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The True Meaning of Smekday

by Adam Rex (Goodreads Author)

4.17 · rating details · 1,874 ratings · 644 reviews

It all starts with a school essay.
When twelve-year-old Gratuity ("Tip") Tucci is assigned to write five pages on "The True Meaning of Smekday" for the National Time Capsule contest, she's not sure where to begin. When her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, ...more

Hardcover, 423 pages

Published October 2nd 2007 by Hyperion

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Jun 13, 2010

Ceridwen rated it

Recommends it for: Buffy fans

Recommended to Ceridwen by: the boy

Shelves: aliens, america-and-environs, pulp, sci-fi, young-adult, middle-grade

Adam Rex rules. I'm a pretty huge fan of his picture books, because they combine fantastic art and a zingy word-play. They remind me of Fractured Fairy Tales, from the old Bullwinkle & Rocky show – intelligent enough for kids, and cute enough for adults. (No, I haven't mixed up my adjectives there – mostly I think adults can be the dumb ones when they choose picture books, because instruction is often the death of fun. So often awards for children's books – hell, awards in general – value the me...moreAdam Rex rules. I'm a pretty huge fan of his picture books, because they combine fantastic art and a zingy word-play. They remind me of Fractured Fairy Tales, from the old Bullwinkle & Rocky show – intelligent enough for kids, and cute enough for adults. (No, I haven't mixed up my adjectives there – mostly I think adults can be the dumb ones when they choose picture books, because instruction is often the death of fun. So often awards for children's books – hell, awards in general – value the message over the experience – look, another vewy vewy impowtant book about shawing! Or whatever.)

Anyway, this book came into my hands because my brilliant son won a costume contest, and was allowed to pick from a table of books. “Adam Rex is my favorite author!” he's fond of exclaiming – yes, the Book Dork Force is strong in my family – so he picked this, much to my glee. We've been having a tug-of war with this book ever since. Each time he catches me reading it, he takes it from me. “This is MY BOOK.” I sneak into his bedroom while he's asleep and pry it from his hands. He charges into my bedroom and pulls it off the stack and drags it back to his lair. Good times.

This book has a very odd structure. The first half or so is a series of essays written for an essay contest - “The True Meaning of Smekday” being the topic, natch – that keeps revising the narrative with more and more detail. Gratuity Tucci, the very wonderfully real narrator of these essays, tells the story of Earth's invasion by aliens (who rename the planet Smekland), the relocation of the population of the US to Florida, then Arizona, by said aliens, and her own slowly developing friendship with a Boov named J.Lo – one of the invading aliens in question – while she tries to find her mother. This description more or less captures the weirdly satisfying, mix in this book: on the one hand, it's about concentration camps and forced relocation, and on the other, it's about goofy aliens and eating urinal cakes & a cross-country road trip with a cat and a flying car. The dialogue is flat-out funny, the situations ridiculous, with Rex's sly cartoon's often supplying backstory in a way that intelligently side-steps the infodump. The tone is almost foamy, with a lot of wild juxtapositions and pop cultural references, and it took a me a while to relax & feel assured this wasn't one of those crappy kids fictions that confuse frenetic mugging for character. (I'm shooting at the Shrek movies here, which combine my hatreds of Dubious and Loudly Telegraphed Morals with Instantly Dated Jokes. Sure, it's Okay to Be Ugly, girls, but you still have to Define Yourself by The Man You Love. Bah. Poop on that.)

This book reminds me of two of my most favoritest things: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Suzanne Collins's books. Rex has the knack of turning his scenes from comedy to heartbreak with whiplash effect, like the best of Buffy, and although it's not nearly as overtly dark as the Hunger Games series, it has that social-commentary-wrapped-in-spectacle thing going for it that Collins does extremely well. You read because it's fun and fast-moving, with a nuanced narrative voice, but Rex bases his comedy on some incredibly uncomfortable things, like that hoary old American panic generator, race. For example, our heroine, Gratuity – her name, and the naming of things in general, is a whole other gag that I'll not get into here – is the single daughter of a single mother. Her mother is white, her father black. People keep mis-identifying her as one thing or another, questioning her ancestry, making wild assumptions about her based on how she looks.

