By Adam Rex

Illustrated by Adam Rex

On Sale: May 5, 2009
Page Count: 432 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780786849017

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$19.99 CAD

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The hilarious, genre-bending novel from bestselling author Adam rex that inspired the blockbuster feature film Home — fully illustrated with “photos,” drawings, newspaper clippings, and comics sequences.

When twelve-year-old Gratuity (“Tip”) Tucci is assigned to write five pages on “The True Meaning of Smekday” for the National Time Capsule contest, she’s not sure where to begin; when her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge bizarre spaceships descended on Earth and the aliens — called Boov — abducted her mother? Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it “Smekland” (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod?

In any case, Gratuity’s story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo; a futile journey south to find Gratuity’s mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom; a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious; and an outrageous plan to save the Earth from yet another alien invasion.

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The Smek Smeries

Adam Rex is the multi-talented author of books for children, middle readers and young adults, as well as an accomplished illustrator. He has written such beloved picture books as School's First Day of School (illustrated by Christian Robinson), has created both pictures and words for favorites like Are You Scared, Darth Vader?, Nothing Rhymes with Orange, and Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich; and he has illustrated books by bestselling authors like The Legend of Rock Scissors Paper by Dreew Daywalt, Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem by Mac Barnett, and Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman. The True Meaning of Smekday was his first novel, followed by Smek for President! and other books for middle and teen readers. He grew up in Phoenix, got a BFA from the University of Arizona, and now lives in Tucson.

"First-time novelist Rex has written an imaginative, wacky, hilarious sci-fi story that will appeal to fans of Eoin Colfer and Jon Scieszka. Lively cartoon-paneled illustrations are interspersed throughout and add to the fun. This is a fast-paced adventure with a whip-smart protagonist, a lovable and resourceful extraterrestrial, and plenty of social commentary."
School Library Journal
"The humor in this story is undeniably unique... the first half of the book is an entirely funny road trip of the Kerouac-meets-E.T. variety."
Kirkus Review
"[G]uaranteed to tickle the middle-school funny bone."
Booklist
"Adam Rex has created a book that is so snappy and fun and angst-giddy that you really can't put it down, because to do so would mean going back to the harsh-world reality in which you live and almost die. But reading a book this captivating is always worth the risk of being abducted by aliens with weak immune systems." -- Jack Gantos, author of 2012 Newbery Medal winner Dead End in Norvelt
"This is a truly wonderful book about what happens when a girl named Gratuity and a cat named Pig join forces with an alien named J.Lo to try to save the world from another group of aliens who... Okay, it gets complicated. But trust me: it never stops being funny." -- Dave Barry

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Adam Rex

About the Illustrator

Adam Rex is the multi-talented author of books for children, middle readers and young adults, as well as an accomplished illustrator. He has written such beloved picture books as School’s First Day of School (illustrated by Christian Robinson), has created both pictures and words for favorites like Are You Scared, Darth Vader?, Nothing Rhymes with Orange, and Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich; and he has illustrated books by bestselling authors like The Legend of Rock Scissors Paper by Dreew Daywalt, Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem by Mac Barnett, and Chu’s Day by Neil Gaiman. The True Meaning of Smekday was his first novel, followed by Smek for President! and other books for middle and teen readers. He grew up in Phoenix, got a BFA from the University of Arizona, and now lives in Tucson.

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Adam Rex

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The Smek Smeries