interesting. Since this North American edition is due out early next year, I thought I should probably get reading. And it turned out to be just what I needed: a funny, laugh-out-loud, wistful and rollicking ride that reminded me at times of Roald Dahl (more on that later).
Liam is only twelve, but his growth spurt hit early. Now taller than most adults and sporting a new batch of stubble, he's mistaken for the new teacher on his first day of grade 7 at a new school. That lasted only so long as it took him to try to incite a walk-out, but it's only the first time he's mistaken as an adult. Since he looks about thirty, Liam and his classmate Florida have great fun doing things that kids can only do with adult supervision - until his dad, a taxi driver, catches him about to test drive a Porsche.
All that practice at pretending to be Florida's dad comes in very handy when he wins a competition to be among the first people to visit a new, state-of-the-art space-themed theme park in China. Faking a letter to his parents about his class going to the Lake District for a school trip is easy enough. The only problem is, he needs someone to be his child, to take along with him, because the competition is for a parent and child. Convincing celebrity-gossip-obsessed Florida is only part of the problem: when they arrive their host, Dr Drax, tells them that it is the four children who will be going into space. Their fathers will be staying behind.
To come so close and not realise his dream! He manages to convince Dr Drax that the children should have an adult present, but Dr Drax decides to let the children vote on which Dad they want with them by voting on them after a series of challenges. Problem is, why would the kids want a computer-game obsessed "dad" with them when they know he'll hog the controls?
Frank Cottrell Boyce is better known as the author of Millions, which was made into a movie. I haven't seen it, or read the book. Other reviewers have said it's a better book than Cosmic - considering how much I enjoyed this, perhaps I should read Millions too. Cosmic is an utterly delightful read - and I've been waiting for ages to say that about a book!
Liam is a funny, engaging narrator, a mix of precocious child and wise adult who is obsessed with the Waterloos of the world and a role-playing computer game called World of Warcraft (which comes in very handy for navigating his way through encounters with grumpy adults). He carries the novel easily. When you remember how much practice Liam has at pretending to be an adult, and of having adults who know he's a kid always expecting him to behave better, "big lad like you", it's not all that surprising. Sure, sometimes his voice was a little too mature, but it also has that naïve youthfulness that you leave behind before you hit 20. Usually.
The humour renders the implausibility of the plot unimportant, in that Hitchhiker's way. This is one of the first books I've read in ages that made me laugh out loud. It was a breath of fresh air, lightening my week, and some of the irreverence transferred to my own life - there's nothing better than the ability to laugh at the absurdities of our own lives.
The story is told by Liam from space, and is the story of how he got there. I haven't been so entertained in ages. It really is a silly story, and yet poignant at times too - it's no shallow, brittle kind of humour, but earnest, which also makes it just that little bit sad. There's also this pervading sense of ... something, possibly bad, because all through the book you know that these five children are stuck in space, orbiting the moon, completely cut off from Earth and home and their parents. It certainly did prove how bad an idea it was of Dr Drax's to send just children into space - they messed up their task because they were fighting over who got to press the green button.
This is a great book for all ages - as an adult I enjoyed it immensely. It reminded me of Roald Dahl not just because of the humour but because the five fathers and five kids winning a competition to visit some exciting new place and do challenges is highly reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is the first North American edition and I do wish they'd left the spelling alone. It's very jarring to leave the British vocabulary but not the spelling, and seriously, when you hear or picture British people talking, they do leave the "U"s in!
Liam is only twelve, but his growth spurt hit early. Now taller than most adults and sporting a new batch of stubble, he's mistaken for the new teacher on his first day of grade 7 at a new school. That lasted only so long as it took him to try to incite a walk-out, but it's only the first time he's mistaken as an adult. Since he looks about thirty, Liam and his classmate Florida have great fun doing things that kids can only do with adult supervision - until his dad, a taxi driver, catches him about to test drive a Porsche.
All that practice at pretending to be Florida's dad comes in very handy when he wins a competition to be among the first people to visit a new, state-of-the-art space-themed theme park in China. Faking a letter to his parents about his class going to the Lake District for a school trip is easy enough. The only problem is, he needs someone to be his child, to take along with him, because the competition is for a parent and child. Convincing celebrity-gossip-obsessed Florida is only part of the problem: when they arrive their host, Dr Drax, tells them that it is the four children who will be going into space. Their fathers will be staying behind.
