Comment

Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Surrey Libraries.
Feb 13, 2018JCLChrisK rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Quirky narrator Alex is intelligent, knowledgeable, obsessive, enthusiastic, and self-sufficient. He's also naive, socially awkward, unguarded, and unworldly. Thankfully, he's incredibly endearing--to both other characters in the book and to readers. Alex's main obsession is astronomy, and his goal is to launch an updated version of the Golden Record NASA sent into space in the 70s to introduce extraterrestrial life to planet earth and humanity. This book is composed of his recordings on his Golden iPod. He chronicles his journey to a gathering of rocket hobbyists for an attempted ascent. Many strangers help him along the way, including two who agree to take him from the festival to Las Vegas on a quest to search for his missing father. His travel takes many unexpected turns to many unexpected destinations, constantly aided by those he meets along the way. By the end of his odyssey, Alex has learned more than he ever expected about himself, his family, and his ever-growing group of friends. Alex's optimistic spirit is infectious and makes him a wonderful storyteller of this unusual and enjoyable tale.