  | For the love of Gelo! (Space rocks!) Author: O'Donnell, Tom | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Chorkle and its human friends Hollins, twins Becky and Nicki, and Little Gus (who is now lobbying to be called Medium Gus) have been warped to a strange new galaxy. When Kalac is stranded on neighboring planet Kyral, the gang takes matters into its own hands and sets off on a daring rescue mission.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (08/15/14)
School Library Journal (09/01/14)
Booklist (07/01/14)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/01/2014 A few months after Space Rocks! (2014), an explosion drains Gelo’s power supply and disables its stealth shield. Lead by Chorkle’s originator (parent), a mission to the planet Kyral takes off to find aid. However, a prolonged silence from the mission crew prompts Chorkle to launch his own rescue mission with the help of his three human friends. On Kyral, civilization is not nearly as friendly as Chorkle expects, and a hostile stowaway only complicates matters. Witty writing and engaging character dynamics balance the story’s action-based plot, which will have readers cheering for (and against) various aliens as another epic battle unfolds. - Copyright 2014 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 09/01/2014 Gr 4–6—Space Rocks! (Penguin, 2014) opened with a neat inversion of the classic sci-fi set-up: the humans are the interloping aliens on the home turf of our narrator, a Xotonian named Chorkle. Although many Xotonians weren't sure what to make of these funny beings (with only two eyes!), they came to trust the four human children stranded on their planet—golden boy Hollins, very different identical twins Nikki and Becky, and clumsy but steadfast Little Gus—when they helped defend them from red-eyed bad guys, the Vorem. This second installment picks up three months after the Vorem's defeat, with the four children still stranded on the Xotonian asteroid, eating fried slugs, playing video games, and bickering. A new adventure comes along when a mission to a neighboring planet goes awry and Chorkle and his humans decide it's up to them to figure out what happened and save his "originator." All of these alien names may sound confusing, but O'Donnell's smooth pacing and quick wit will pull readers in and keep them turning pages. He uses the interaction of different species as an allegory for raising issues around tolerance and acceptance, but it's all done with such a light touch that it never bogs down the narrative. Recommend this one to readers who like their adventure stories cut with humor and watch it fly off the shelf faster than Chorkle can eat a Feeney's Original Astronaut Ice Cream.—Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