To come so close and not realise his dream! He manages to convince Dr Drax that the children should have an adult present, but Dr Drax decides to let the children vote on which Dad they want with them by voting on them after a series of challenges. Problem is, why would the kids want a computer-game obsessed "dad" with them when they know he'll hog the controls?
Frank Cottrell Boyce is better known as the author of Millions, which was made into a movie. I haven't seen it, or read the book. Other reviewers have said it's a better book than Cosmic - considering how much I enjoyed this, perhaps I should read Millions too. Cosmic is an utterly delightful read - and I've been waiting for ages to say that about a book!
Liam is a funny, engaging narrator, a mix of precocious child and wise adult who is obsessed with the Waterloos of the world and a role-playing computer game called World of Warcraft (which comes in very handy for navigating his way through encounters with grumpy adults). He carries the novel easily. When you remember how much practice Liam has at pretending to be an adult, and of having adults who know he's a kid always expecting him to behave better, "big lad like you", it's not all that surprising. Sure, sometimes his voice was a little too mature, but it also has that naïve youthfulness that you leave behind before you hit 20. Usually.
The humour renders the implausibility of the plot unimportant, in that Hitchhiker's way. This is one of the first books I've read in ages that made me laugh out loud. It was a breath of fresh air, lightening my week, and some of the irreverence transferred to my own life - there's nothing better than the ability to laugh at the absurdities of our own lives.
The story is told by Liam from space, and is the story of how he got there. I haven't been so entertained in ages. It really is a silly story, and yet poignant at times too - it's no shallow, brittle kind of humour, but earnest, which also makes it just that little bit sad. There's also this pervading sense of ... something, possibly bad, because all through the book you know that these five children are stuck in space, orbiting the moon, completely cut off from Earth and home and their parents. It certainly did prove how bad an idea it was of Dr Drax's to send just children into space - they messed up their task because they were fighting over who got to press the green button.
This is a great book for all ages - as an adult I enjoyed it immensely. It reminded me of Roald Dahl not just because of the humour but because the five fathers and five kids winning a competition to visit some exciting new place and do challenges is highly reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is the first North American edition and I do wish they'd left the spelling alone. It's very jarring to leave the British vocabulary but not the spelling, and seriously, when you hear or picture British people talking, they do leave the "U"s in!
February 24, 2012
I think the author was counting on the fact that nerds from different factions don't mix. Meaning that reader nerds don't play online games and gamer nerds don't read kids' novels.
Well as an elementary school librarian children's literature is my business (and fortunately for me also my passion). My husband is a big gamer and I play with him. So I guess I qualify as that rare (possibly statistically non-existent) double nerd who both reads children's books and plays an online game.
The main character in this book. Liam is a devout World of Warcraft player (he has a level 40 avatar) and uses his "knowledge" of World of Warcraft to get out of sticky situations in the bizarre new world he has been sucked into, the situation of being stranded in outerspace 239,000 miles from home. The trouble is that the author actually knows virtually nothing about World of Warcraft.
Honestly I think he went and sat in the hallway of some random World of Warcraft convention and wrote down a few terms and phrases then stuck them into his limited model of video games. I am guessing a lot of pac man as a child. The Warcraft references were almost all completely incorrect as to the real gameplay.
Having said that and putting the game aside I thought this was a very cute story and that Liam is a likable character. It was sweet and tame enough for middle graders but enough adventure to keep kids a bit older engaged.
Whatever you do, don't give this to a "reluctant reader" who is into World of Warcraft hoping to cross interest them into reading, because a kid into WoW would probably use the inaccuracies to prove reading is not for them.
Well as an elementary school librarian children's literature is my business (and fortunately for me also my passion). My husband is a big gamer and I play with him. So I guess I qualify as that rare (possibly statistically non-existent) double nerd who both reads children's books and plays an online game.
The main character in this book. Liam is a devout World of Warcraft player (he has a level 40 avatar) and uses his "knowledge" of World of Warcraft to get out of sticky situations in the bizarre new world he has been sucked into, the situation of being stranded in outerspace 239,000 miles from home. The trouble is that the author actually knows virtually nothing about World of Warcraft.
Honestly I think he went and sat in the hallway of some random World of Warcraft convention and wrote down a few terms and phrases then stuck them into his limited model of video games. I am guessing a lot of pac man as a child. The Warcraft references were almost all completely incorrect as to the real gameplay.
Having said that and putting the game aside I thought this was a very cute story and that Liam is a likable character. It was sweet and tame enough for middle graders but enough adventure to keep kids a bit older engaged.
