Earth to Charlie

February 1, 2019
Charlie (not Charles) Dickens seeks UFOs and avoids life in small-town Montana.Charlie's mother disappeared two years ago. Prompted by her claims beforehand, he's certain she was abducted by aliens who'll eventually U-turn to collect him. Now a freshman, he has no mother, no mothership, and no friend in sight save for an obese, housebound neighbor, whose body is described in derogatory terms, and a three-legged dog named Tickles. Aggressively bullied (imagine what small minds do with the name Dickens) and openly disliked at school, Charlie scurries under the radar until Seth sweeps into town. Charlie can't understand why charismatic Seth wants to talk to him and initially retreats before being lured into the fold of friendship. Charlie is eventually forced to look skyward and wonder what's really missing--his mother or his perspective? The prospect of aliens appearing at any second has its own brand of fantastic intrigue, but the reader's omniscient awareness as Charlie grapples with navigating intimacy and self-respect is eons more emotionally substantive. The town appears entirely white. One character is gay--an important plot point treated with subtlety. A noncogent grandmother and alcoholic father add a layer that doesn't detract from the coming-of-age perspective. One neatly tied plot point after another at the end feels a little crowded compared to the preceding pace but shouldn't deter readers.A slice-of-life glimpse at a boy trying to mean something in the universe. (Realistic fiction. 12-16)

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April 1, 2019

Gr 6 Up-Fourteen-year-old Charlie Dickens spends most of his nights scanning the skies for UFOs, and his days checking the Montana UFO Sightings website-all while concealing these activities from his dad and his classmates, who think he's delusional. Charlie sees alien abduction as his ticket out of small-town Montana and away from bullying at school, a hard-drinking and emotionally absent father, and a grandmother who no longer remembers who he is. He also sees it as his only possibility of reuniting with his mother, whom he believes was abducted by aliens when she disappeared two years earlier. It's not until Charlie meets new kid Seth, who is confident, artistic, and strangely motivated to be Charlie's friend, that Charlie begins to question whether he'd rather explore the mysteries of his own life than the mysteries of the universe. This story fails to deliver on its compelling premise. The majority of the book consists of short, episodic chapters that lack both stakes and action. Dialogue is bland and character development feels surface level, especially in supporting characters (e.g., Charlie's 600-pound neighbor, whose plot arc involves going on a diet after a health scare). While there are some sweet moments between Charlie and Seth, their relationship never evolves all the way to the anticipated romance, and the book feels largely plotless. The mystery of Charlie's mother's disappearance is wrapped up in a realistic fashion but without any true emotional resolution. VERDICT Not recommended.-Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia

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