​
It tells the story of an 11 year old boy who records voice notes with his activities on east so he can send to the outer space. I could not get over how naive but mature this kid was.

The narrative is so funny and innocent as the little boy, Alex, records his story about getting his first dog (Carl Sagan) and travelling on the train alone for the first time for the Southwest High Altitude Rocket Festival (SHARF).

At SHARF, he plans to launch his rocket (Voyager 3) and his Golden iPod filled with his voice notes into space so aliens have an idea about what life on earth is like.

Then he plans to find his father whom he had believed was dead but Ancestry.com has told him otherwise.

Jack’s storytelling skills in this book are top notch. He keeps the reader engaged and racing to finish chapters. There is a roller-coaster of emotions to be experienced but you will definitely read every single page.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favourite Quote: "Steve is a little older than Ronnie but not as old as Zed. He’s more regular height too, and he has light brown hair and a goatee except it’s not that thick yet so it’s just a kidtee..." Rotfl. Hilarious.

I enjoyed this book in parts. The story is told in a series of recordings made by 11 year old Alex on his iPod, as he travels to SHARF to launch his home made rocket into space (complete with iPod in case any aliens find it and want to know about life on earth!). It's an interesting premise and I can imagine lots of young children being obsessed with space in this way, although most would not go to the same lengths as Alex to achieve his dream!
The central character is clearly a lonely boy and it is obvious right from the start that there are major problems at home. This was the real plot of the book, his obsession could have been about anything, although the space theme provided some amusing moments.
Events move along at quite a pace, Alex meets various people along the way who help him towards his goal. Some reviewers have had a problem with this aspect of the book but children go missing all the time and many end up hundreds of miles from their homes so it doesn't seem that unbelievable to me. The fact that they were all lovely and wanted to help him may stretch credibility a little more and you would have thought that at least one would have been concerned enough to call the police but I'll let that slide, it is fiction!
My main issue was with Alex himself. This is a boy who has been fending for himself and his mother for while so you would think he'd be very streetwise and mature for his age and yet the narration at times seems to come from a much younger, extremely naive boy. I'm not sure how this works unless the the author is implying that there is some kind of underlying problem with Alex himself. He takes things very literally, doesn't seem to have any sense of danger, cries at the drop of a hat.......... I did wonder if he is supposed to be somewhere on the Autistic spectrum?
As this is a children's book, I'm not sure what they would make of some parts of it as it seems confused, unlike Curious Incident which is very clear in its message. However, it is an interesting book.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this copy.

Review Date: March 20, 2017
Link: https://goo.gl/1dcU22

Eleven-year old Alex Petroski is Jack Cheng’s charming and peculiar half-Filipino narrator for his debut novel, SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS. Alex records his multitudinous thoughts and adventures –he records everything- on his golden iPod. He dreams of launching a rocket and taking his golden iPod into space, with the same intentions as his idol Carl Sagan, who launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. So determined, Alex went to the Southwest High-Altitude Rocket Festival in New Mexico with only his dog Carl Sagan (named after his idol, of course) to tag along.

SHARF is not Alex’s last stop, though. From there, he will take a leap of faith to find a man who may be or may not be his father, who also may not be dead yet, as he believed, in Las Vegas. Alex will experience disappointments and confusions throughout the journey. He will also meet plenty of people. They were not perfect or idealistic, but they certainly made a beautiful family together.

Cheng brings a poignant debut novel with a surprisingly refreshing structure –an unusual form that may appear confusing, but actually worked wonderfully in fleshing out his characters and deliver a message of resilience.

At the beginning, I was skeptical that Alex will break my heart along the way, and that I’ll have no defenses against it. I’m glad that he did not break my heart, but he definitely hooked it. I do recommend that you grab a copy of this book.

*Thanks to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the DRC, in exchange for this unbiased review.

Written from an interesting perspective. Shows the multiple facets of people and how we are often related through seemingly random events

The moment I saw the cover I am immediately interested. But when I read the blurb, I am totally sold. And after reading just a few pages, I'm already sucked in the story. But when I actually finished it, I am left wanting more. I really like the idea that the author used recordings instead of chapters. So about 90% of the book are in Alex's perspective. A kid's perspective on all the things that's happening around him. I love Alex as the main character. He is funny and smart and adorable but there are times that he is naive on some things, too, which I totally understand. Everyone seem to develop a liking towards him. Even the supporting characters are likeable especially Terra, Alex's half-sister and Zed, the hippie bald writer. Even Ronnie, Alex's absentee brother, is quite okay. I love how everyone Alex meet along his way tried to help him without reservation. Not caring about how much bother it is or how much it cost them. They made the book extra fun to read.

