This was quite a cute book and I enjoyed it. Alex is a memorable character, and his obsession with space and Carl Sagan makes the book unique. The bonds he forms with the other characters in the book are realistic and uplifting, even if Alex' journey is a bit on the scary side. There are some great moments here that stay with you. This is a book kids and adults can enjoy.

Alex Petroski's description of his life and events reflects a child's expression so well. He captures his feelings and viewpoint, but allows the reader to recognize events that are foreshadowed that he himself seems oblivious too. It is easy to forget that he is recording his life for aliens rather than for us, but that makes it even better.

Alex's adventures would definitely encourage some independent kids to engage in some creative problem solving. It might also remind some adults that kids see things from a very different perspective, and we need to be kind to each other. Alex inspires the adults around him to be better, and he does it without even trying.

I feel conflicted about this book. Positives: this is a unique story, chapters are recordings on his ‘golden’ iPod, interesting plot and characters, alternating first person narrative and script-like conversations overheard on iPod.
Negatives: I don’t believe in Alex’s voice. For s mature 11 year old, he knew deeply about rockets and science, how to cook and minimally clean. It felt like an adult author writing a middle grade kid narrator. But the running jokes got kinda old. It was an adult’s nightmare of an unattended child (Better Nate Than Never did something similar, but pushed it to comedic extreme and an aunt came in. Do I believe the plot was realistic: 0%. With action at the end of the book: ladder/mom’s truth exposed (no spoilers) it all became too much.
It was an enjoyable read, not too slow, but didn’t love Steve’s behavior, underage drinking (Terra was 19?), Terra being a bit of a manic pixie dream girl, and the willingness of adults to let the journey continue without stepping in to help this 11 year old who so freely told of his life story upon meeting others.

While I definitely enjoyed my experience reading this book, there are some issues with pacing and character development in the middle that left me wanting just a bit more.

I love this book! The story is told so uniquely and is so heartbreaking! It addresses the issue of mental illness, and mixed families and what it looks like to be part of that through an 11-year old's eyes.

Upon what would you want aliens to base their views about our species? When Carl Sagan (the scientist, not the dog) helped to launch Voyager 1 and 2, he sent a golden record filled with sounds from our planet. Alex, age 11, is preparing his rocket for launch and is sending a golden iPod filled with new sounds and a running narration of his long, strange trip to launch his rocket and to find more than he knew he was missing.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this advanced reading copy.

Alex, a mature, quirky, and inquisitive eleven-year-old boy, makes recordings on his golden iPod like his hero, Carl Sagan. He journeys from his home in Rockview, Colorado with his dog to launch his golden iPod at the Southwest High-altitude Rocket Festival (SHARF) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Then, he travels to Las Vegas to find his dad.

I liked the premise of this story; it's uniqueness and the attempt at a creative narrative concept. Unfortunately, I had trouble connecting with this story on many counts:

1) Often, Alex is not directly telling his story. Instead, it is told through the transcripts of his recordings, a very impersonal style that made it difficult to connect with.
2) The text does not identify Alex as having a developmental disorder, but his obsessions, mannerisms had me thinking of Young Sheldon Cooper (Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang). There is something "off" about Alex that goes unaccounted for.
3) An unnamed older boy helps Alex board the train, and later, paramedics take him to the hospital. This boy remains unnamed and the reason for illness/accident also goes unnamed.
4) Zed's quasi-religious vow of silence only receive cursory examination.
5) Now, I know in children's literature, parents take a back seat so that the protagonist can have more freedom. But, Alex is only eleven and traveling alone and not one adult is troubled enough to call his mom or the police?!

Despite the plot holes, this is a title I would buy for my library.

This was such a fun read and a great story. I really enjoyed it.

It's been a very long time since I read a stream-of-consciousness book. Probably decades. This narrative style is supported nicely by the author's choice to present the story as a series of recordings being prepared for a rocket ride into space. I loved Alex's sense of wonder and firm faith in the goodness of the universe. Over the course of the novel he really only meets nice people who offer helping hands. I did find that some of the secondary character plots just got too involved for me. I'd like less Steve and more Zed for sure.

See You in the Cosmos is by Jack Cheng. It is listed as Children’s Fiction and Middle Grades, which I believe is an accurate description. I found the book super interesting and think many students will enjoy the book. The book is presented in a stream of consciousness pretty much, with Alex’s thoughts peppering the book with insights, fears, hopes and dreams, as the story comes out.

Alex Petroski is an eleven year old kid, who pretty much takes care of himself and his mother. He has an older brother who lives in LA and a dog named Carl Sagan after his favorite person. Alex is all about rockets and space. He manages to build get to a rocket contest after building a rocket even though he is only a kid. Luckily there are some decent adults around him and he ends up on an adventure looking for his dog, his dad, and his mom. Eventually Alex recognizes he is also looking to understand love and trust and bravery as well, without even knowing he epitomizes them.

Jack Cheng’s book See You in the Cosmos is a wonderful coming of age book that makes you realize how much kids can understand and what they need. The nebulousness of understanding difficult subjects is one way this book shines. See You in the Cosmos is a great read.

