The True Meaning of Smekday

by Adam Rex
The True Meaning of Smekday  
published October 10th 2007 by Hyperion
binding Hardcover
isbn 0786849002   (isbn13: 9780786849000)
pages 432
date added
06-13-07



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 396)



Marisa
Marisa rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
05/27/08

bookshelves: boybooks
Read in May, 2008
I really wanted to give this book a better rating, and if it had maintained the fast paced hilarity of the first 100 pages I could have. But it lost steam. Still, very strong book overall.

Gratuity (who friends call Tip -- her mother didn't find out until too late that "Gratuity" doesn't mean what she tought it did) tells the story of her survival during an alien invasion. It doesn't sound like it should be funny, but it is. Did I mention one of the aliens is her faithful sideki...more
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Diana
Diana rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
05/08/08

bookshelves: books-of-the-week, humorous, speculative-fiction, teen
Read in May, 2008
Since I make my living writing about the adult and teen fiction I read, I tend to not read "children's" books. So when I received a review copy of this and saw that the protagonist was only 11 I decided to pass on it. But, it was sf and sounded like it would really be fun so even though I didn't think it would fit in with my professional reading I put it on my tbr bookshelf along with other books that I can't justify reading for work but that I still want to read someday.

I don't kn...more
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Eva
Eva rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
04/08/08

Read in March, 2008
This book is actually a very very long essay written by Middle School student Gratuity Tucci for a contest, the winning essay of which will be placed in a time capsule to be opened in 100 years - in 2113. In it, Gratuity (Tip to her friends) describes the invasion of the Boov and the subsequent relocation of all humans to Florida (and then to Arizona, as the Boov decide they want Florida for themselves). Tip's mother was taken by the aliens early on, and so 12-year-old Tip takes her cat and dr...more
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Kit
Kit rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
05/21/08

Read in May, 2008
Sometimes, when I'm looking at yet another "Book 1 of the Fill-in-the-Blank Series" with a plucky boy/girl holding a glowing sword/orb/book while a unicorn/cute furry animal/scary hooded bad guy stands in the background, I think: isn't there anything original out there?

And then I come across The True Meaning of Smekday.

This book defies description, but it's kind of a combination of Lilo and Stitch, Independence Day, and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Only funnier....more
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  2 comments

Navah
Navah rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
04/25/08

bookshelves: kidlit, post-apocalyptic
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for: post-apoc fans, people who like really really good books
Gratuity (Tip to her friends) Tucci has a story to tell, and she’s not sure where to start. Does it start with the time when her mother claimed to have been abducted by aliens who communicated with her through a mole on her neck? Or how about the day the Boov actually arrived, conquered Earth (and renamed it Smekland) and generously allowed the population of the United States to live peacefully in the state of Florida? Or maybe her story begins with her uneasy alliance with a Boov named J.L...more
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BabyHippoFace
BabyHippoFace rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/17/08

bookshelves: kids--fiction, young-adult
Read in February, 2008
"The Boov jumped off his antler spool and went back inside the MoPo...."

I think I'm going to memorize this line. And next time someone asks me a question I don't want to answer, I'm gonna hit 'em with the Boov.

Smekday is funny, silly, and entertaining. Gratuity/Tip is a terrific heroine, spunky and anxious and bold. But my favorite character was J.Lo. Who knew Boov could be so big-hearted? (Plus, who knew urinal cakes were apparently so delicious?)

Although it's a bit long ...more
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  1 comments

Lisa
Lisa rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/15/08

bookshelves: kidsfiction
Read in March, 2008
recommended to Lisa by: Peter Howard, thanks!!
recommends it for: everyone on the planet
One of the most hilarious and clever books I've ever read for bedtime stories. Chris and Eli would laugh out-loud hysterically at the alien J.Lo's command of the English language.

Tip is an 11 year old girl, who after the invasion by the Boov of Earth, finds her mom kidnapped by aliens, and she must find a way to the human resettlement of Florida. Being the bold girl that she is, she opts out of taking msas transport rocketpod and ends up driving herself with her silly cat named Pig. Togethe...more
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  4 comments

Jennifer
Jennifer rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
03/16/08

bookshelves: young-adult-reads
Read in March, 2008
recommended to Jennifer by: Julie (and Aurora)
recommends it for: anyone who wonders about Roswell
Thanks Julie for alerting me to such a fun book. This novel is what happens when Gratuity "Tip" Tucci decides to expand her time capsule-bound essay about "The True Meaning of Smekday" to actually include all of the truth. In 2013, an alien race called the Boov lands on earth, declares the planet their own, and a few weeks later decides to move all the humans in the United States to Florida. Eleven-year-old Tip's mother disapears the day the aliens arrive and Tip forgoes th...more
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Colleen AF
Colleen AF rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
03/16/08

bookshelves: mid-grade-fiction, read-2008
Read in March, 2008
It took me a bit to get into this one, but perhaps that was because I picked it up 100% convinced it was going to be my new favorite book in the world before I read a single character. As soon as J.Lo appeared I was HOOKED. His Balki-an charm, urinal cake eating habits, and hysterical integrated "The History of the Boov" mini-comics won me over in no time. I've been a fan of Rex's picture books for years with a lovely collection of signed books on my shelf, each one received while I wa...more
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Dale
Dale rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
06/03/08

Read in May, 2008
I hated this book. Every page made me feel worse and worse about myself as a writer. The book is crammed with seemingly effortlessly cast witticisms and asides that not only propel the story, but bring you closer to the characters in a way that is true to the age group (with a few authorly deviations).