While in Roswell, hanging out with a group of alien fanatics, she's introduced to a Native man whom the town residents call Chief Shouting Bear, but whose real name is Frank. (Another name/identity gag – I guess it's hard to avoid talking about, because they're everywhere in this book.) Gratuity tells him she's half-white. “Which half?” he says. “Uh...dunno. Let's say from the waist down,” she replies. “I only hate your legs,” he says, and christens her Supidlegs. There's at least one other excellent bit about race in the book I could mention, but it's so late in the story that I'd dump a bunch of spoilers if I detailed it too closely. I'll just say this: filling out government forms is almost always funny, because so often they ask the wrong questions the wrong way. Smekday has a lot to say, just under the surface, but it refrains from decanting those observations into the Big Moral, the didactic stick that comes out and clobbers you at the end of so much YA stuff. In fact, here's the last paragraph. No spoilers, I promise:

“You asked what the moral to my story was. I'm not sure real stories have morals. Or maybe they have so many it's impossible to chose. But here's one: what goes around comes around. And as far as pets go, a cat is nice thing to have.”

I'm almost inclined to give this book 5-stars – really, it's that intelligent & fun, but I'm going to be a big crank and withhold one for one extremely selfish jerk reason: I HATE THE QUALITY OF THIS EDITION SO MUCH. The paper is just barely better than newsprint, and Rex's drawings are reproduced so low-res that you can almost see the pixellation. The way the pictures are included feels like an editor woofed their placement several times – the images coming too early or too late – like they'd hastily changed the pagination from the hardcover to the paperback without any thought to the flow of the images and words. Shame on you, Hyperion Books; way totally to cheap out, and a book so good it's really a shame.

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Jul 20, 2011

Stephen rated it

Shelves: award-nominee-andre-norton, audiobook, ya, invasion, world-in-the-shitter, 2006-2010, comfort-food

Before reading Adam Rex’s delicious banquet of pop culture skewers dipped in saucy social commentary and served alongside a heaping helping of warm, filling comfort food, the phrase "I love J.LO" had NEVER been part of my working vocabulary. Well folks…*burp*…I love J.LO. Now, I’m not referring to "Ms. Diva from the Block junky trunk", but rather the sweetest, charmingest, most Booviful Boov ever to invade Earth in search of oranges and urinal cakes:

Smekday is d...more

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Mar 25, 2011

Catie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, sci-fi, middle-grade, graphic-illustrated-novels

If someone had told me that there’s a book about an alien invasion, featuring a girl on the run from the internment of humans in camps while she searches for her abducted mother, and it’s funny, and it’s for kids, I think that I would have called shenanigans. But, that’s exactly what this book is. Thank goodness I had no idea what this was about before I started, or I may not have given it a chance. Now that I’ve read it, I just want to push it off on everyone I know.

Gratuity “Tip...moreIf someone had told me that there’s a book about an alien invasion, featuring a girl on the run from the internment of humans in camps while she searches for her abducted mother, and it’s funny, and it’s for kids, I think that I would have called shenanigans. But, that’s exactly what this book is. Thank goodness I had no idea what this was about before I started, or I may not have given it a chance. Now that I’ve read it, I just want to push it off on everyone I know.

Gratuity “Tip” Tucci is only 11 ½, but she’s more practical and down to earth than your average grandma. She’s the one that takes care of her dreamy, impulsive mom. When her mom develops a strange mole, starts dreaming out loud in two languages, and is eventually abducted by an invading alien race (the Boov), Tip finds herself all alone and faced with a directive to report to Florida, where the “noble savages of Earth” have been allotted land. On her way down to Florida, she meets a lone Boov who calls himself J.Lo. After he soups up her old car “slushious” they reluctantly team up.

Okay, so I am not very familiar with what “the kids” are into these days (my two girls are barely out of the toddler years) but I was surprised by the sophistication of the humor in this book. Sure, there were also boob, fart, and poop jokes (which I may or may not have laughed at hysterically and repeatedly), but I found myself wondering if kids would even get 50% of the humor. He essentially uses the Boov as a not-so-flattering mirror of the human race, with hilarious results. One of my favorite quotes is Gratuity’s realization that the Boov “weren't anything special. They were just people. They were too smart and too stupid to be anything else.” In many ways, the Boov end up proving themselves more humane and benevolent than humans. So, I’m not sure if kids will get what he’s saying here (Guess what? Human history ain’t pretty folks.). But I really hope that they do.

I think that this is a perfect book for parents and kids to read together – there’s much to enjoy on both sides. I absolutely loved Tip and J.Lo by the end of this book. I loved Tip’s frank and practical assessment of everything around her. Nothing magnifies the idiocy of adults like seeing it through the eyes of an eleven year old girl. I loved J.Lo’s sweetness and courage. Also, I think that my standard response to any question of “Why? Why would people do that?” will now be, “Because they are Poomps!”