What a terrific novel! A unique look at mental health, living with with special needs, and searching for the truth. I can't recommend it highly enough!

I received this in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Jack Cheng, and the publisher, Dial Books, for this opportunity. Please see below for my review.

When a book receives much adulation and praise, telling fans of Counting By 7s and Walk Two Moons to read a book, I imagine (and hope) the book does not disappoint, even though the bar is immediately set immensely high. Unfortunately, I struggled and struggled to read this novel. In the end, I had to put it down before finishing it.

While most people who have reviewed See You in the Cosmos gave glowing reviews, I am sorry that I cannot. Some reviews discussed how they couldn’t get into it because it was a middle grades read. However, I teach middle school, so that was not the issue. I simply could not find a way to get into the novel. The first half of the book is about Alex the protagonist discussing rockets, a rocket convention of sorts, and then taking a ride to go to the convention. While it is somewhat interesting to learn about all of the characters he encounters, I still could not make the connection to become engrossed with the novel.

With all of that being said, I do see a lot of promise for Mr. Cheng and his writing ability. He did a tremendous job of creating a variety of characters that the reader will connect with and how they become involved in the novel. He does a good job of making the reader feel certain ways (angry? Upset? Sad? Forlorn?) about Alex’s mother, who is essentially nonexistent in his life.

Maybe after more time, I will pick this book up and try to read it again, because it’s obvious a lot of people give this novel high marks. I must have missed something!

I really enjoyed this story. Although tragic in many ways, being told through the eyes of an 11 year old (13 in responsibility years) gave it a special lens. The epistolary format worked well most of the time, and was interesting in how the author managed to tell the whole story through iPod recordings, although a few times it was a bit contrived to make sure we got the whole picture (someone else picks up the iPod and records? seems unlikely) Overall a great read, and one I highly recommend to anyone looking for good middle grade contemporary.

A great book that was a wonderful shared experience with my middle school reader

I got this book from NetGalley, but when I tried to read it on my ereader it was really difficult to read. I recently borrowed a copy from the library and I just flew right through it. I really loved this book. Alex's voice is just so genuine, and his story so engaging, that I was sucked in and I didn't want to put it down. There are definitely some tough issues tackled in this book, and following Alex's journey as he addressed them all provided a lot of food for thought.

ETA: I do want to note that you will need to practice a little suspension of disbelief. Although Alex is a pretty relatable and genuine narrator, it's hard to believe two grown men would take a kid they've never met on a cross-country trip without his parents' permission. It's pretty much kidnapping, even if their intentions were good.

In my circles this book has been receiving a lot of buzz. Confession - I had a hard time getting into it. Maybe I just don't like rockets or the format was weird for me. I buckled down today though and told myself I needed to just read in longer sections. So off I went - 90 degrees, kayak, waterproof back, book, and wind. I plunked myself out in the pond and read til I drifted to shore and repeated that for at least an hour. That definitely helped me get into the book more.

Alex is obsessed with rockets and has built one that he wants to test out at a convention. So he books himself a train ticket and heads out. Problem is - he's 11. But, his mom is pretty quiet and let's him do whatever he wants. When he gets there he meets people he only knew online. While the launch doesn't go as planned, he sets off on an even bigger adventure which takes him to Las Vegas and LA, he learns the truth about his father and meets a half sister, and develops friendship and strengthens family bonds.

I did end up liking the story but was troubled by this 11 year old hooking up and traveling with so many strangers...

Found this book's characters too improbable to be believed.

This book started out very promising. I was captivated for the first half. Alex is wise beyond his years and has some great adventures. But then... it took a little twist. I didn't care for the 2nd half. At first, I thought my middle grade child could read it. But then the material was too much and not really what I would want her to read. So it ended up only being so-so for me.

Alex chronicles life on his Golden iPod: his love of outer space, his beloved dog Carl Sagan, and his solo journey to a rocket launch. It's when Carl Sagan goes missing and Alex must travel back to his mentally ill mom that we are reminded, with gentleness and insistence, of the importance of kindness and empathy. Reader, prepare to have your heart grow. Ages 11+.

I adored Alex Petroski from the first page of Jack Cheng’s See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan. He is charming, smart, funny, sweet, sincere, and as unique a main character as you will find anywhere.
As you can discover from blurbs about the novel’s content, Alex’s hero is Carl Sagan (he’s even named his beloved dog after the astronomer) and he hopes to follow in Sagan’s footsteps by launching a homemade rocket into space that will hold the golden Ipod Alex has been using to record musings about life that he hopes will educate other lifeforms about the people of Earth. To launch his rocket Alex travels to a rocket festival miles from his home.
Alex’s adventures take the reader in unexpected directions, and the friends and family he gathers along the way are some of the more colorful characters that I have met in a middle grade novel.
Readers won’t get too far into the story before they realize that something is amiss at home, and that the optimistic Alex has heavier burdens than his positive attitude suggests. This gives the story its depth and makes me love Alex all the more.
This poignant, original novel will quickly become a favorite of any middle grade student fortunate enough to pluck it from the shelves.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.