Whatever you do, don't give this to a "reluctant reader" who is into World of Warcraft hoping to cross interest them into reading, because a kid into WoW would probably use the inaccuracies to prove reading is not for them.
June 30, 2018
All the best books about parenting are written for children.
There's a contest and a tour, so a strong homage to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Boyce makes his kid characters okay despite the horrible parenting they receive though, so that's nice.
The best thing, though, is that the kids manage to lark about and have fun, and also get stuff done. Liam makes a great dad, although it's clear he'll enjoy going back to being a kid. Whereas Charlie is deserving because despite his unspeakable poverty he doesn't complain or challenge the system, but Liam earns his reward for working hard and challenging the status quo.
I don't recall ever thinking that I would get to vacation in the moon some day, but it is pretty to think so.
Library copy
There's a contest and a tour, so a strong homage to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Boyce makes his kid characters okay despite the horrible parenting they receive though, so that's nice.
The best thing, though, is that the kids manage to lark about and have fun, and also get stuff done. Liam makes a great dad, although it's clear he'll enjoy going back to being a kid. Whereas Charlie is deserving because despite his unspeakable poverty he doesn't complain or challenge the system, but Liam earns his reward for working hard and challenging the status quo.
I don't recall ever thinking that I would get to vacation in the moon some day, but it is pretty to think so.
Library copy
June 19, 2018
This book is what happens when you take a Roald-Dahl-style premise and give it a heart. It's warm, humorous, and told in a fantastically convincing middle grade voice. In an unusual turn for a middle grade novel, it's also a reflection on fatherhood, and as our young protagonist attempts to be "dadly," (why? long story) readers are reminded of how awesome dads really are.
December 23, 2010
It's a coincidence I began this on the night of the lunar eclipse, or maybe I just have space on the brain? Actually, not really. It's up to me to note books that get stars from major trade publications, and this book has a whopping SIX.
Cottrell Bryce owes a lot to Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I say this in the best way possible. One, they're both British. Two, they live for caricature and the funny. Three, their books are just whimsical enough, and serious enough, to hit that sweet spot where you only have to suspend disbelief just a little. I mean--a twelve year old who can truly pass for an adult? A theme park "thrill ride" that's actually a trip on a rocket... into space? For kids? And it's real?
Oh yes. Liam's voice is wonderfully wry and hilarious, and he also coined a word that's going into my vocabulary: dadliness. The quality or attributes of being a dad. What does a dad do? He gets you out of a tight spot, and then glares at you disapprovingly until you learn your lesson. He calls you "princess" and remembers your birthday. He pushes you to succeed. He'll do anything to save you.
More than that, Cosmic is also a muse on what it means to be a grown-up, as well as a dad, so I can easily see why industry magazines are showering it with stars. While I think it's authentically written in the voice of a 12-year-old boy, I'm neither twelve nor a boy, so I'd be interested in what middle school kids think of this book too.
Last note: I wanted more ending! I'm a sap, so I'll give a book five stars if affects me emotionally enough. More conclusion please, and more revelations and details post-ride! The last paragraph gave me the heart-wrenching!omg!sogood! moment where I got choked up a little, but alas, it was too short to have me actually cry.
Cottrell Bryce owes a lot to Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I say this in the best way possible. One, they're both British. Two, they live for caricature and the funny. Three, their books are just whimsical enough, and serious enough, to hit that sweet spot where you only have to suspend disbelief just a little. I mean--a twelve year old who can truly pass for an adult? A theme park "thrill ride" that's actually a trip on a rocket... into space? For kids? And it's real?
Oh yes. Liam's voice is wonderfully wry and hilarious, and he also coined a word that's going into my vocabulary: dadliness. The quality or attributes of being a dad. What does a dad do? He gets you out of a tight spot, and then glares at you disapprovingly until you learn your lesson. He calls you "princess" and remembers your birthday. He pushes you to succeed. He'll do anything to save you.
More than that, Cosmic is also a muse on what it means to be a grown-up, as well as a dad, so I can easily see why industry magazines are showering it with stars. While I think it's authentically written in the voice of a 12-year-old boy, I'm neither twelve nor a boy, so I'd be interested in what middle school kids think of this book too.
Last note: I wanted more ending! I'm a sap, so I'll give a book five stars if affects me emotionally enough. More conclusion please, and more revelations and details post-ride! The last paragraph gave me the heart-wrenching!omg!sogood! moment where I got choked up a little, but alas, it was too short to have me actually cry.