I have to mention something here about the narrator of this audiobook, Bahni Turpin. Wow! Nothing could have made up for me not being able to see the illustrations except Bahni Turpin’s genius with voices. I enjoyed every minute; she truly captured J.Lo’s crazy squeaky voice and Gratuity’s dry sarcasm.
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Aug 02, 2008

Paul rated it

Pretty much my favorite children's book of the past few years, and one of my favorite books overall. It has such a sense of gamboling fun, even with the aliens are busy herding up humanity and shunting them off to states that they themselves don't particularly like.

J-Lo, the alien character is charming, and I wish he could be my own friend. Rex put a lot of emotion into that lovable squat fireplug, and my only "J-Lo" related dismay is that while readers of this book might ...more

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Nov 12, 2007

Brandy rated it

Shelves: 2007reads, childrens, adventure

If I had to describe this book in a word, I'd call it a romp. It's fun, it's funny, it's a fast-paced adventure. And it's very clever. Too clever, in fact; one gets the impression that the author is very impressed with himself, and cracks himself up with how witty and clever he can be.

Somewhere on GoodReads, I saw a description of a book (don't recall which one) as "it's like a friend's little brother--he's really funny and entertaining for a little while, and then you want...more

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Mar 15, 2008

Chris rated it

Shelves: read-aloud-to-mulzer, kids-books-for-adults, ya

This is one of the funniest, constantly entertaining books I've read in a long time, kids book or otherwise. The narrator is a brilliantly sarcastic young girl, the alien J-Lo is a riot, and the premise never gets tired. I kept waiting for some sappy "kids book" ending to mar the climax, but it never got bad. I'm going to buy a copy to own, just so I can re-read it to Mulzer again.

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May 08, 2008

Diana rated it

Shelves: speculative-fiction, teen, humorous, z-books-of-the-week, kids, science-fiction

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 ...moreSince 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 know how many times I've told groups that speculative fiction readers don't really care about whether a book is for children, teens, or adults, if it is good they want to read it. I've also often relayed Garth Nix's concept that books shouldn't have age ranges attached, they should have entry levels. For instance this book was probably marketed with an age range of 8-12. Using Nix's concept the entry level would be age 8 but it would be appropriate for anybody over that age who likes this type book. I should listen to myself sometimes.

With The True Meaning of Smekday being nominated for Best Books for Young Adults I decided I could justify reading it and am I glad I did. Gratuity "Tip" Tucci is an endearing inventive heroine and the story just rolls along sucking the reader in like the tube J-Lo used to get the water out of the flooding car.

Tip, and the other kids in her class are assigned to write an essay on the "true meaning of Smekday" for possible inclusion in a time capsule that will be buried for 100 years. Tip's story actually starts when her mother dreams of being abducted by aliens and a huge color changing mole appears on her neck. On Christmas her mother disappears and the alien Boov conquer the earth. When they send all humans to a reservation in Florida, Tip decides to drive herself down there along with her cat, Pig, and along the way meets a fugitive Boov named J-Lo who modifies her car and together they experience all kinds of adventures as they try to find Tip's mom and free the Earth.(less)

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Apr 08, 2008

Eva Mitnick rated it

Shelves: science-fiction, children

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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Mar 17, 2008

babyhippoface rated it

Shelves: kids-fiction, young-adult, fantasy

"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?)

A...more

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Mar 16, 2008

Colleen Venable rated it

Shelves: mid-grade-fiction, 2008-read, books-that-made-me-cry

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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Mar 16, 2008

Jennifer rated it

Recommends it for: anyone who wonders about Roswell

Recommended to Jennifer by: Julie (and Aurora)

Shelves: read-young-adult

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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Mar 15, 2008

Lisa rated it

Recommends it for: everyone on the planet

Recommended to Lisa by: Peter Howard, thanks!!

Shelves: kidsfiction

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....more

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Jul 20, 2011

Kaethe rated it

Recommended to Kaethe by: Sarah R

Shelves: adventure, fiction, format-graphic-novel, humor, kids, age-middle-grade, cats, strong-smart-female-protagonist, age-ya, feminism, scifi, p-o-c, beloved, read-aloud

Sarah was sooo right; loved the cat, loved Gratuity, loved everything about this book. SF fans should read it, kids' book fans should read it, and Sarah R. fans should read it. Really.

