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The True Meaning of Smekday

Author Adam Rex
Read by Bahni Turpin
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On sale Apr 06, 2010 | 10 Hours and 38 Minutes | 978-0-307-71111-3
It all starts with a school essay.
 
Twelve-year-old Gratuity “Tip” Tucci is assigned to write five pages on “The True Meaning of Smekday” for the National Time Capsule contest, and she’s not sure where to begin: when her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended to Earth, and aliens—called the Boov—abducted her mother?
Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it “Smekland” (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod?
            Gratuity’s story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo, a futile journey south to find Gratuity’s mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom, a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious, and an outrageous plan to save Earth from yet another alien invasion.
  • WINNER
    AudioFile Earphones Award
  • WINNER | 2011
    Odyssey Award
  • WINNER | 2010
    AudioFile Best Audiobook
  • SELECTION | 2011
    ALSC Notable Children's Recordings
  • SELECTION | 2011
    YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
  • SELECTION | 2010
    Booklist Editors' Choice: Audiobooks - Young Listeners
Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He discovered a talent for drawing as a child and pursued this interest through college. He got a BFA from the University of Arizona, where he met his physicist wife, Marie. Adam and Marie live in Tucson, where Adam draws, paints, writes, spends too much time on the Internet, and listens to public radio. His first novel, The True Meaning of Smekday, was the 2011 Odyssey Award Winner. View titles by Adam Rex

About

It all starts with a school essay.
 
Twelve-year-old Gratuity “Tip” Tucci is assigned to write five pages on “The True Meaning of Smekday” for the National Time Capsule contest, and she’s not sure where to begin: when her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended to Earth, and aliens—called the Boov—abducted her mother?
Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it “Smekland” (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod?
            Gratuity’s story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo, a futile journey south to find Gratuity’s mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom, a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious, and an outrageous plan to save Earth from yet another alien invasion.

Awards

  • WINNER
    AudioFile Earphones Award
  • WINNER | 2011
    Odyssey Award
  • WINNER | 2010
    AudioFile Best Audiobook
  • SELECTION | 2011
    ALSC Notable Children's Recordings
  • SELECTION | 2011
    YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
  • SELECTION | 2010
    Booklist Editors' Choice: Audiobooks - Young Listeners

Author

Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He discovered a talent for drawing as a child and pursued this interest through college. He got a BFA from the University of Arizona, where he met his physicist wife, Marie. Adam and Marie live in Tucson, where Adam draws, paints, writes, spends too much time on the Internet, and listens to public radio. His first novel, The True Meaning of Smekday, was the 2011 Odyssey Award Winner. View titles by Adam Rex

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Every May we celebrate the rich history and culture of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Browse a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators that we think your students will love. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

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