It’s a cliché to say about a book that you didn’t want it to end, but sometimes the cliché is the truth. So it is with this middle-grade book like no other, one that children and adults alike will adore.

Science geek Alex Petroski would be the first to point out that his real age may be 11, but his “responsibility age” would be much, much older. And, readers, you will agree with him. His father died when Alex was 3, his older brother — 24-year-old Ronnie, a college sports star turned sports agent — has moved West, and Alex’s mother becomes so incapacitated (probably due to severe depression) that it’s Alex who cooks, shops, and cleans. Here’s a scene when Alex adopts a stray, naming the dog after his hero, the late Carl Sagan:

“Then I took him back to my house and my mom was lying on the sofa watching her shows like she usually does, and I told her I got the groceries but I got a pup also and I’ll take good care of him I promise, I’ll play with him and feed him and give him a bath and all the stuff you’re supposed to say.

“And she said, You’re in the way! So I got out of the way. My best friend Benji’s mom would freak if he brought home a pup, but my mom, she doesn’t care as long as I make us dinner and don’t bother her when she’s watching her shows. She’s a pretty cool mom.”

So you see how it is. Brother Ronnie moved to Los Angeles and, while he pays the bills for his mother and little brother, Ronnie hasn’t visited in more than a year; Alex has pretty much been on his own. 

Alex wants to emulate Dr. Sagan and the Golden Record he launched into space in 1977 in the hopes of announcing our human presence to any alien life. Alex gets a donated iPod, spray-paints it gold, transfers the information from Sagan’s Golden Record onto it and adds additional entries in which he makes observations on the human condition for the aliens’ edification. When Alex decides to make the journey from Rockview, Colorado, to the Southwest High-Altitude Rocket Festival (SHARF) in Albuquerque so as to launch his Golden iPod into space aboard Voyager 3, there’s no adult who’s going to dissuade him. Along the way to Albuquerque (and beyond), Alex fortuitously for him finds himself relying on the kindness of quite a few strangers — and, fortuitously for us, he captures his adventures in a series of daily recordings along the way. 

Author Jack Cheng hooked me from the very first transmission chapter with this heart-warming tale of a boy who reaches for the stars and finds more than he ever imagined. Highly, highly, highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group and Dial Books in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic look at how passion can take us to the most unexpected places. A story of a young boy whose love of space takes him on remarkable adventures, See You in the Cosmos is deep, heart-wrenching and healing all at once. A great read for the high school crowd!

I was fortunate enough to get an advance reading copy of this book. On reading the first page of this book I was instantly reminded of ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ and the narrator does have a few features that recall Mark Haddon’s protagonist Christopher and his engaging voice. However, this book very quickly progresses and grows into its own unique world.

In the opening we learn that our narrator; 11 year old Alex Petroski of Colorado, The United States of America, Earth, has a mixed home life. He is happy in what could be considered slightly rough surroundings. He describes things such as his home life positively while leaving the reader enough room to draw their own conclusions on what it is really like for him.

His domestic life with his mother being distant and father absent entirely left me already having several children in mind who I would like to recommend this book to. It is a setting many will find familiar and could easily relate to. The book’s form being through podcasts and many of its cultural references are also relatable to most children. There are some, such as vinyl records and references made to ‘Carl Sagan’ which are useful in opening opportunities for children to research and read deeper into areas they may wish to explore for themselves. I personally feel books aimed at this age range should always offer these kinds of possibilities. I would also add that I am the right age to appreciate the nod to ‘Dexter’s Lab’ in the early part of this book and hope children who don’t get that one will seek it out! 

Once we start to establish a narrative, it emerges that Alex is obsessed with space, space travel and is utterly convinced there is life on other planets. I do not wish to cover too much of the story in this review as I personally find reviews like that unnecessary, if you want plot; read the book! But what I will say, is that our main character Alex is loveable, believable and has real depth that will appeal to KS2 readers. The book is listed as being suitable for readers aged 10+, but I would say that knowing some of the space obsessed children I have worked with, I can already think of children aged 8 upwards who would, and could enjoy this book. 

