The premise is what drew me into reading this book and I was not disappointed. I enjoy the 'one man alone in space communicating from a distance' trope (if you can call it that) as I am a big fan of The Martian as well. This was very different of course, but nonetheless entertaining.

Thomas, Gladys, Ellie and James made for an unlikely quartet, but they made it work. None of them had it easy, most of all Ellie, who is somehow trying to keep what is left of her family together. Throughout the story, they find themselves another kind of family, bonding together even through the distance.

Even though there are quite a few serious topics, it's a very heartwarming feel-good read.

Calling Major Tom is the book you will comfortable picking up and reading on a quiet rainy day, sitting at home with a cup of tea in your hand. Although it is labeled new adult, I believe it is a pleaseant read for a much wider audience.

A feel good novel with well developed characters and a great pick me up read. This would a nice book club read.

What a wonderful book that made me feel so many different emotions. Calling Major Tom was jam-packed with love, loss, and a good helping of humour. The characters were really quirky and I could relate to them so much.

I found this to be a refreshing and unique read that had me engaged from start to finish. A delightfully different book about guilt, forgiveness, bullying, and friendship. Suspend disbelief and see if you don’t love it as I did.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Orion Publishing Group via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Sincere thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange of my honest review.

And to be honest, Calling Major Tom was definitely not for me. Most time it felt so predictable, contrived and weird.

I wasn't attached to a single character hence I didn't care for what happened to them. It has been pitched for 'A man named Ove' fans and since I haven't read that book, I can't say for certain how true that might be.

It has British humor which wasn't much appreciated by this non British. I found it hard to get through and still pushed through, without any enjoyment, until I really couldn't. It was putting me into a reading slump when I just got out one.

However, there are many people who absolutely loved the book, it might not be for my taste but it could be for someone else.

Thank you.

This is a truly unique and unexpected story which I thoroughly enhoyed. I stayed up all night, something I don't normally do. The story drew me in and I couldn't wait to see how it ended.

Some people find healing and redemption in the oddest places, and Major Tom is one of those people. On a suicide mission to Mars, with communications on the blink and his dream of truly getting away from it all about to become a permanent reality, Major Tom makes accidental contact with an earthling in serious need of assistance and becomes begrudgingly involved in a Hail Mary attempt to save her family in crisis.

I thought the premise of this story was very inventive and the story well-written and entertaining.

Calling Major Tom made me feel so many emotions. What a wonderful book. It had everything that I love in a story. Love, Loss, and humor. The characters were really quirky, especially Gladys who I loved. I felt like I could relate to her so much, she made me smile hard. I also enjoyed how Thomas was really quite a grumpy man but he wanted to escape and enjoy a new life.

A joy to read! If you like quirky books that will make you laugh and cry, this is the book for you!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful book! There were several times when I laughed out loud and there were several times when I sighed with sadness. It was such a unique story with the main protagonist being the unlikely hero.

David Barnett has written it well. You can clearly picture all the characters; their struggles and emotions. This is one book that needs to be made into a movie or a short series.

Sometimes you just need to read a light good hearted story. But sometimes you get a light good hearted story that knows how to go straight to the feels. This book is one of those.
What do you do if you hate your life? Some might propose to give a go at changing certain things. How about changing the planet you live on? Leaving the entire world behind and starting fresh far away from everyone.

Calling Major Tom is all about know what you had when you actually lost it. Something most of us can relate to. One of the better books I have read lately.

I was skeptical when I first started reading Calling Major Tom, and had a hard time getting into it. But it turns out, I shouldn't have worried! Calling Major Tom turned out to be amazing – it had me sighing with contentment after I finished it (literally – it was so wholesome!) And around the 70% mark, I was actually fast-walking through the rooms in the house as I was listening to the book on text to speech – because I was too worried about the characters to sit down! (I am absolutely not kidding.)

Calling Major Tom is... literally just about that. Thomas Major ends up being the first man who will set foot on Mars, and through a total fluke as well – actually, it's just one of the funny and completely impossible stories that make this book so amusing. But anyway, Tom's real motivations are not scientific or exploratory – truly, he is just a grumpy cat who wants to get away from all of mankind – for good. Thomas seems to be succeeding not only in escaping literally everyone in the world, but he also works really hard to alienate those who both work with him and look up to him because of his job.

