Of Jenny and the Aliens

August 7, 2017
Aliens from Alpha Centauri have made first contact, and everyone on Earth is on edge. But amid fears that it’s the end of the world, 17-year-old Derek is focused on his crush, Jenny, who has just noticed that he’s alive (and helped him lose his virginity after a wild party). As these two storylines intertwine, the juxtaposition of Derek’s dizzying rush into first love and a potential alien invasion touches off some of the same base instincts in Gebhart’s characters. Derek’s odd behavior—and his insistence that he has met one of the aliens—spurs an intervention from a therapist, but Gebhart (There Will Be Bears) doesn’t reach for easy answers or truths. It’s up to readers to decide whether Derek’s visit to the distant Centaurian planet is real or imagined, in the same way that his obsession with Jenny (who isn’t remotely interested in the kind of serious relationship that Derek wants) and the nature of the Centaurians themselves can’t be wholly quantified or understood. Ages 16–up. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Literary Management.

August 1, 2017

Gr 10 Up-The United States is on the verge of war. Beings from a distant planet called Pud 5 have just contacted Earth. Derek's dad and half brother are coming up to Ohio for a last-minute Thanksgiving visit. And Derek is madly in love with Jennifer Novak. Somehow, that last problem is the one consuming Derek, the hormonal narrator of Gebhart's funny, occasionally psychedelic novel about the cosmic angst of young love and adolescent egomania. When Derek hooks up with Jenny after an end-of-the-world party, he's surprised at the deep connection he feels. Nothing can distract him for his quest to win Jenny's devotion, not even a face-to-face encounter with a stoner alien named Karo. He's so desperate to preserve what they have, he's even willing to beg Karo for a cosmic intervention. This is more than an account of one teenager's single-minded sex drive-in between his daydreams and questionable choices with controlled substances, Derek is a big-hearted, sympathetic kid with a unique, if immature, view of the world. Teens should find his confusion about romantic, fraternal, and familial love relatable, and Gebhart keeps the love story fresh with aliens, interstellar hallucinogens, and surreal imagery, including one long sequence in which Derek follows Karo to Pud 5. VERDICT Recommended for adventurous YA readers, especially those looking for a realistic teen male voice.-Abigail Garnett, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2017
Beings from Alpha Centauri have made contact with Earth. Also Derek keeps getting to touch Jennifer Novak's boobs. Ever since the Centaurians from Pud 5 sent their message to Earth, narrator Derek's classmates in Maumee, Ohio, have been focused on nihilistic partying. (It's not clear if Derek's high school years have ever been much more than nihilistic partying or, at least, more than playing "Mario Kart" while getting wasted on weed, beer, and occasional shrooms or acid). Derek (white by default) is not sure why Jenny, a stunning white redhead, wants his inexperienced ass, but she apparently does; she crushes him in beer pong, takes him home from a party, and relieves him of his virginity. Instantly infatuated, Derek decides she's his girlfriend and thinks of her as if she's a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Though he's angry when his friends slut-shame Jenny, once Derek realizes he's not her only sexual partner, he's alternatingly needy and cruel. Meanwhile, he's befriended a little gray alien from Pud 5. While the United States ramps up for war with a fictional Middle Eastern country, Derek begs his alien friend to create world peace so Jenny won't leave him. The alien plot's original and witty, but this feels primarily like a vehicle for faux-philosophizing in which Derek never, even post-epiphany, sees girls as actual people. Alternately entertaining and repellent. (Science fiction. 15-18)

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Starred review from May 15, 2017
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Earth has just gotten word of intelligent life on another planet. Derek is about to turn 18, lose his virginity, fall in love, smoke up with an alien, see his broken family start to mend, and either broker world peace or an intergalactic war. It's going to be a busy month. Derek is a lovable, imperfect doofus, aimlessly floating through life since learning about his dad's secret second family. Jenny, strong willed and quirky, is mourning her older brother, who was killed in a distant military conflict. When she and Derek hook up, he falls for her hardhard enough that when it becomes clear nothing short of world peace will make Jenny his and only his, our hero rises to the challenge. Gebhart's (There Will Be Bears, 2014) young-adult debut is beautifully, challengingly weird. The narrative probes the boundless nature of love and the boundaries people impose on it, and draws attention to the process of hiding from and then finding oneself. It's a close encounter with human (or alien?) nature, sex, drugs, and UFOs, told in a hilarious, profane style. This perfectly off-kilter love story is ideal for jaded, philosophically minded teens as well as those who would appreciate the madcap genius of stealing shopping carts to turn them into gaming chairs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)