This would be a great choice for reluctant readers who like outer space, science, jokes, MMORPGs, and/or British things. It's so funny and it really flies by. I think I read it in under 3 hours and I enjoyed every minute. On top of the comedy and rollicking plot, it had some deep philosophical moments that bordered on the existential. I mean, being lost in outer space will definitely get you thinking about the meaning of life, whether you want to think about it or not.

Liam is only 12 years old, but he's so tall that people are always confusing him for a grown-up. He takes advantage of this when he can, especially when the opportunity arises to visit a super-secret theme park with the greatest thrill ride ever created. The only catch is that Liam can't go as a kid; he has to go incognito as an adult. Liam's perspective as a child pretending to be an adult is amusing and full of insight. In his study of "dadliness" his conclusions are fantastic because they're both funny and true.

The only reason this misses five stars for me is because I was totally skeptical of the ending. Granted, this is not realistic fiction, but even as science fiction it really stretched believability in order to come to a happy conclusion. Specifically, **Spoiler Alert** how did a bunch of untrained kids (geniuses though they may be) pilot a rocket ship around the moon and land it safely on the earth using a video game and maths? Ridiculous. ( )

Although it had me laughing out loud and even got a little philosophical at the end, it is a little stained with old Orientalist attitudes in Hasan Xanadu, the rich Arab, and Dr. Drax, the genius yet detached Chinese with the name that is too long to fit on the side of a phone. ( )

"I'm not exactly in the Lake District."

This is how we meet Liam, a twelve-year old boy who looks much older. So much so that he is continuously mistaken for an adult. So much so that he finds himself in outer space, with a bunch of kids, who think he's a dad. And now everything has gone wrong and it's up to him to get them all home safely again. It's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with a bit of Space Odyssey and World of Warcraft thrown in.

One of the things that I love about Boyce's books is how he includes very philosophical ideas but makes them very accessible. In this case, he explores the psychological implications of seeing the earth from space with the concept of "dadliness," what makes a person a parent. Boyce balances these potentially contrived, sappy topics with pitch-perfect humor. He is a master of setting up scenes and writing dialogue.

This is one of my favorite books of this year, and I shall give it to everyone I see.


--Response of first reading (May 2010)--
Love! I would be reading this on the train and be very sad when my stop came and I had to put it away. How could I have forgotten how much I love this author? I even want to go back and reread the others now.

I love how Liam figures out his course of action by comparing life to World of Warcraft levels (note to self: have a WoW player read this and comment).

I love how the story is a kind of new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Sort of. Kinda.

I did think that Liam managed to be very grown-up through the entire second half, and perhaps could have shown more of the boy who would probably be freaking out. But I didn't really care.

Florida cracks me up. I know so many kids just like that. ( )

Hilarious and touching. A perfect middle-grade book. ( )

Cosmic, dirigida a lectores entre 8 y 12 años, trata sobre el delicado equilibrio entre la autoridad paterna y el afán por la independencia de los adolescentes.

El héroe de esta novela es Liam Digby, un niño de doce años que a causa de su desproporcionada altura y una incipiente barba es objeto de burlas en el colegio. Sus únicos amigos son los jugadores online de un videojuego llamado "World of Warcraft".

A Liam le toman a menudo por un adulto, lo que, sin duda, puede desembocar en hilarantes situaciones, como cuando se hace pasar por el nuevo director del departamento de Humanidades del Instituto, o cuando en la feria de automóviles un vendedor le ofrece conducir un Porche.

Narrada en primera persona por Liam, el autor ha construido una irreverente historia, que engancha desde la primera página y mantiene el interés del lector con un ritmo frenético y una trama desternillante al tiempo que emotiva.