April 9, 2013
I've been reading a lot of books with my son lately and this one is the best we've read in a long time by far. It's funny, it's creative, it's surprisingly poignant, it's smart, it's clever and it's consistently surprising.
June 27, 2023
Liam Digby doesn't look like the usual 13-year-olds. In fact, he could pass for a man in his early 20s. It's not only the new beard he's developed that's tricking everyone, it's also his enormous height. Looking twice your age has both its advantages and drawbacks. When the opportunity comes up for Liam to use his height to his advantage, he manages to get himself on a rocket into space!
I read this book to my year 5 class and they all loved it. It was full of funny situations that Liam had got himself into due to his height that made my class and I laugh out loud. It's written from Liam's point of view which shows the naivety of a young teenager's thought process and how they can get themselves into trouble without even trying. This was especially funny for the boys in the class.
Cosmic has a theme of World of Warcraft throughout. Liam often talks about the game to explain his motivations and logic. I think it's a wonderful mechanism to get an insight into his mind. A slightly awkward boy, and socially somewhat stilted, Liam's application of gaming logic to real-life situations is totally believable.
A funny and exciting read for young teenagers!
I read this book to my year 5 class and they all loved it. It was full of funny situations that Liam had got himself into due to his height that made my class and I laugh out loud. It's written from Liam's point of view which shows the naivety of a young teenager's thought process and how they can get themselves into trouble without even trying. This was especially funny for the boys in the class.
Cosmic has a theme of World of Warcraft throughout. Liam often talks about the game to explain his motivations and logic. I think it's a wonderful mechanism to get an insight into his mind. A slightly awkward boy, and socially somewhat stilted, Liam's application of gaming logic to real-life situations is totally believable.
A funny and exciting read for young teenagers!
January 2, 2021
This book follows the story of a 12-year-old boy, Liam, who is often mistaken for an adult due to his height and facial hair. In the beginning, there is some explanation of the adventures this has led to (and the often disastrous outcomes), as he dwells on the time he had taken a Porsche on a test drive with his ‘daughter’ Florida (who is actually a friend from school). The majority of the book, however, is dedicated to their time in space, orbiting the moon in a shuttle that closely resembles an ice-cream bus.
‘Mum, Dad – if you’re listening – you know I said I was going to the South Lakeland Outdoor Activity Centre with the school? To be completely honest, I’m not exactly in the Lake District. To be completely honest, I’m more sort of… in space. I’m on this rocket, the Infinite Possibility. I’m about two hundred thousand miles above the surface of the Earth.’
An incredible hook to an incredible story! Not just about space but about friendships, families, relationships and lies.
The story is told from the perspective of Liam, describing what has happened to them in a reflective tone. He records his story on his mobile phone using the voice recorder ‘app’, and as a result this book can be read aloud beautifully. As this is mostly Liam’s reflection of the events that led him to be in charge of a space shuttle, there is a bit of jumping between ‘present-day Liam’ talking about his view of the Earth, and the Liam of the past, in the months leading up to the adventure. That definitely helped to keep engagement with the story – I often found myself wanting to skip forward a bit to find out how they arrived on a spaceship spiralling out of control. These jumps between past and the present day weren’t too difficult to follow and definitely made the book more engaging.
‘Mum, Dad – if you’re listening – you know I said I was going to the South Lakeland Outdoor Activity Centre with the school? To be completely honest, I’m not exactly in the Lake District. To be completely honest, I’m more sort of… in space. I’m on this rocket, the Infinite Possibility. I’m about two hundred thousand miles above the surface of the Earth.’
An incredible hook to an incredible story! Not just about space but about friendships, families, relationships and lies.
The story is told from the perspective of Liam, describing what has happened to them in a reflective tone. He records his story on his mobile phone using the voice recorder ‘app’, and as a result this book can be read aloud beautifully. As this is mostly Liam’s reflection of the events that led him to be in charge of a space shuttle, there is a bit of jumping between ‘present-day Liam’ talking about his view of the Earth, and the Liam of the past, in the months leading up to the adventure. That definitely helped to keep engagement with the story – I often found myself wanting to skip forward a bit to find out how they arrived on a spaceship spiralling out of control. These jumps between past and the present day weren’t too difficult to follow and definitely made the book more engaging.
