I struggled with this one... I really liked As You Wish and was very excited about this one. The blurb caught my eye straight away, and the beginning of the book held great promise. I loved that it quite literally started with a bang. I really liked the relationship between the brothers, and although Ishmael got on my nerves quickly, he was a great contrast to Gideon, whom I liked from the start. I found the boys' interpersonal relationships with their friends and peers - and Owen and Cass in particular - to be believable and feel well developed. 

But I just didn't fall for the story... 

After the initial  roaring start, it felt like things were dragging on. Ishmael would do something , Gideon wouldn't like it,  a new piece of the story would get crafted around that dislike.  Leather, rinse, repeat. It started feeling draggy  much earlier than I expected. I found the multi-format writing distracting - but that is a thing I often have trouble with, so this maybe on me more than the book, but I found that it felt disjointed rather than cohesive. And like so many other readers, I found the footnotes that were all over the place and the place holders for what I presume will be visuals distracting - I do know that this is an uncorrected review copy, but if a significant portion of the book is visuals that aren't included in that review copy, it's difficult to evaluate it in its entirety... 

I think this one just was not for me - or at least not for me in an unfinished copy.

He was going to do a small explosion and see if his equipment he created would read it.  He didn't anticipate his brother adding more fuel.  It was no small explosion, it was huge! 

Sourcebooks Fire and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published August 1st.

At first the brothers created a story that a meteorite hit.  Then the older brother got inventive and said he'd seen aliens.  It took no time at all for that story to spread and for more people to say they had encounters with them, too.  Soon the small town was inundated with tourists.

Then the head of a franchise came to town.  He claimed to have been visited by the aliens and had a new product they told him to make that would make people live forever.  The brothers knew it was not true, but how to stop him?

Then there was the cow one of the brothers stole that got away.  This book is filled with silly things and young love.

As for the ending, the truth will come out.  The fake franchise will end, the boys will be doing community service for a while, and life will go back normal.  For a while anyway...

Great summer read! I enjoyed it all. It’s full of wonderful characters that you can truly relate to in real life. I enjoyed how the story moves along and that the reader anxiously waits. Really enjoyed it.

This story started with a bang... literally lol. The farm, plus the experiment that led to the focus on it, were really well done. I've got to say, that first chapter really took me in as the reader. Right from the get-go it sets up what's to come, with the craziness that will become "Is there truly life up there? Or, did the Hofstadt brothers go a little too far?".

Of course, as the reader, we know what's about to transpire. And, it's all kinds of crazy, funny, bizarre, and nerve-racking for days. I can see how it got that far, how Gideon went along with the story, and it made for that much more of an interesting story. I can't leave behind that brother of his though, Ishmael definitely has a way of making things blow up, literally and figuratively.

Not only do we get much of those feels from the first half, we also get it from the second half when things start to get really serious for both brothers. There is much that continues to unfold and become twisted the more further the story gets. This turns from one brother taking it too far, to the other brother keeping it from ending. And wow, he really keeps it going.

My only thing that didn't seem to work for me here, were all of the footnotes. They really didn't do much for me, or my enjoyment of the story. The interviews though, they really gave this story that little added feel that I couldn't get enough of. Yes Gideon, could become a bit disconnected, to engrossed in all of that, plus the experimental parts of it all, but it worked.

Very fun read, with a lot of growth, plus the understanding of what that kind of recklessness can bring to oneself. I couldn't stop laughing in some parts ( I mean really Oswald?? An alien elixir... only one of all the crazy antics that pop up in here), in other parts of this book I couldn't help but be anxious for the brothers (you know it's going to hit the fan). Really good read!

***I received this copy from Sourcebooks Fire, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***

From the synopsis: "This is the absolutely true account of how Lansburg, Pennsylvania was invaded by aliens and the weeks of chaos that followed. There were sightings of UFOs, close encounters, and even abductions. There were believers, Truth Seekers, and, above all, people who looked to the sky and hoped for more. Only...there were no aliens."

This is the story of two brothers, who while performing an experiment with explosives, set off a chain reaction that builds throughout their small Pennsylvania town. 
I loved Gideon. As a narrator p, he was reliable, smart, and obviously central to the story to keep us enthralled throughout the plot. I loved the introduction of the articles, online comments, texts, etc as incorporated into the story and the format of the book itself reading like a sociological paper was so different than other books I'd read I was hooked.

First and foremost, I was given this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley because I previously read Sedoti's "As You Wish" (which I also liked) so Sedoti is definitely an author I enjoy!

So, have you ever told a small lie and then watched it spot ridiculously out of control? Yes? No?

Well, that's exactly what happens in this book. Gideon, a self-renowned teen scientist who dreams of one day attending MIT and needs the resume to prove his worth, and his older brother, Ishmael, a goofy and mischievous teen without a whole lot of direction in his life, accidentally ignite a big explosion on their parents' farm that creates a gigantic crater. And rather than accepting the logical explanation -- that one boy was testing his homemade seismograph and the other boy just wanted to see a big BANG -- the townspeople of Lansburg, Pennsylvania assume the obvious about the creation of the crater: it was aliens. Yep, aliens from outerspace. 

