Monday, May 17, 2010

Stuck on Earth by David Klass

People often surmise how earthlings would be perceived by an alien race that has little context into our strange world. David Klass experiments with this thought in Stuck on Earth.

Tom Fiber is a nerdy 14-year old who will be passively watching the new school year after an alien takes over his brain. The alien, Ketchvar, is a snail type creature who is evaluating whether humans should be eradicated or left on their own. Meanwhile, a space ship is hovering above earth ready to use its Death Ray on the planet. As Ketchvar makes his report, he can ask Tom for advice, which is a great storytelling device. Otherwise, the alien is on his own as he goes through the normal ups and downs as an American teenager.

Ketchvar thinks his mission will be easy and quick, but little did he realize how tangling with bullies, Tom's family and the beautiful next girl will take a toll on him. This is a really funny book and while it is quite predictable it is still an enjoyable read. There are some great peripheral characters and an environmental sub-plot that all work well with Klass' light and humorous writing style. And I have to mention that one of the funniest kissing scenes ever is also in Stuck on Earth.

Fans of other humorous coming-of-age stories like Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford will enjoy this as well.

1 comment :

Ms. Yingling said...

Okay. It was on my TBR list, but I think it's just moved to the top!