Writing an essay about how the Smekday holiday (formerly called Christmas) has changed in the year since the aliens left, eighth grader Gratuity Tucci, known as Tip, offers her story of her singular experiences since the Boov invasion in 2013. Though the aliens have just announced that all Americans must relocate to Florida, Tip's mom has already been abducted, called up to the spaceships by signals from a mole on her neck. Tip figures she'll drive there in her mom's little hatchback with her cat Pig, but after avoiding a barricade and being shot at by a Boov patrol, she blows a tire at mile forty-eight where the road has been destroyed. Stopping at an abandoned convenience store, Tip encounters the enemy—a broad-headed many-legged male Boov, inconguously named J-Lo, who fixes her car so it can hover instead of roll. Wildly inventive, outrageously funny, and thoroughly original, this Girl Saves Earth with Help from a Boov roadtrip adventure is one of the most beguiling sci fi stories ever.

At www.smekday.com, you can view a Boov training video, a guide to Boovish uniforms, and other fun stuff. Go to www.adamrex.com to see more of the art from this amazingly talented man. And don’t miss his unforgettable poetry and art in Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich and the new Frankenstein Takes the Cake.

Themes: AFRICAN AMERICANS. EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS. FANTASY. HUMAN-ALIEN ENCOUNTERS. HUMOROUS FICTION. MISSING PERSONS. MULTICULTURAL BOOKS. MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. SCIENCE FICTION.