The pacing of the book is fast and the plot is really interesting. Not much people are into astronomy, myself included, and it is such a delight to read one about a kid who's obsessed with it. Some stuff may be unrealistic but I don't really care. I am enjoying it too much. See You in the Cosmos is a delightful and heartwarming book for middle graders but I'm pretty sure adults will enjoy it as well.

This was a really enjoyable read. It follows Alex who loves rockets and travels to a convention to launch his own rocket. The story is told through recordings that Alex is making to send into outer space. He then travels to Las Vegas with Zed and Steve who he met at the convention and whilst there he discovers some secrets about his father.

I really liked Alex's character and we got to see him develop throughout the book. I also thought that the side characters were really well developed too. The book deals with a difficult topic as Alex's mother has schizophrenia and as a result, Alex has had to take care of her as well as himself. Despite having an older brother Alex has been left to deal with a lot of this by himself. I was surprised that the brother wasn't around more considering he had a better understanding of the situation than Alex did.

I am looking forward to see what this author does in the future as I think that he has a lot of potential. He was able to create unique characters and what at first seemed like a light-hearted adventure story but in fact had a lot more depth to it.

This was a heartwarming, inspiring and sometimes sad read. I find it very difficult, as an adult, to judge how this children's book might actually be enjoyed by children, but it worked for me.

Alex is an eleven year old with an obsession with rockets (and Carl Sagan, as well as his dog Carl Sagan), and a lot of family problems. His mum has a 'quiet days' which means she can't cook or care for him, so he cares for her instead. He has an older brother who pays their bills but is otherwise not present.

Largely left to his own devices, Alex is a member of a forum about rockets and goes travelling so that he can launch his own (small) rocket at an event. From there the story escalates. He meets kind strangers who help him on his way, tackles failure and finds out his missing father may be alive in Vegas.

I wouldn't say it's entirely believable. Nearly everyone he meets, and certainly everyone he trusts, is kind and helpful. There's nothing about being wary of strangers, no one he trusts that he shouldn't. Alex is eleven, but feels a lot younger. You have to seriously suspend your disbelief if you want to go along with the story.

That said, he's a quirky, charming narrator. The chapters are told as if they are audio recordings on a 'golden iPod' he plans to send into space. You quickly get a sense of his voice and really do want to see him happy. It's about love and sacrifice, really. And rockets.

This story is told through recordings on an iPad and dialogue seen through the eyes of a space crazed eleven year old boy called Alex.
Alex is very self sufficient and much older than his years due to an ill mother,dead father and frequently absent older brother.
As with all children approaching their teens they want to explore the world in which they exist and situations that effect them personally and Alex is no different.
He sets off on a road trip to New Mexico with his faithful dog to a space convention where he will launch his rocket into space.. This rocket will carry his golden iPad on which he has recorded dialogue describing life on Earth seen through his eyes.so living beings in the cosmos have some ideas about life on Earth.
Little does he know that what he experiences on this road trip will be life changing for him.
A real coming of age story.
Having not read middle grade children's fiction in a long time I found it amazing,

I don't generally read middle grade/young fiction. I've read a few in the past, and my opinion has always been "not for me". As they are aimed at younger readers, I find the voice to generally be to young for me, personally, to find enjoyable. So when I was sent an unsolicited proof of See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng, I was sure I wouldn't be reading it. The summary on the press release said, "To read the first page is to fall in love with Alex and his view of our big, beautiful, complicated world," so I read the first page, and there was definitely something about Alex's voice. So when I saw it was available on NetGalley - which is now my preferred method of reading - I snapped it up. I'm so glad I gave this book a chance because it's absolutely beautiful.

Alex is a huge fan of space and astronomy, and his hero, Carl Sagan. Wanting to follow in his heroes footsteps, he plans to take his golden iPod, along with his hand built rocket, onto which he's making recordings for lifeforms from outer space, to a rocket launching festival in New Mexico.Things don't go quite as planned, though, and with his golden iPod, he goes on a journey, meeting people along the way, and sharing his experiences with the alien lifeforms through his iPod.