***

The new read-aloud for the Possum. Now she's loving it.

***

The PandaBat isn't very interested, but the Possum and I are having a great time. Laughing like anything, which is unexpectedly fun in an apocalyptic sort of tale. I'm enjoying it even more this time around.

...more

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Jan 20, 2008

Farida rated it

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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Aug 16, 2008

Lynn rated it

I always wondered what REALLY happened at Roswell and now I know ;-) Gratuity Tucci's school essay and the extended secret story about the conquoring invasion of Earth by two competing alien species is a clever funny send-off of almost everything from Disneyland to politics to fast food. Illustrated with comic book-type panels and individual sketches, this is one of those books you hand to a kid who wants something different. Laden with Terry Pratchett style humor that skewers everything clos...more

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Jan 21, 2008

Suzanne rated it

Funniest, smartest, most unusual alien invasion book ever! I loved the spunky protagonist and her friendship with the alien J.Lo. I also appreciated how the book kept a child's perspective and sensibilities - the BOOB jokes, the urinal snack cakes, the wild stories she came up with for why J.Lo had to hide under a sheet, and the way the incompetent adults kept trying to protect her and keep her from doing what she wanted to do.

One quibble - did anyone else think it wrapped up too qu...more

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Dec 17, 2007

Natalie rated it

Shelves: teen-and-tween, young-folks-fiction

The True Meaning of Smekday is an allegory that's as highly critical of contemporary culture (and history) as it is hilarious.

After renaming all major holidays, a group of aliens known as the Boov, politely ask the humans to relocate to Florida. Isn't that where they all go when they get old anyways?

Young Gratuity (a female bi-racial heroine, yay!) with a cat named Pig and an outlaw alien named J.Lo in tow, heads south in search of her abducted mother.

So man...more

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Jan 02, 2009

Kelly rated it

Shelves: work

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 22, 2011

Kim Miner rated it

· review of another edition

I chose to listen do the Audio book of this story because it one the 2011 Odyssey Award. I completely understand why it received the award; Bahni Turpin's performance is fabulous. Her voices for J.Lo and Gratuity really bring the characters to life, as well as her Gorg, the Chief, and all the other characters in her arsenal. The drawback, however, is that the Adam Rex book has some fabulous pictures in it, including a comic "drawn by J.Lo" that are really worth seeing. I don't know...more

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Dec 14, 2011

Wandering Librarians rated it

Shelves: family, fiction, friendship, science-fiction

Gratuity "Tip" Tucci is writing a five-paged paper on the true meaning of Smekday, the day the aliens invaded Earth. Tip has an interesting perspective, although no one else knows it. With her cat named Pig, Tip begins her journey to find her mother who was taken by the aliens and winds up teaming up with a rogue Boov named J.Lo. When Earth is reconquered by another alien race, the Gorg, who are much bigger and scarier than the Boov, Tip is determined to not only find her mother but...moreGratuity "Tip" Tucci is writing a five-paged paper on the true meaning of Smekday, the day the aliens invaded Earth. Tip has an interesting perspective, although no one else knows it. With her cat named Pig, Tip begins her journey to find her mother who was taken by the aliens and winds up teaming up with a rogue Boov named J.Lo. When Earth is reconquered by another alien race, the Gorg, who are much bigger and scarier than the Boov, Tip is determined to not only find her mother but get all these aliens off her planet for good.

I listened to this on audio book, which I'm not going to recommend. The audio book itself wasn't bad, although the voice that was being done for the aliens got kind of annoying after a while. When you listen to it, you miss out on visual elements. Tip has an old Polaroid camera she's taking pictures with through their travels, and J.Lo draws comics to explain things about his background and the Gorg. When I figured out I was missing something, I went and found the book and looked at all the pictures. You do really miss out if you don't have that piece.

The book grew on me as it went along, and in the end I wound up really liking it. I wasn't sure at first though. I think some of it was getting used to all the different voices on the audio, and part that the story kind of starts in the middle, but it completely won me over.

Tip is a pretty amazing kid. She was taking care of herself and her mother before the alien invasion, and she put all those survival instincts to good use as she tries to get to her mother. Unlike most of the population, Tip hasn't given up the idea of taking the planet back. The relationship between Tip and J.Lo emerged organically. At first, they are only together because they each need something from each other. Slowly, they begin to trust each other and work together. They learn about each other's cultures and lives and understand each other better. They become true friends, and instead of using each other they genuinely care for and protect each other.