November 21, 2018
Naar de maan is een super schattig boek over de twaalfjarige Liam die met zijn lengte iedereen voor de gek houdt. Hij is zo groot, dat mensen denken dat hij een volwassene is. En zo belandt hij aan boord van een ruimteschip. De schrijfstijl is heel grappig en het verhaal vertederend. Echt een leuk kinderboek!
Een uitgebreide recensie volgt.
Een uitgebreide recensie volgt.
May 9, 2018
A hilarious story about a young boy who finally feels at home in himself and his unusual size. Cosmic illustrates the extreme consequences of lying as well as the immense power that comes with responsibility and friendship.
June 13, 2018
liam-Critical Thinking-he males some very important decision when they are needed
November 19, 2020
16 June 2010 COSMIC by Frank Cottrell Boyce, HarperCollins/Walden Pond Press, January 2010, 320p., ISBN: 978-0-06-183683-1; Libr. ISBN: 978-0-06-183686-2
"Floating free as a bird
Sixty foot leaps it's so absurd
From up here you should see the view
Such a lot of space for me and you"
-- Ray Thomas
"So I turned the key in the ignition. The car made a sound like a cat purring. The man stepped aside and pointed to the bonnet. 'Engineering perfection.' He smiled."It is at the moment, I thought. But in five minutes' time it might well be a load of scrap metal. The thing about Level Two of course is that it has new and unexpected dangers. So you stand a much better chance of being killed.
"I looked down at the pedals. I knew one of them was the accelerator. I just wasn't sure which one. One lesson the World of Warcraft teaches you is that if you want to succeed on the next level, you need to acquire new skills. Don't level up until you've skilled up. Sadly this was a lesson I'd forgotten. I was pretty sure though that the accelerator was the one in the middle. I had my foot on it when the door on the passenger side opened and a very familiar voice said, 'You. Out. Now. Come on.'"
Dad to the rescue.
There are a number of elements that Frank Cottrell Boyce deftly combines to make COSMIC one of the funniest books I've read this year:
He takes the concept of privatized space tourism to the next level.He repeatedly employs mistaken identity to set up zany, improbable situations. He satirizes parenting styles. He plays on the notion that World of Warcraft (the multiplayer online role-playing game with millions of subscribers) is the place young people best learn about problem solving and the real world.
And he repeatedly sets up the punch line: "'But...well, you should have more sense, a big lad like you.'"
Twelve year-old Liam is, indeed a big lad -- and one who has now begun to shave. But he is still a twelve year-old and, in a manner reminiscent of Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks' character in the movie Big), we repeatedly experience Liam's being thrust into the role of an adult who frequently has more of a child-like spirit than any of the "normal" kids around him.
"To be completely honest, I'm not exactly in the Lake District.
"To be completely honest, I'm more sort of in space."
COSMIC is the story of how Liam finds himself masquerading as an adult and a father and leading a quartet of his peers -- including his own friend/pretend daughter, Florida Kirby -- into space on a privately organized (and secret) mission. The whole thing might sound more than a little improbable, but this flight is being taken on a spaceship called the Infinite Possibility owned by a theme park magnate, and Liam has seriously leveled up for what is to come by studying his father's copy of TALK TO YOUR TEEN:
"The worst thing you can do with teens is get sucked into an argument on their terms. They have more time than you do. They can keep going forever."
"Here I am floating round my tin can, far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do"
-- David Bowie
Unfortunately, after launch, a simple maintenance procedure goes terribly awry, knocking their vessel out of orbit and destroying their communications links, so that Liam finds himself in charge of a quartet of his peers in a doomed spaceship.
COSMIC is the result of his journaling the seemingly ill-fated journey.
A few aspects of COSMIC that will really stay with me are the contrasting styles of parenting that are lampooned through our getting to know about the fathers of Liam's four charges, and the degree to which the author is able to convey a sense of wonder and awe about space travel. (I am quite curious about the process by which the fourth man to step on the moon came to make a cameo appearance in this book.) I am also now quite interested in standing over someone's shoulder and watching him or her engage in Worlds of Warcraft.
"When I got near to Florida she spread out her arms and grinned at me. I couldn't figure out what she was doing but then she hissed, 'Photo. Take photos. With your phone. It's what dad's do.'
"'My dad doesn't.'
"'Well, mine does. He's like my own personal paparazzi.'
"'Paparazzo. Paparazzi is when there's more than one.'
"'And he doesn't correct everything I say either.''