The publication of this book could not be more timely with the recent NASA discovery of seven Earth like planets in orbit around a star named Trappist-1. I would love to hear Alex’s take on that finding! This lucky coincidence in timing means that the book could also be linked to current news and opens further avenues for children to explore.

I could write for hours on this book, but the bottom line is; it’s an excellent read and really every educator should just buy a copy now. If you work in KS2 your children will love it. This is one of the first YA books I have read this year, and it has set my year off like a rocket. An absolute firecracker of a book.

Through the eyes of a child... This book is written in a child's perspective and touches on so many issues that face children today. 11-year-old Alex Petroski is a kid with a love for rockets and outer space.  He designs a rocket, leaves his mom a note and manages to get his underage self and his dog onto a train heading to a rocket convention. This is just the beginning of his adventures, all of which are recorded on his golden iPod for the aliens he intends to send it to. Alex does many things that make me cringe, such as traveling alone, talking to strangers on the internet, getting into cars with strangers, climbing onto a rooftop...the list goes on and on. This book kept me reading to find out what would happen next.  I was intrigued by his thoughts and also wanted to read on to make sure he was ok. By the end of the book, I had met many interesting characters and laughed along with Alex. His inquisitiveness and fearlessness are realistic for many kids Alex's age. Great book for middle-grade students, as well as for adults who are looking for a quick read and some insight into the mind of an 11-year-old.

Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for this Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Alex Petroski is an eleven-year old boy who loves astronomy and the dog he rescued and then named after his hero, the one and only, Carl Sagan. He embarks on a journey that takes him to a rocket festival, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Readers who like adventure and family dramas will enjoy this story. 

Since I teach 7th grade, I had a difficult time with Alex's voice because in the beginning, I felt like it was too young. But then it just seemed to suit his character so it became less distracting. Some twists I am not sure were quite earned or believable, but they kept me turning pages. 

I hope there is an audio for this story because then readers will really experience what it's like to listen to Alex's i-Pod recordings.

Alex is excited for his first trip to the Southwest High-Altitude Rocket Festival, aka SHARF. It will be fun to finally meet his friends on Rocketforum and of course to launch his rocket. So he's devastated when he's told at the train station that as an eleven-year-old he's not allowed to ride the train without an adult. There's not a lot of adults in Alex's life: his dad died when he was three, his mom seems to be barely functioning--with quite a few (in Alex's words) "quiet days"--and his older brother is several states away in Los Angeles trying to make it as a sports agent. Fortunately, a sympathetic young adult pretends to be his older brother so that he can get on the train, launching Alex--and his dog, Carl Sagan--on an unforgettable hero's journey. Alex narrates his adventures in a series of iPod recordings that he intends to put in his rocket to send to outer space, just like his hero Carl Sagan did with his Golden Record aboard Voyagers 1 & 2. Cheng's filtering of the story through this very distinctive eleven-year-old voice brilliantly sets the tone for the narrative, though it does require a fair amount of reader sophistication. Alex is a thoughtful, resourceful, and inquisitive child, whose meandering narratives sometimes obscure the actual events occurring around him--often with hilarious results. Important themes like hope, truth, family and sacrifice abound in this heartwarming middle grade novel, which will appeal to fans of Lisa Graff, Kate DiCamillo, and Holly Goldberg Sloan.

Eleven year old Alex is in love with space rockets. When an opportunity arises for him to attend a rocket event in the middle of New Mexico, Alex and his dog, Carl Sagan head off on a journey. Alex is basically living on his own. His mom, whom we later learn is suffering from mental illness, is unable to barely care for herself, let alone Alex. Alex's brother is working in California and not home to care for him. Their father died years ago.

I liked this story more than I thought. Alex records his journey on his ipod and many of the chapters are written as a recording of what he actually said.

Along the way, Alex meets a group of strangers that actually become like a surrogate family to him. The end seemed a little rushed, but it was still a really good read. I received a complimentary ebook from the publisher.