At first, Gideon wants to squash the rumor to bits but, driven by a desire to perform a social experiment to earn admittance to MIT, the two boys decide to continue forward with the ruse and test how far they can get with their hoax. 

And, boy, does it get far. It attracts the attention of the media and immediately draws alien-seekers and believers to the area. Not only that, but suddenly several people come forward with stories of being abducted by aliens or seeing strange lights in the night sky. But, how? How is it possible when Gideon and Ishmael have literally made up the whole thing?

See, that's the question at the core of this story. As good-humored and funny as this is, Sedoti explores a valid phenomenon that occurs in our world. The idea of mob mentality or that pressure to believe what everyone else believes just to be a part of the majority because it's easier to be of the majori than the minority, right?

Sedoti formats this story as though it's straight from Gideon's case study. Chapters are often titled as "observation about ___" or "experiment" or "data from a witness." It's really cool. I wish the digital version allowed me to see the mixed media that she uses throughout the story. Unfortunately I couldn't see those but I'm sure it added to the story. 

The voice she utilizes is unique and light-hearted and made me laugh at times as she explores this ridiculous, yet true, phenomenon.

I highly recommend this one!

This is a fun book set in rural America, but with a diverse set of teen characters. The premise is that two brothers cause an explosion after conducting a science experiment. To test people’s reactions to the possibility of life in outer space, they claim the explosion was really caused by extraterrestrials. It’s an engaging and fun story.

The sky is filled with many wonders and has fascinated the minds of many, but this time what it uncovers are some difficult to accept truths in the lives of those in a small town in Chelsea Sedoti's It Came From The Sky. 

A science experiment gone wrong sets off a series of strange events that grow continually more extraordinary such that the residents of Lansburg, Pennsylvania believe that aliens have visited their town. But Gideon Hofstadt knows the truth, because it was his experiment, which his brother Ishmael messed up that accidentally increased the impact of the otherwise carefully and scientifically planned explosion on their family farm, and Ishmael subsequently tried to shift the blame for the damage by claiming it was from extraterrestrial activity. When people in Lansburg, and from further away, seem to embrace this wild claim, the brothers continue to develop new elements of the hoax until it grows beyond their control.

A fun, entertaining, and, at times, wild read, the story moves quickly as it becomes increasingly more unreal, evolving and adding in new facets to the alien hoax that makes the narrative more convoluted. The characters were relatable and distinct, if not overly developed, and the analytical, overthinking mind of Gideon resonates for those who are very much INSIDE their heads while also demonstrating his character flaws, which allows room for him to grow once he acknowledges and confronts them. The ridiculousness of the scenario pulled me out of the story to question how and why the parents were allowing this to continue and I appreciated when the text briefly addressed that concern, otherwise the suspension of disbelief would have been a massive undertaking to maintain. The multiple formats used throughout the narrative included interviews, texts, blog posts, and articles, which was a nice method of breaking up the more traditional text and offer some different perspectives of the story's development. 

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

A fun young-adult book about “asperger-ish” fifteen year old Gideon and his older Hawaiian-shirt-wearing brother Ishmael. Gideon is a nerd obsessed with science. He dreams of attending MIT and eventually working at NASA. Ishmael, on the other hand, is a cute, fun-loving goofball. When Gideon’s science experiment literally explodes and creates a crater in their neighbor’s farmland, what better way to get out of trouble than to blame an alien invasion? 

I loved the characterizations in this book, and felt myself smile and even laugh out loud at some of the dialogue. Even more than humor, there were some good life lessons as Gideon learned to not only acknowledge his shortcomings, but also to find self-love and acceptance.

I think this would be a great read for middle and high school kids. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

This is OK, not great. Maybe better for a YA. There's some clever writing and decent characters. This has some mixed reviews and I can see why since this is not a "middle of the road" story that will appeal to a broad audience. If you like YA fantasy this may be for you.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

DNF @ 10%
This book failed to grab my attention or my interest at all. I'm really not interested in any of the characters or the plot. A real let down, especially after Lizzie Lovett.

I was completely drawn in to this book because of the plot. How great is it? Small town story with two brothers who create an alien hoax? Yes please! It was fun, and the characters were all right. It got a little hard to get into, but I enjoyed it overall.

After Gideon's experiment goes bad. He and his brother have to cover their tracks and it turns into a funny, tangled mess. I loved the character of Gideon. There was great story development.

This was a decent read. I found it took a minute to get somewhere but overall I found myself enjoying it enough. I thought the characters were so so but the plot really was the books saving grace.

Chelsea Sedoti’s last novel for young adults was <u>As You Wish,</u>which was a humorous take on a small-town life… if the people of your small town get three wishes when they turn eighteen.  It was a really fun “what if” kind of book.  All the really fun “what if” kinds of books seem to disappear from the shelves of my high school library.  As You Wish disappeared last year and hasn’t been seen since.  

So I was really excited to hear that Sedoti was coming out with another “what if” kind of book set in a small town inhabited with lots of quirky characters who have a way of choosing to do their own thing.  <u>It Came From the Sky</u>does not disappoint. 