And the humor. It is an absolute total crack-up of a story. There is no reason younger students cannot thoroughly enjoy it, but COSMIC is a must-read for middle schoolers.
"Floating free as a bird
Sixty foot leaps it's so absurd
From up here you should see the view
Such a lot of space for me and you"
-- Ray Thomas
"So I turned the key in the ignition. The car made a sound like a cat purring. The man stepped aside and pointed to the bonnet. 'Engineering perfection.' He smiled."It is at the moment, I thought. But in five minutes' time it might well be a load of scrap metal. The thing about Level Two of course is that it has new and unexpected dangers. So you stand a much better chance of being killed.
"I looked down at the pedals. I knew one of them was the accelerator. I just wasn't sure which one. One lesson the World of Warcraft teaches you is that if you want to succeed on the next level, you need to acquire new skills. Don't level up until you've skilled up. Sadly this was a lesson I'd forgotten. I was pretty sure though that the accelerator was the one in the middle. I had my foot on it when the door on the passenger side opened and a very familiar voice said, 'You. Out. Now. Come on.'"
Dad to the rescue.
There are a number of elements that Frank Cottrell Boyce deftly combines to make COSMIC one of the funniest books I've read this year:
He takes the concept of privatized space tourism to the next level.He repeatedly employs mistaken identity to set up zany, improbable situations. He satirizes parenting styles. He plays on the notion that World of Warcraft (the multiplayer online role-playing game with millions of subscribers) is the place young people best learn about problem solving and the real world.
And he repeatedly sets up the punch line: "'But...well, you should have more sense, a big lad like you.'"
Twelve year-old Liam is, indeed a big lad -- and one who has now begun to shave. But he is still a twelve year-old and, in a manner reminiscent of Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks' character in the movie Big), we repeatedly experience Liam's being thrust into the role of an adult who frequently has more of a child-like spirit than any of the "normal" kids around him.
"To be completely honest, I'm not exactly in the Lake District.
"To be completely honest, I'm more sort of in space."
COSMIC is the story of how Liam finds himself masquerading as an adult and a father and leading a quartet of his peers -- including his own friend/pretend daughter, Florida Kirby -- into space on a privately organized (and secret) mission. The whole thing might sound more than a little improbable, but this flight is being taken on a spaceship called the Infinite Possibility owned by a theme park magnate, and Liam has seriously leveled up for what is to come by studying his father's copy of TALK TO YOUR TEEN:
"The worst thing you can do with teens is get sucked into an argument on their terms. They have more time than you do. They can keep going forever."
"Here I am floating round my tin can, far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do"
-- David Bowie
Unfortunately, after launch, a simple maintenance procedure goes terribly awry, knocking their vessel out of orbit and destroying their communications links, so that Liam finds himself in charge of a quartet of his peers in a doomed spaceship.
COSMIC is the result of his journaling the seemingly ill-fated journey.
A few aspects of COSMIC that will really stay with me are the contrasting styles of parenting that are lampooned through our getting to know about the fathers of Liam's four charges, and the degree to which the author is able to convey a sense of wonder and awe about space travel. (I am quite curious about the process by which the fourth man to step on the moon came to make a cameo appearance in this book.) I am also now quite interested in standing over someone's shoulder and watching him or her engage in Worlds of Warcraft.
"When I got near to Florida she spread out her arms and grinned at me. I couldn't figure out what she was doing but then she hissed, 'Photo. Take photos. With your phone. It's what dad's do.'
"'My dad doesn't.'
"'Well, mine does. He's like my own personal paparazzi.'
"'Paparazzo. Paparazzi is when there's more than one.'
"'And he doesn't correct everything I say either.''
And the humor. It is an absolute total crack-up of a story. There is no reason younger students cannot thoroughly enjoy it, but COSMIC is a must-read for middle schoolers.
September 23, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Funny, adventurous and educational. Might have to read this one whole-class.
August 25, 2016
Recap:
Liam doesn't quite fit in. He is twelve-years-old, but he looks... well... like a dad. A lot of the time, this works to his advantage. On the first day of middle school, his principal thought he was a teacher and introduced him in the school assembly. Once he went to a car dealership, and the salesman almost let him take a Porche out for a test drive.
When Liam finds out he has won a contest to be the first on a brand new thrill ride at an amusement park, he's ecstatic! So what if he has to pose as a dad? He's done that plenty of times. But then Liam finds out that...
- he has to bring his daughter
- the "amusement park" is in China
- the "thrill ride" is a rocket
Yikes.