This could have been a very dark book. I mean, the world has been taken over, everything has fallen apart, millions have probably died and now everyone has to leave their homes. Humans have no rights, families have been separated, it's really pretty awful. That wasn't the focus though. The focus was on Tip and her determination. She would find her mother, she would get rid of these aliens and none of these annoying adults who didn't know anything was going to stand in her way. With J.Lo to back her up, she was unstoppable. The big bad aliens are defeated by a 12 year-old and a whole bunch of cats when everyone else was ready to surrender. It's a pretty awesome book for a middle school kid to read.

I enjoyed the framing device that was used. At first, it was confusing, because the first time Tip tries to write her essay, she starts in the middle. We have no idea how the invasion happened or what happened to her mom. The second try at the essay gives us the background and what happened to her mom. The third part is not intended for anyone else to see, but for Tip herself to capture what really happened. It also allowed for a poignant end, with a newspaper clipping describing the time capsule with Tip's essay being dug up 100 years later, and much to Tip's annoyance, she's still alive. (less)

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Dec 12, 2011

Lisasimon rated it

Shelves: children-s-ya

I loved this book. Why, you ask?

First of all the characters especially of the Boov who takes the name J. Lo. When I had finished the book, all I wanted was more of J. Lo. Rex has created a character from another planet (maybe another solar system?) that is multidimensional, that has a incredible and also hilarious voice. I can't describe it enough to give you the sense of it. All I can say is that you will fall in love with J. Lo and want more.

I can't imagine how this book...more

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Sep 09, 2011

Michelle rated it

My daughters popular literature teacher recommended this book. It was a great recommendation. This book, about a girl during an alien invasion, was funny. I liked the friendships she develops with people she meets as she tries to get back to her mother. The Area 51 chapters were mildly entertaining. I enjoyed the artifice of Tip writing for a school report, although you then know that humans defeat the aliens right at the first. I could easily see how they were going to win, but it was an enjoya...more

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Aug 18, 2011

Gypsy rated it

I liked this book. Let's start with the good. (And let me add that these are mostly my notes to myself as I try to see what worked for me and what didn't from a writer's perspective.)

The device of originating the story as an essay could have been gimmicky, but I think Mr. Rex pulled it off. It served as a good structure to hang his story on. The illustrations are charming and added a lot to the world/tone of the book. The garbled English that the alien J.Lo speaks remains consistent ...moreI liked this book. Let's start with the good. (And let me add that these are mostly my notes to myself as I try to see what worked for me and what didn't from a writer's perspective.)

The device of originating the story as an essay could have been gimmicky, but I think Mr. Rex pulled it off. It served as a good structure to hang his story on. The illustrations are charming and added a lot to the world/tone of the book. The garbled English that the alien J.Lo speaks remains consistent and creates a truly endearing character. The author does a good job of creating an event that is world-wide in scope with just a few wide strokes. We don't get bogged down in too much detail, but we are given just enough context for the action at hand.

In one particularly effective passage, the narrator describes the alien spaceship in detail, then stops herself: "But no: this isn't working. By describing the ship, I'm making it seem less than it was, and that's a sin. It was terrible. And it was wrong. Just looking at it felt like losing. It was the great flying monstrous humming end of the world." She then goes on to describe her emotional reaction to the fact that there are aliens. Sometimes writers get bogged down integrating description into the story, and I thought this was a direct and elegant way to handle it.

Unlike the reviewer at The New York Times Book Review, I didn't laugh out loud when I read this, but it was witty and quirky. Humor is a good thing, but it does lead me to the first negative of my review. While I did enjoy the narrative voice, it was very sophisticated. It comes as a huge shock when we learn that Gratuity is only 11 1/2 years old. I'm all for artistic license, but this was pushing it a bit far. Plus, there were pop culture references that were anachronistic to the character's age (I'm almost 39, and many of them were from my childhood), which took me out of the story a bit.

*Spoilerish* I feel like we were not given any explanation for the transformation of Gratuity's mother from a woman who needed to be protected by her daughter to a competent and admired leader. Was Gratuity's initial assessment of her mom wrong? Did her mom grow? That loose end stood probably stood out because everything else was well-developed.

Finally, I thought the book was a little preachy in parts. I like my morals delivered with a bit more subtlety. But I thought it was fun, entertaining read and I would recommend it. Even though it was written for 9-12 year-olds.

