Review by Booklist Review
Sixteen-year-old Gideon is a serious student with a grand plan, which includes MIT and NASA. Yet he worries that none of his experiments are groundbreaking enough to stand out. Enter Ishmael, Gideon's prank-loving older brother. Thanks to Ishmael, Gideon's controlled explosion to test his homemade seismograph leaves a crater in the family farm. Gideon blames a meteorite, but Ishmael embellishes until it becomes a UFO, and soon everyone in Lansburg, PA, has seen aliens. When the town is overrun with ufologists and reporters, Gideon decides to control the hoax, thereby creating a sociological experiment worthy of MIT. A snake oil salesman peddling an alien immortality elixir turns his harmless prank into a dangerous con. Gideon narrates this quirky, intelligent novel like a report, with data: texts, articles, interview transcripts. His deadpan humor and emotional insecurity offset some unlikability as he rigidly pursues his ideal future, leading him to neglect his kind boyfriend and supportive friends. Big questions of morality, cosmic insignificance, and human connection ground this novel even as it ponders the stars.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
It is clear from the start that this clever tale by Sedoti (As You Wish) isn't about alien encounters but rather about a hoax perpetrated by Gideon Hofstadt, 16, with the help of his brother, 17-year-old Ishmael, in Lansburg, Pa. After Gideon breaks his rule against letting Ishmael help with science experiments, the resulting explosion necessitates that the siblings come up with an excuse for the crater on their parents' farm. After storyteller Ishmael ramps their original excuse into an alien encounter, the two continue the story, Gideon as a sociological experiment to help him get into MIT, Ishmael as an epic senior prank. Things quickly spiral out of control, however, with the arrival of UFO hunters and CEO J. Quincy Oswald, a combination con man and cult leader who claims to have had his own alien encounters. Meanwhile, insecure introvert Gideon is convinced that his relationship with popular Owen Campbell is doomed to failure, and is therefore reluctant to make things public. As the hoax snowballs, then unravels, it complicates Gideon's relationship with Owen, his friends, and his family. Sedoti will draw readers in with the outrageous situation and the town's amusing aspects, such as a 63-foot lava lamp, but she truly excels with Gideon--a unique character whose desire for recognition and achievement is universal. Ages 14--up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Aug.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
Aspiring MIT student Gideon and his older brother Ishmael are testing a seismograph Gideon has made in his laboratory on their farm, but Ishmael overestimates the explosives needed, and the result leaves a large crater in their backyard. A lie to avoid repercussions quickly morphs from a story about a meteoroid falling into one about UFOs, aliens, and abductions and then becomes a bona fide hoax as the brothers actively work to perpetuate the myth they created. But that's not the only deception afoot in Lansburg, Pennsylvania. Their mother's latest business venture turns out to be a multilevel marketing scheme involving a line of health products; that company's charismatic founder is drawn to the town, claiming to be waiting for aliens to deliver the formula for eternal youth. But even as both the boys' hoax and the health product hoax start to unravel, Gideon strengthens his ties with his boyfriend (with some bumps along the way), finally making their relationship public. With wit, humor, and snappy dialogue, Gideon narrates the story after the fact; his narrative is complemented with interview excerpts, text messages, footnotes, and other evidence from the police investigation. Sedoti's (As You Wish, rev. 1/18) entire cast of characters is drawn with warmth and loving eccentricity, and there is just enough thematic depth to give readers food for thought. Jonathan Hunt September/October 2020 p.107(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A nerdy teen loses control of an out-of-this-world lie. Sixteen-year-old Gideon Hofstadt has predicted his future: college at MIT, career at NASA, and, somewhere along the way, a discovery that forever alters human knowledge. For now, he's vying to graduate as valedictorian and running a backyard laboratory on his family's ancestral Lansburg, Pennsylvania, farm. When Gideon rigs an explosion to test a homemade seismograph, his goofball brother Ishmael's interference results in a blast larger than either anticipated. Under interrogation, Ishmael ad-libs, eventually alleging extraterrestrial visitation--and, shockingly, people buy it. The astonished brothers watch as the prank takes on a life of its own with townspeople, ufologists, and media contributing otherworldly additions to the hoax. Though pacing occasionally sags, Gideon's first-person confessional is buoyed by deadpan humor and interstitial text messages, interviews, blog posts, and news articles. Things finally grow dangerous when J. Quincy Oswald, the predatory con man behind a multilevel marketing scheme, decides Lansburg is the perfect launch site for a phony immortality elixir. Gideon's struggles--with introversion and insecurity; commitment issues with his boyfriend, Owen; and habitual mistreatment of his friend Arden--complement this central narrative tension. Can Gideon come clean while his life is still worth salvaging? Or has he ultimately conned himself? Excepting Gideon's best friend, Cassidy, who is black, all characters are assumed white. A balanced exploration of maturity, vulnerability, human connection, and our innate desire to believe. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