Oh my god, Alex is the most adorable young boy I think I've ever come across in fiction! At first, I was kind of worried; I was enjoying it, but I knew this book was for younger readers, and having them read a book about a boy who goes off on his own to a rocket festival for several days, meeting up with strangers... it made me feel really uncomfortable. I was worried that young readers might be inspired by Alex for the wrong reasons, and feel it's ok to go off and do things on their own. But this side of things is dealt with; although it all feels like a fun adventure for Alex and he doesn't realise the seriousness of what he's done, or just how lucky he has been, it is dealt with, with the serious a situation like this in real life would be dealt with.

But Alex is just wonderful! He is so smart, but also quite innocent, too, and it's because of both these qualities that the way he sees the world is so gorgeous. This book will make you think; I think we lose something as we grow up and become adults, and so looking at the world through the eyes of a child is so eye-opening. Alex is still learning, and doesn't know everything, so he makes absurd guesses, and sometimes his absurd guesses come closer to the truth than the actual answers to his questions. I think the reason I enjoyed this book so much is because I am an adult, because I know what Alex doesn't, or understand what he's yet to grasp, which makes him all the more adorable.

See You in the Cosmos is also a heartbreaking novel - though although it may not break the heart of the book's target audience, it will make them pause and realise something isn't quite right here. Alex doesn't have the best home life, but he wouldn't say that. He loves his mum, who goes off for very long walks, or has quiet days where she does and says very little. But he enjoys looking after her, going grocery shopping with the money his older brother sends over and cooking all the meals. He enjoys his part-time job at the gas station, where he organises the magazines for $5 a day, which he saves up for his rocket parts and train ticket to the festival. He loves his older brother, who now lives in LA for his job, who he hasn't seen in well over a year. He doesn't know any different, and he's happy. He doesn't seem to realise that his mother's behaviour is cause for concern, he doesn't realise that she should be looking after him, not the other way round, that it shouldn't have been so easy for him to be able to go to the rocket festival all by himself. But we know, and so our hearts break for him, but at the same we adore him even more, because he's such a happy, lovely little boy who has no complaints. This is his normal, and he's happy.

I loved pretty much everyone Alex meets on his little adventure. His story could have turned out so differently if the people he met weren't kind and concerned people. You've got to love Zed, the wonderful man who won't leave Alex on his own when he knows he shouldn't have been making his way to the rocket festival on his own in the first place, even though his friend doesn't want to bother with a kid who talks too much and asks too many questions. Zed looks out for him, and he's just awesome. And then there's Terra, Terra who has a story of her own that comes about all because of meeting Alex. God, this book is so full of beautiful and heartbreaking moments!

I'm sure older children will enjoy the story of this lovely half-Filipino, half-white-American boy who is obsessed with all things space, but I actually think adults will love it more. It's an absolutely gorgeous debut novel, and I implore you all to give it a go! It really has made me think differently about middle grade/young fiction, and I'll definitely be picking up more novels in this category in future.

Thank you to Puffin via NetGalley for the eProof.

What a lovely surprise! See You in the Cosmos is an entertaining, touching tale about a young boy passionate about space and alien lifeforms and who embarks on a riveting journey through America.

I thought the author really managed to capture and recreate this very particular stream of thoughts youngsters have. You get a narration made up of long sentences reflecting the incredible amount of ideas that go through the mind of Alex.

I was not only moved by his perspective of the world, but also very amused by his candor and funny interpretations of things he hears and sees, especially when faced with young adult problems. He tries to make sense of everything and everyone surrounding him.

He’s a very smart, mature eleven-year-old who has to deal with a broken family — a strong character who helps making this story a beautiful tale with a strong message about love, family, friendship and chasing after your dreams.

I highly recommend this novel to the young public who can easily identify with Alex, but also to teenagers and adults who will definitely get something out it too.

Space obsessed Alex sets off on a journey to launch his rocket, find his father and lots more besides in this charming tale of friendship, family, hope, love and aliens. I loved the way the book is written-great idea. Narrated by Alex as he speaks into his Golden iPod (similar to the Golden record) before planning to launch it into space, he muses on what other worldly creatures would be like, what they'd make of us and if we're essentially the same. The tone is perfect, Alex is wonderfully naïve but also very perceptive. The story is both heart-warming and heart-breaking; I was close to tears on more than one occasion. There are some real laugh out loud moments too. Mix all of this together and you have a fabulous, brilliant book that all ages will enjoy. Alex will stay with me for a long time.