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Aug 07, 2011

Lori Spadea rated it

This is an Odyssey award winner. It is a good book, but the unabridged audio is 10 ½ hours long and drags in some places. I might suggest the abridged version, unless students are driving on a very long trip for spring break! The story is about the world being taken over by aliens called the Boov. The Boov claim that they tried to get along with the humans but were forced to move to Florida at fist, then the Boov decided they liked oranges so they moved everyone to Arizona. Gratuity Tucci, Ti...moreThis is an Odyssey award winner. It is a good book, but the unabridged audio is 10 ½ hours long and drags in some places. I might suggest the abridged version, unless students are driving on a very long trip for spring break! The story is about the world being taken over by aliens called the Boov. The Boov claim that they tried to get along with the humans but were forced to move to Florida at fist, then the Boov decided they liked oranges so they moved everyone to Arizona. Gratuity Tucci, Tip as she is called by her friend, is an 8th grader trying to write a paper for a time capsule explaining what she went through during the Boov takeover. Tip’s mom was one of the human’s chosen to be taken and tutor them on the English language, all she knew was that her mom disappeared on Christmas Eve, and was now with the other humans and she had to find her. She has a run in with a Boov whose earth name he has deemed JLo, which is just hilarious for all 10 hours. He claims he will help her stay safe if he can ride with her. We find out he is a Boov fugitive. He was sent to a field to fix some antanae, but inadvertently sent a not-very-nice message to the Boov enemy, the Gorge, or the Takers. The Gorg were the ones who ran the Boov off of their own planet. Through the evil of the Gorg, and our soon love of JLo, we come to appreciate the struggle of the Boov, and the horribleness of the Gorg. In the end, Tip and JLo have to convince the new governer of their zone of Arizona, also known as the guy her mom is smitten with, that the Boov aren’t so bad and that the Gorg are going to end the world.
The reader of this book is excellent. I think I have heard her as the voice of one or more of the cartoon characters on TV. Her Boov language imitation is so realistic. She does great, believable voices for each character. I have heard some audio tapes that when the reader tries to do different voice, it is just not convincing. This was extremely believable and helped create an amazing Smekland picture in my head. (Smekland was what the Boov renamed earth). I think students would enjoy listening to this book on a long trip or summer break. It is an excellent example of outstanding read alouds, and a fun fiction book for late elementary, middle schoolers, or high schoolers who have a big imaginiation.
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Jul 08, 2011

Joohee rated it

This book was awesome!!!
I usually don't read books with aliens but this book was so much fun. When I first got this book from the library, I thought the title was The True Meaning Of Monday. So I was like," what IS the meaning if Monday? Didn't they name it from some ancient language?" and than, I re-read the title and thought that the title was The True Meaning of Smokey-Day. So I thought that this book was about end of the world or something like that. But than I realized that ...more

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Jun 05, 2011

Karen Ball rated it

Great sci-fi humor! Gratuity "Tip" Tucci has to write an essay for the National Time Capsule Contest. Her first effort at explaining what "Smekday" means to her gets returned with a note from the teacher asking for more details... and so she decides she might as well give the whole story a go! There have been multiple alien invasions of Earth (the Boov and the Gorg), and all humans have been forced to relocate to Florida and then Arizona. Her mother has disappeared, and Ti...more

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Apr 14, 2011

Anna Marker rated it

If you're like most people, you're proooobably thinking "What is this book and why is this chick giving it five stars??" Actually, no. If you're like most people, you probably have no idea who I am and are not reading this right now. But obviously you are, so let's continue.
The True Meaning of Smekday. I admit, I bought it because the author came and spoke to us at school back in... sixth grade? So I admit it was forced upon me to some extent, but that's happened before with othe...more

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Apr 13, 2011

akibird rated it

Shelves: adventure-and-fantasy

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex (2007)
Fantasy, 432 pages
In a world that was once the United States, eleven-year-old Gratuity “Tip” Tucci struggles to find her mother who Boov aliens have abducted, befriends a Boov named J.Lo, and tries to save the planet from alien dominance. Most of Tip’s cross-country adventures occur while driving her mother’s car which has now been transformed by J.Lo into “Slushious,” a hovercar that is steered by the radio tuner and operates using a c...more

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Apr 07, 2011

Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it

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Shelves: audio-goodness, clean-enough, liked-cause-im-crazy, read-in-2011, tis-funny, totally-loved, wishlist, addicted-to-ya, family-listening

Loved, loved, loved the audiobook! I encourage families out there to get this and listen to it with their kids. To be honest, I didn't even share it with my kids. I kept it all to myself. Rarely do you find an audiobook that you want to listen to from the beginning as soon as you're done.... I did with this one! They have bad guys who convey badness without the author beating it over your head. That's why I think that it's good for the family.