Super geek Gideon Hofstadt convinces his older brother Ishmael to help him out in a science experiment to see whether or not his homemade seismometer actually works.  They need to create a small explosion at their family farm.  This explosion leaves a crater, which the boys choose to explain away by blaming it on an alien landing.  

There are many in the town that choose to believe this story and Ishmael is also eager to turn this into the best senior prank that the school has ever seen.  Reluctant Gideon goes along because he thinks that this could become a great sociology experiment that might just seal his application to MIT. 

What they don’t bargain on are the alien truthers out there who descend upon their small town in tents and RVs and a “messianic” founder of a multi level marketing scheme who needs to use the alien story for his own purposes.  

Truth gets twisted around in this story, which can be lots of fun, especially when the reader is trying to figure out which characters are buying into the story and which aren’t. 

 What is believable is Gideon.  He’s the real deal.  He likes people and has some really great friends, including a handsome secret boyfriend, but he also needs his privacy and his time away from people, which frustrates his friends and definitely his mom, who doesn’t get his introverted side at all.  He’s really a likable character. 

The ending is unexpected, but also satisfying.  Lots of readers will want to try out this one.

This was a really fun read. I didn't really know what to expect from this one, but the concept intrigued me enough to give it a try. Overall, it was a good read that interested me. There were times it dragged a bit, but it didn't stop me from finishing the book. The characters were well rounded and the small-town feel really came across.

This was a cute read. It was a bit predictable but I loved the characters so that more than made up for it. The style of this book was great and if you’re a librarian, I think a reluctant reader would really enjoy the format.

What a delightful little book! Told in interview excerpts, text messages, and others of its ilk, It Came From the Sky  about two brothers who start an alien hoax in order to keep from getting in trouble with their parents and the law - you know, a classic tale. I really enjoyed the storyline, the LGBTQ rep, and the format, however I had a difficult time connecting emotionally with the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the book but doubt that I'll remember reading it in 5 years time.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I was really excited to pick up Chelsea Sedoti's newest book, as I really enjoyed As You Wish. This book was just as fun and a little out their as the last book, but featured alien encounters as its premise. 

What I enjoyed about the story:
-The overall concept of the book. Teenagers creating a hoax to get out of trouble for blowing up their farm and the hoax totally blowing up was fun to read. Sedoti does a really great job of infusing her writing with humor. 
- The LGBTQ rep.. It's so nice to see more contemporary stories featuring LGBTQ characters, and this one was no exception. 
- The science aspects of this book - I felt like I learned some new things as I was reading that I hadn't known before and it seemed clear to me that Sedoti had taken time to do research into astrology when creating her characters.
-The different formats. Sedoti had blog comments, texts, and interview excerpts sprinkled throughout the story that added unique elements to the story and made this truly seem more like a report than just a typical story. 

What didn't work for me: 
- The footnotes. I don't dislike footnotes, but I felt that this was the author's main way of providing readers' insight into what had happened prior to this book or into Gideon's friends. They didn't add a lot to the story and I often skipped over them. 
- The MLM side story. This is purely personal, but I am not a fan of MLMs and the fictional MLM in this story was mentioned so constantly it felt like I was reading advertisements at times.. I wish this hadn't been quite as prominent an aspect of the story.
-Gideon's character: Gideon is a bit arrogant and awkward, which made him a little unlikeable at times. He was really hard to personally feel connected to, which made the overall reading experience a bit less enjoyable for me. 

Overall, I think this book is worth reading if you're a fan of contemporaries and sci-fi. This wasn't a perfect fit for me but there were elements that I really did enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I was getting worn out by all the YA fantasy I've been reading lately, so this turned out to be a breath of fresh air. It had some good humor, ridiculous scenarios, well-developed characters, and an engaging story. I always wanted to know what would happen next.

My biggest critiques stem from this being an uncorrected copy. There were a lot of instances when words were smashed together, and a few times where it felt like words were completely missing from sentences. Also, there were a lot of blank pages that I'm sure will be filled with pictures or flyers or whatever it is that was meant to be shown. I'm sure those visuals would change the reading experience. The footnotes were awkwardly formatted as well, again something that probably came from this being uncorrected, or maybe from being an e-book. I don't want to fault the book for these things, but they did detract from the reading experience.

As for the story itself, I'm a little on the fence on how it was presented. It would have been more interesting if it was presented from an outside perspective showing all of this happen, but then again the summary ruins it by saying right off the bat what's going on. I guess having the interviews wasn't a bad idea, but it was a little off-putting how bluntly honest they all were. I couldn't help thinking "why would they say that to this person". I'm also not sure how I feel about the climax of the book. A part of me wishes it would've stuck just to the alien hoax.

On the plus side, though, all the characters were very unique and fleshed-out. I really liked Gideon and Ishmael's bond as brothers. I also liked how it showed all of Gideon's anxieties and fears, and how he grew over the course of the book. It is a shame that some of the characters faded into the background, but overall they were interesting and I liked following them on this crazy journey. It was fun and entertaining, and it did have a nice message about being curious. 

I wasn't blown away by it, but I enjoyed myself.