Unfortunately, "See You in the Cosmos" reads like a child's stream-of-consciousness writing. The idea was promising; 11-year old Alex is passionate about rockets and since he is basically raising himself, he sets off on a cross-country adventure discovering a lot about friends, love, and family along the way. But don't blink, because you might miss something random that pops up very quickly in the plot. Author Jack Cheng seems to have attempted to put in every (often implausible) storyline he could think of into one relatively short novel.

The book is a passable read for middle-grade children. I can't foresee them becoming passionate advocates for the book, but for a strong reader looking for something new to read, it could temporarily fit the bill.

I loved this book so much. I love that the main character was biracial. I love that it was incredibly geeky and STEM-positive. I love the epistolary format of the novel, which is one of my favorite storytelling techniques. I love that the book tackled some really adult issues, trusting that the target audience is mature enough to understand things like mental illness and infidelity.

But most of all, I love Alex, the precocious and charming 11-year-old (but 13 in responsibility years!) protagonist. He sets off with the goal of firing a homemade rocket into space, and has been recording messages to aliens on his iPod, which he plans on attaching to the rocket. After his rocket fails, he continues using his iPod to record messages. Alex is optimistic, resourceful, independent, and frighteningly naive. His best friend is his dog, Carl Sagan, who he named after his hero.

The book spans his trip from Colorado to Albuquerque for the Southwest High-Altitude Rocket Festival (SHARF), and then to Las Vegas, and then Los Angeles, before returning home to Colorado. He makes friends and finds out family secrets along the way, and in the end is forced to confront some hard truths about his life.

I won't lie -- I was crying by the end of the book. I wanted to give Alex (all the characters, really, but especially Alex) the biggest hug -- what he would call a "real hug".

This book reminded me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time because of the young unreliable narrator, and having to read between the lines to figure out just what was going on.

See You in the Cosmos is told as if it’s the transcripts of Alex’s iPod recordings. I loved the unique format and the rambling voice Alex had, but it also meant for lots of long paragraphs which made the pages a little harder for me to read. Struggling readers might have trouble with this, too.

At the beginning of the story, 11-year-old Alex takes a train by himself to a convention where he hopes to launch his rocket. I loved his bravery and how innocent he was in taking off on this journey like it was nothing (his maturity and independence definitely reminded me of Willow from Counting by 7s.) But as I read the story, I was so nervous about his trip. I have an 11-year-old, and kept thinking about how terrified I’d be for her to be riding trains across the country and traveling with strangers. Obviously Alex finds great friends along his journey, and his trust in the world pays off in that way. I struggled—he did not.

I thought the reveal of the family situation (don’t want to give it away) pulled a lot of things together. Just as I started thinking, wait, this isn’t right, the pieces fell into place and Alex learned what was really going on. The one character I really didn’t connect with was his brother. I thought he did some odd things that really didn’t add up.

I loved the fact that Alex was so interested in rockets. I wished there was more about those mechanics and his plans in the story. Most of the focus ends up being about his hopes in extraterrestrial life and his relationships with his family and community, which were also enjoyable themes. If you liked Counting by 7s, add See You in the Cosmos to your list.

This read like an own-brand imitation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It centres around a young boy, Alex, who essentially sets out on a quest to get to a space convention (although this is quickly dispensed with to be replaced by his new quest to find his father. Sound familiar?) The problems arise, however, with the amount of belief a reader has to suspend in order to get behind him. Whereas in The Curious Incident, the lengths Christopher goes to to fulfill his quest are believable, even courageous, the things we are asked to believe that Alex does (such as travel across half of the country, alone, and then with several adult 'good guy' strangers) just stretch the limits of credibility in my opinion.
The action moves along at a decent enough pace, but becomes confused at times, with sub-plots never really grabbing the attention fully, leaving a sense of impatience and wanting to get on with the 'real' plot. Alex's narrative device is a golden iPod onto which he records virtually everything that is happening, which leads to some fairly awkward sections of dialogue to plow through. The use of an external recording method has striking similarities with how Christopher tells his story in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Ultimately, it wasn't a terrible book. But I think if the author had been a little more inventive and presented a story which was even a little more believable, he could have done a much better job.