Review:
I was completely and utterly charmed by Cosmic. How has this book not received more attention?
Liam is the kind of student I would love to teach - clever, independent, adventurous, and kind. He is constantly pushing the limit to see how how far his adult appearance can take him (test driving a Porche?), but it's clear to the reader that he isn't really trying to take advantage of people, he just likes to have big adventures.
Florida Kirby reminded me a little too much of, well, me. She may not know anything about gravity or outer space, but she knows every single celebrity, who they're married to, and how they became famous. Her primary goal in life is to become famous herself, and playing the role of Liam's daughter (yes, they're the same age!) just might get her there. Boyce did a masterful job of allowing Florida to evolve over the course of the story. She could have easily remained a shallow fame-seeker, but as the story progresses the reader gets to see more and more of Florida's heart and internal motivation. In case you couldn't tell, she's my favorite.
Cosmic gets a big gold star for the fact that it is so appealing to both children and adults (particularly parental-type adults). Much like a great Disney movie, the humor throughout exists on two levels: there are plenty of jokes to keep kids laughing, but there is another, more witty layer of humor that will get grown ups chuckling too.
And did I mention that author Frank Cottrell Boyce lives in England? I was smitten with the British vocabulary sprinkled throughout. In fact, I frequently found myself reading with a mental British accent, and a big smile on my face, because seriously... doesn't a British accent make everything just a little bit better?
Finally, Cosmic is a story with a heart. All of the main characters, but especially Liam and Florida, learn what "dadliness" is really all about. In a way, this book is like a laugh-out-loud love letter to dads.
Recommendation:
I highly recommend Cosmic for any and all middle school readers! Boys and girls will enjoy it equally. And if you're a dad, try Cosmic out as a read aloud. You and your kiddo(s) will not be disappointed.
Liam doesn't quite fit in. He is twelve-years-old, but he looks... well... like a dad. A lot of the time, this works to his advantage. On the first day of middle school, his principal thought he was a teacher and introduced him in the school assembly. Once he went to a car dealership, and the salesman almost let him take a Porche out for a test drive.
When Liam finds out he has won a contest to be the first on a brand new thrill ride at an amusement park, he's ecstatic! So what if he has to pose as a dad? He's done that plenty of times. But then Liam finds out that...
- he has to bring his daughter
- the "amusement park" is in China
- the "thrill ride" is a rocket
Yikes.
Review:
I was completely and utterly charmed by Cosmic. How has this book not received more attention?
Liam is the kind of student I would love to teach - clever, independent, adventurous, and kind. He is constantly pushing the limit to see how how far his adult appearance can take him (test driving a Porche?), but it's clear to the reader that he isn't really trying to take advantage of people, he just likes to have big adventures.
Florida Kirby reminded me a little too much of, well, me. She may not know anything about gravity or outer space, but she knows every single celebrity, who they're married to, and how they became famous. Her primary goal in life is to become famous herself, and playing the role of Liam's daughter (yes, they're the same age!) just might get her there. Boyce did a masterful job of allowing Florida to evolve over the course of the story. She could have easily remained a shallow fame-seeker, but as the story progresses the reader gets to see more and more of Florida's heart and internal motivation. In case you couldn't tell, she's my favorite.
Cosmic gets a big gold star for the fact that it is so appealing to both children and adults (particularly parental-type adults). Much like a great Disney movie, the humor throughout exists on two levels: there are plenty of jokes to keep kids laughing, but there is another, more witty layer of humor that will get grown ups chuckling too.
And did I mention that author Frank Cottrell Boyce lives in England? I was smitten with the British vocabulary sprinkled throughout. In fact, I frequently found myself reading with a mental British accent, and a big smile on my face, because seriously... doesn't a British accent make everything just a little bit better?
Finally, Cosmic is a story with a heart. All of the main characters, but especially Liam and Florida, learn what "dadliness" is really all about. In a way, this book is like a laugh-out-loud love letter to dads.
Recommendation:
I highly recommend Cosmic for any and all middle school readers! Boys and girls will enjoy it equally. And if you're a dad, try Cosmic out as a read aloud. You and your kiddo(s) will not be disappointed.