I'm not going to go into the plot too much, as this wasn't the main strength of the book (a girl is asked to write a series of essays pertaining to the Earth's alien invasion and occupation). I...more
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Barbara
Barbara rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/14/08

Read in May, 2008
recommends it for: Gr 4-8
Summary (CIP): When her mother is abducted by aliens on Christmas Eve (or "Smekday" Eve since the Boov invasion), 11 year-old Tip hops in the family car and heads south to find her and meets an alien Boov mechanic who agrees to help her and save the planet from disaster.

REVIEW: It’s hard to go wrong with a hover car, an alien named J.Lo, a cat named Pig, the Happy Mouse Kingdom in Florida, finally getting the real story behind the events at Roswell, 1947, as well as saving th...more
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Carissa
Carissa rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
04/28/08

bookshelves: juvenile
Read in October, 2007
finished this one in basically one sitting on a sick day. very funny read. i like adam rex. he also wrote “frankenstein makes a sandwich” which is a picture book of poetry which i’m normally not so crazy about, but adam rex is a funny guy. this book is the story of gratuity “tip” tucci and her story of back when aliens invaded the earth. there are great graphic novel chunks scattered throughout the book that add to the humor. this is his first long chapter book (not picture book) and a...more
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Jean
Jean rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/29/08

Read in May, 2008
Adam Rex is becoming one of my favorite authors. He is clever and inventive and original. And this book shows just how far he can take this originality. Gratuity "Tip" Tucci is one of those characters that you would love to meet in real life. She's smart and she doesn't let anything hold her back once she's made up her mind. With the invasion of the Boov from outer space, she finds that not only is her mother missing, but that the rest of the country has become more than a little ...more
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Julia
Julia rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
03/13/08

Read in March, 2008
recommended to Julia by: Julie
Very entertaining, fun read of a winning essay that young Gratuity Tucci (nickname, Tip) writes for a time capsule essay contest in 2013. The subject is the meaning of Smekday, the day of the alien invasion of earth by the Boov, a jelly-fish like race, fond of oranges and not so fond of cats. Gratuity's essay goes way beyond a single day. Her mother has been abudcted by the aliens during the first wave and she decides to drive cross-country (with a cat named Pig)to find her during the human r...more
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  2 comments

Joy
Joy rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/17/08

bookshelves: 21c, american, childrens, science-fiction
Read in April, 2008
recommended to Joy by: Meaghan
Alien invaders known as the Boov have taken over the world and all they've left for humans is Florida. 11-year-old Gratuity (Tip) Tucci's mother was one of the first to be taken, and now Tip's decided to make the trip to Florida on her own in her mother's car. But Tip's life, already complicated, get more so when she picks up a passenger: a Boov named J.Lo who "fixes" her car by making it, among other things, hover.

This is a great kid's science fiction book; it's quite long and pro...more
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Helen
Helen rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/19/08

bookshelves: children-s-books
Read in July, 2008
recommended to Helen by: jameslhelena@bellsouth.net
Gratuity Tucci is a twelve-year-old girl who has an assignment to write a five page essay on "The True Meaning of Smekday" for a National Time Capsule contest. She isn't sure how to get started, but then her mother suddenly develops a mole on the back of her neck, which seems to be sending messages. Aliens have taken over the Earth and all humans in America are being sent to Florida. Then,on Christmas Eve, Gratuity's mother is abducted by aliens and Gratuity decides to try to find h...more
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Dorcas
Dorcas rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
02/24/08

Read in February, 2008
A girl is asked to write an essay about the true meaning of Smekday for a national time capsule contest and this is her take on it. Smekday is the day that the aliens took over the Earth and renamed it Smekland in honor of their leader Captain Smek. And in these pages is Gratuity Tucci's adventures: her search for her mother who was sucked up by the invaders, her encounters and relationships with aliens and dislocated peoples, all while driving cross country (stuck cans to the bottoms of her s...more
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Clay
Clay rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/02/08

bookshelves: upper-elementary-middle-grade
Read in February, 2008
recommended to Clay by: Karin
Three and a half stars. (When is Good Reads going to give us half stars?) Vastly entertaining tale of double alien invasion of 2015 Earth when Gratuity (Tip to her friends), her cat Pig and her alien pal J.Lo save the world. Sagged in a few places and narrator Tip is sometimes improbably savvy for her years, but author-illustrator Adam Rex writes snappy dialog and doesn't miss a joke. (i.e. Aliens move the whole U.S. to Arizona which becomes The United State of America.) J.Lo's malapropian brok...more
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Farida
Farida rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
01/20/08

Aliens invading the Earth is a lot like the Europeans invading the Americas. The plot is a bit complicated to explain, but it involves a road-trip with an eleven year old human (Gratuity "Tip" Tucci), a renegade Boov named J.Lo and a cat named Pig, all riding in a souped-up car named "Slushious." Gratuity is off to Florida to rescue her mom, who has been kidnapped by the Boov. Why Florida? Well, that was where the Boov decided all of the humans in the former United States cou...more
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Brooke
Brooke rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/11/08

bookshelves: books-read-in-2008
Read in February, 2008
The six-legged goofball aliens take over; then the big mean aliens take over. Girl named Gratuity + Alien named J.Lo + Cat named Pig = Save the World. Oh, and Disneyland is weirder than you thought.

Funny sci-fi for kids -- love those Boov -- but it's a bit mixed. The book is too long, and a bit too preachy (the description of the Boov invasion is heavy-handed in its similarity to 9/11). Gratuity is a little too clever for its own good; it isn't a very authentic child-voice, but whatever. ...more
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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 4.16 (245 ratings)
number of reviews: 117






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