Kirkus Reviews

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)

School Library Journal (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Gr 10 Up-he 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 drivein 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

Starred Review ALA Booklist (Mon May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

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 hard rd 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.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

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. (Aug.)

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Music from another planet has reached Earth's radio waves, but at least Derek's dream girl, Jenny, has invited him to play beer pong at an end-of-the-world party. Despite little encouragement from Jenny, Derek falls so deeply in love he proves willing to start an intergalactic war just for dating advice. This dark comedy is full of raunchiness and confusing subplots.

Voice of Youth Advocates (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Ten years ago, Earth sent a message into outer space. Today, the government confirmed that music was received as a response. Tonight, seventeen-year-old Derek is at the party of the year, celebrating proof of the Centaurians’ existence—or living it up just in case the end of the world is near. So, when gorgeous Jenny Novak hits on him, Derek is sure it is a fluke. They play beer pong. They kiss. . . and then, things get really intense. Over the course of the next week, the pair is inseparable, and Derek has a shocking meeting with one of the aliens. Soon after, Jenny becomes distant and hangs out with other guys, including Derek’s best friend. Derek is not sure if the aliens will invade, a global war will erupt, or he will have a girlfriend by the time this is all over, but he is willing to fight for the girl he loves. A next, closer encounter with the aliens gives him insight into humans, love, and himself. This book is best described as a mash-up of coming-of-age and humorous science fiction with a focus on ill-fated first love. It paints a realistic picture of Derek and Jenny’s relationship given that they first hit it off at an alcohol-fueled party, but a very unbelievable picture of the alien invasion—Derek’s reaction to encountering them is unremarkable. The characters in this book swear, have sex, use marijuana, and drink alcohol, which should be taken into consideration when recommending to readers.—Deena Viviani. Derek is a typical teenage boy. While the rest of the world is concerned with the impending alien invasion, Derek is preoccupied with playing video games with his friends, getting over his parents’ dramatic divorce, and making the irresistible Jenny Novak fall in love with him. Everything changes, however, when he becomes the first human to hang out with an alien. This book has a realistic teen narrator, good humor, and well-developed characters, although the aliens seem like an arbitrary addition to the story. Of Jenny and the Aliens will appeal to teens looking for a quirky sci-fi read. 2Q, 2P.—Maia Raynor, Teen Reviewer.

Goelman, Ari. The Innocence Treatment. Roaring Brook/Macmillan, 2017. 272p. $17.99. isbn 978-1-6267-2880-6. 4Q 4P J S Sixteen-year-old Lauren suffers from a disorder that makes her trust every person she encounters and inhibits her ability to distinguish between lies and truth. A doctor working for a government-sponsored corporation takes interest in Lauren and performs surgery on her to study and find a cure for the disorder. As Lauren heals, she gains awareness and an ability to perceive and understand the intentions of others. Lauren’s ability quickly turns into an overabundance of perception, and she begins to believe that the doctor who healed her and the government that funded his work have ulterior motives. Are Lauren’s beliefs paranoid delusions that can be fixed through additional treatment, or is there a more sinister reason the government took interest in a girl who believed everything anyone said? In this epistolary dystopian novel, Goelman presents Lauren’s story through annotated journal entries and therapy notes. Goelman’s surveilled America, set fifteen years in the future, paints a bleak possible reality of government overreach through limitations of free speech, invasion of privacy, and unethical medical experimentation. Readers looking to jump into government conspiracies will find a fresh take with this teenager who gains the ability to fight back, rebel against authority, and expose government corruption.—Jewel Davis.