July 4, 2015
This is a middle-grade book, about a boy who is a lot taller than he supposed to be since he's only 12 years old! Then he went on a space ride! That's all I can say about this book. This book is funny, I laughed out loud a few times. It's funny when people mistaken him as an adult, and he did some pretty crazy but cool stuff because of this. And of course, he did get himself into trouble because of this. I think Liam's character developed a lot, especially the second half of the book. He've grown into someone who is able to hold on responsibilities as a Dad at the end of the book. From this space trip, he also realizes the universe is far more bigger than he thought, and his life changed because of that. I enjoyed it, but I still find it difficult to connect with Liam, maybe because he's so young. Oh and the other children who went to that trip with them as well, parental guidance is really important and parents nowadays seemed to focus too much on materialistic values, like the importance of winning and money. It doesn't mean that it's not important but too much of it will spoilt children's childhood, which is quite a pathetic thing for a child, as it shaped the children's future. Overall, I enjoyed this book, 3 stars!
November 14, 2008
This story is truly cosmic. Cottrell really has a great sense of humor and writes in a way that made me laugh out loud. The main character Liam is easy to relate to, even if you're not a 12 year old bearded boy. Even though it is not likely that a middle school boy can pose as an adult and get launched into space on a crazy mission, I was so absorbed in the story that I believed it could happen!
March 7, 2010
This book was enjoyable enough, but didn't quite make it for me. Too much "Golly, gee, I have to act like an adult".
November 4, 2018
Extra star for the narration. I looked forward to driving places so I could listen to this in the car. Great main character and original plot.
March 8, 2022
This book is full of love. It's funny, smart and has a beautiful message.
March 27, 2019
I read (well...listened to) this book because my fourth grader's teacher is reading it to his class. He recommended I read it, and I am so very glad I did! What. A. Book! The plot is clever, it is incredibly well written, parts are laugh-out-loud funny, and the author does a great job of capturing that funny time when a child wants to be older but still needs the comfort and security of their parents.
The story: Liam has a growth spurt of epic proportions. This puts him a head or two above his classmates, and he's constantly being mistaken for an adult. Specifically, he's mistaken for his friend's dad. The friend and Liam take advantage of this and enter a Best Dad Ever contest, which promises to let them experience the best thrill rides ever. It ends up that this thrill ride involves space travel, and the process of deciding who gets to go is funny and great and a great conversation-starter for kids (and grown ups if you're reading alongside).
I LOVED the ending--and didn't see it coming, which is always a nice treat. One of the best middle grade books I've reading a long time, highly recommend!
The story: Liam has a growth spurt of epic proportions. This puts him a head or two above his classmates, and he's constantly being mistaken for an adult. Specifically, he's mistaken for his friend's dad. The friend and Liam take advantage of this and enter a Best Dad Ever contest, which promises to let them experience the best thrill rides ever. It ends up that this thrill ride involves space travel, and the process of deciding who gets to go is funny and great and a great conversation-starter for kids (and grown ups if you're reading alongside).
I LOVED the ending--and didn't see it coming, which is always a nice treat. One of the best middle grade books I've reading a long time, highly recommend!
August 9, 2018
This book took a pretty out-there premise and just had so much fun with it. Our narrator/protagonist, Liam, is delightful. It was super sweet to watch him gain an appreciation for and emulate his own father's "dadliness."
Also, kind of wild, but this book is quite a bit less out-there now than it was when it came out 10 years ago. I described a character to my husband and he was like, "So basically, that's Elon Musk." Yep.
Also, kind of wild, but this book is quite a bit less out-there now than it was when it came out 10 years ago. I described a character to my husband and he was like, "So basically, that's Elon Musk." Yep.
August 7, 2019
Liam is twelve, but he looks like he's thirty. Like most tweens, he decides to take advantage of this situation, which results in an outlandish excursion to China for the world's largest roller coaster. Liam has to pose as a dad to his slightly younger (by a few months) friend during the trip, and his trials and tribulations as a "parent" are often hilarious. You have to suspend your disbelief at times, especially when Liam heads into space, but overall, it was a fun and entertaining read.
January 14, 2022
By jumping between timelines, this book manages to tell lots of stories and give plenty of clues about the plot. What starts off as a silly story about tricking adults quickly turns into a story about taking responsibility and caring for others, even when they do things to make your life difficult. There's a certain type of emotional gravity that brings astronauts back to Earth, and that same gravity brings families together.
July 5, 2018
Loved this book! As usual with Frank C-B it is full of comic set-pieces, that could be little short stories on their own. But it also has emotional depth, and the ending is brilliant. A joy to read, especially out loud.
October 24, 2018
One of the Best books I have read or even the best, it is science fiction.
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