Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson and Ned Rust (251 pages)
Daniel X, the alien hunter, is back to pick off another one of the top ten aliens who threaten Earth. In the previous novel, he destroyed Number 6, and this time, he is facing Number 5, a 300-pound catfish alien. Number 5 is intent to use humans as his puppets in an intergalactic reality show. He is obsessed with the entertainment business and wants to be the leader in all space programming. To control the humans of Earth, he uses electronic messaging and attempts to rewire the brains of the people. Daniel will stop at nothing to ruin Number 5’s plans before the human race is wrecked beyond repair.
Miss Simer’s Rating: **1/2
Avi’s five short stories are quick and fun to read. He opens with “Bored Tom” and the reader meets Tom, a boy who wants nothing more than to be able to sleep all day and watch TV all night. A cat approaches him and offers to switch bodies with him so he can get his wish. The next story is “Babette the Beautiful” in which the queen wants her daughter to be born without flaws, but a side effect of her wish is that her daughter is invisible. In “Curious” the reader discovers the secret truth behind all sports mascots. In “The Shoemaker and Old Scratch,” a shoemaker makes a bargain with a cat to split half his income if the cat takes care of all the mice in his shop. He doesn’t uphold his bargain and has some pretty rough consequences. Finally, in “Simon” the reader learns about what can happen to a person if all they do is take, take, and take.
I know what you’re thinking: What on earth is Smekday?? I could be mean and tell you you’ll have to read the book to find out, but I’m happy because it is winter break, so I’ll tell you… Smekday is the day formerly known as Christmas. Why is it now called Smekday, you ask? It is the day that Captain Smek and his Boov army invaded the Earth! The Boovs are not terribly mean aliens, but they have decided that the Earth is theirs. They force all U.S. citizens to move to Florida while they inhabit the rest of the country. Gratuity Tucci, our narrator, informs the readers that her mother was taken by the Boov and she’s on a mission to find her. On her way, she encounters a nice, harmless Boov who calls himself J. Lo (yes, like the singer) and together they find ways to avoid being captured. Unfortunately, the Boovs are not the only aliens interested in Earth. The Gorgs have also landed and they are e-v-i-l! They tell all U.S. citizens they must relocate to Arizona and they destroy all the cats they can find. Gratuity is able to hide her cat, Pig, and she and J. Lo travel to Arizona in search of her mother. Will the earth be destroyed by aliens or will their be a glitch in the aliens’ plan? Find out in this comedic sci-fi novel!