I loved J.Lo! I wanted to hug him ever si...moreLoved, loved, loved the audiobook! I encourage families out there to get this and listen to it with their kids. To be honest, I didn't even share it with my kids. I kept it all to myself. Rarely do you find an audiobook that you want to listen to from the beginning as soon as you're done.... I did with this one! They have bad guys who convey badness without the author beating it over your head. That's why I think that it's good for the family.

I loved J.Lo! I wanted to hug him ever since he asked if he could “come in to the out”. Hahaha. Or, when he told Tip that he could hum when she was angry that the radio didn't work. He's so charming, even from the beginning. It's hard not to like him. Think about it people, how could you not like an alien named after Jennifer Lopez (no matter your feelings for the original J.Lo). You should have me, updating my husband on what was happening with J.Lo. At one point I told my husband to hold on while I find out if J.Lo will be OK. My husband stared at me for a long bit of time then left the room. I think he was jealous because he didn't have headphones.

Gratuity “Tip” Tucci is almost 12 years old and is on her way to Florida to find her mom. I like how she acted her age and then turned around and was mature. I like how this was an adventure book and we didn't get sidetracked by Tip finding love. Really, they're getting sneaky with those things. Books can make it without a love story (and I love my romance) folks! It was a relief to have an almost 12 year old behave like an almost Slushious (sp?) driving 12 year old!

There are many different races and ages in this book (see what I mean? It appeals to everyone). One of the characters that I really liked was Chief Crazy Legs. He's funny because he's always yelling about something, but not at Tip and J.Lo. You have to listen to it, you'll laugh out loud when you hear how he comes up with her nickname, Stupid Legs.

Can someone tell me why it didn't win more awards? Something must be wrong with the nominating committees! Audie awards, how could you pass this up??

One thing I think I missed out on with the audiobook, was that I didn't get to see the pictures in the book. I hear that the author can draw, so I would have loved to see J.Lo's drawings of everything. Were there doodles? This seems like the kind of book that would have doodles.

So, do I recommend it? YES! The narrator, Bhani Turpin, was awesome. She really brought the characters to life. I know that's kind of generic, but it's true! I wanted to hang out with them so bad. She did such a great job with J.Lo. Honestly, this book could have kept going and and going and I wouldn't have minded one bit. It's perfect for the new audiobook listener. Perfect, do you hear me? Prepare to laugh!(less)

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Feb 21, 2011

Bronwen rated it

This book was great! It may seem like a funny thing to say, but one of the greatest things about it for me was the fact that I would completely unreservedly recommend it to non-readers. Many of my favorite books (YA included) are about sensitive wordy types with their Virginia Woolf- like "moments of being." And thank goodness for books like Emily of New Moon that help sensitive wordy types like me feel like we're not alone in the world. But what about kids who aren't immediately inter...more

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About Adam Rex

Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He was neither the smart one (older brother) or the cute one (younger sister), but he was the one who could draw. He took a lot of art classes as a kid, trying to learn to draw better, and started painting when he was 11. And later in life he was drawn down to Tucson in order to hone his skills, get a BFA from the University of Ar...more

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Quotes from The True Meaning of Sm...

“Woah,' I said, blocking the doorway. 'You can't come in here. This is the girls' room.'
Even as it came out of my mouth, I knew it sounded dumb. Dumb, I thought and maybe even wrong.
You...are a boy, aren't you?' I asked. 'I mean, don't take that the wrong way or anything -'
J.Lo is a boy, yes.' I let that go.
So...you Boov have boys and girls...just like us?'
Of course,' said J.Lo. 'Do not be ridicumlous.'
I smiled a wan little smile. 'Sorry.'
The Boov have seven magnificent genders. There is boy, girl, girlboy, boygirl, boyboy, boyboygirl, and boyboyboyboy.'
I had absolutely no response to this.” — 11 people liked it

“Wherefor are you knowing it? If you stacked all of the Gorg in the galaxy on top of eachother, the Gorg would kill you.” — 10 people liked it

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