I loved the concept for this book, and am a sucker for any story with space related themes, and thought the story was executed well. This MG book features Alex who is obsessed with rockets and has a mentally ill mother (themes that have been done so many times in kids literature) but the journey Alex goes on is still original and he is surrounded with a strong cast of supporting characters. The only thing I found a little jarring was Alex's voice at times. He felt a little young and too naive compared to the kids of the age I know. Despite this, I would still recommend this book and would read more from this author.

This was such a great middle grade book! I loved the main character Alex, and I loved the adventures he went on. It was really sweet and funny, and it was written in a really unique way- it was like a transcript of audio recordings and I think overall it was a good idea to have the book written like that and it made sense for the story. I also liked the side characters and the things you find out along the way. I think this would be a great book for kids- especially ones interested in science and space, but it's also enjoyable for adults that just like good stories about family, friendship, rockets and dogs.

Because there are not enough stars in the cosmos!
This book is just precious, precious, and precious!
5 Cosmic Stars!
I’m so elated now after finishing this book I feel like one of those whimsical red balloons drifting away in the sky.

Before I drift awaaaaaay too far awaaaaay I’ll say it…

It’s just this simple people…

EVERY HUMAN IN THE UNIVERSE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK. ESPECIALLY KIDS

So I’m not only buying this book for Our Familiairum, but I’m buying a bunch of books so I can go around handing them over. If I could I’ll attack one to a rocket and send it up so the aliens can read it too.

When I get it will go in the same shelf with the other timeless priceless gems I’m buying: the Little Prince, The Alchemist, Wonder and Harry Potter.

When I’m done buying all these books, this will be my let’s-stare-for-hours-and-smile-and-sight-with-pure-contentment” shelf.

People don’t make me ask you again. Read this book. You gotta read this book!

I personally just want to read this book forever until the end of time. It will be my never ending story, like the cosmos.

This book was so captivating from the super cute cover with the silhouette of a boy and his dog against a the blue starry night… Oh I’m so captivated right now I just want to lay back on the beach, stargaze as I used to do with my dad when I was little and sigh with contentment!

This book is written from Alex’s POV and I fell, irremediably and idiotically, in love with his voice.

It reminded me of Butterfly during our hiking adventures when Butterfly holds my hand and takes me for a walk [yup she takes me for a walk. That’s how it is with her] while she chats incessantly about EVERYTHING SINGLE TOPIC UNDER THE SUN: the woods, the plants, the flowers, the butterflies flying around the flowers, the birds that chase those butterflies, the sky where those birds fly, the stars above the sky and all the worlds around them.

Thoughts giving birth to other thoughts, one after the other like pearls in a necklace of pure, unadulterated childhood wisdom in a never ending procession of sentences and forgotten in commas and many many “ands”

So Alex is this precious kid that loves Carl Sagan [like me] and The Cosmos [like me] and rockets [like me] and Contact, the movie [like me] he is his soul is magical and like my favorite color [teal], and he takes care of Carl Sagan [his dog and how precious that name for a dog is] and of his mom [who is like depressed or something else that you’ll learn later], and he adventures by himself on this road trip to launch his rocket and he is records all his whimsical thoughts in his iPod which he wants to attach it to a rocket so the aliens know how wonderful earth is and I experienced all feels with him the joy of friendship and the sadness of a broken family and mental illness and it was all so magical and I loved it.

I had been reading maniacally for weeks and I had to take a break after this book and wait for its assimilation into my soul to be completed.

My soul and this book were FULLY assimilated. Resistance was futile!

To be published in numerous magazines in May: 11 year old Alex loves everything to do with space. So he builds a rocket and sets off for a rocket festival in Mexico. His plan is to launch his rocket into space, attached to an iPod on which Alex is recording his thoughts and feelings about his family and the people he meets on his journey. While it’s been catalogued as a children’s book, See You in the Cosmos definitely has crossover appeal. Fresh, imaginative and full of energy, this is perfect for fans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Fun premise, boy journeys solo across the country for a rocket launch competition/festival. But there's something about the writing style that just didn't work for me. I was unable to get myself 'into' the story. Written as transcripts of a series of recordings is a cute idea, but ultimately I found this writing mechanism to be a distraction.