However, fate has something else in store for poor Major Tom. Don't ask me why a spaceship has a satellite phone that can call rural Britain, but it can – and that's how Tom ends up talking to an old lady in Wigan by accident. And although he would never believe it if anyone told him, this is his chance to redeem himself – mostly in his own eyes.

This Book Will Give You #Feels Alright

And I don't just mean dramatic feels. Calling Major Tom is so colorful that it will make you both laugh AND cry. At first, I had trouble getting into it, because it was actually slightly bringing me down. Thomas is such a downer – and with good reason too, because it seems that his life has profoundly sucked before he got on that spaceship. More than that, he's such a cynical grouch that he's hard to bear at first. And the situation of the family he calls by accident is no better – if not even more depressing. Downright hopeless, to be honest with you.

But don't get confused – this is just the setup. I'm so glad I kept reading, because Calling Major Tom is essentially kind of like a hill – it starts low, but then it keeps mounting and mounting! The stakes go up, when finally, and by the end you find yourself in love with all the characters, and pacing all the rooms while taking in the story, because it's driving you crazy!

Speaking About The Characters Of Calling Major Tom...

The characters of a book often make or break a story for me. I have to say, even though initially it was hard to warm up to them, I eventually fell in love with all the characters from Calling Major Tom. Even Major Tom, the grouch! (He does redeem himself. He truly does!) They are delightfully different – the slightly bonkers grandma, the bullied boy, the control freak sister who is much too responsible (#canrelate), and... My favorite, although not one of the main characters – Delil, the insistent friend and future crush who is a surefire candidate for a book boyfriend, if there ever was one.

But it's not only how lovable these characters are – despite there being already enough characters in the book to care for, we get quite a few more from Tom's backstory – he's really got a great redeeming arc, in my opinion! The segments of the past are interspersed throughout the book in such a natural way that you don't feel like they intrude upon the story at all. The story is pleasant and flowing.

Calling Major Tom Is Incredibly Wholesome

Despite being somewhat lewd and having, admittedly, at least some dark humor there in the mix, calling Major Tom is ultimately such a wholesome, heart-warming story. I did say I sighed in contentment after I finished it – and that's no figure of speech! It just made my heart so full. The story has all the right things, all the right motivations driving these people. The hope that eventually blooms over everything, the friendship, the kindness that does save the day, just like you've been hoping it would – and after so many perils. The story in Calling Major Tom is just satisfying, deeply satisfying – although I have to say, its also not without laughs either! I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Overall, Calling Major Tom was an emotional roller coaster that I deeply enjoyed, even though we started off rough at first. It's a book that will both make you laugh and touch your heart. Definitely worth a read!

I thank Trapeze, Orion Publishing Group for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.

"There’s a starman.
And he’s waiting in the sky."

My rating is a 3,5 one rather than just 3. Back to business!

"Thomas Major, the boy who didn't die, but didn't truly live either."

This book follows the parallel lives of Thomas, a misanthrope and improvised astronaut on the route to Mars, and of the Ormerod family. The Ormerods are dealing with their messed up life (grandma Ormerod is the only adult in the family but suffers from dementia meaning that her two grandkids have to find alternative ways to keep the family afloat) and one day they recive a call from space, from the lone astronaut up there that everyone fondly calls Major Tom. He got the wrong number but this mistake will lead him, and the Ormerods, to embark a journey of self discovery that I found so heart warming it left me a squealing mess, and also really well developed!

"Do you mean it?", says James.
"I mean it," says Thomas, and to his mild surprise he realises that he really does."

Totally recommended for an easy, fun and relaxed read!

It is quite a long read for me, took months to finish this. The premises were promising, the characters were well written, but the plot for three quarters of the novels was too slow. Too much narration about the past, even though it give context but still it was way too slow for me.

Thank you netgalley for providing the arc

First, the title of this book is fabulous! Beyond that, it's a bizarre tale with loveable characters. It's entertaining and fun.

A whimsical and magical story. The author paints a vivid picture of the father/son relationship in this story. Took me a while to get into the story, but it didn't hurt that the author uses highly descriptive/graphic words, which allow you to visualize the scenes as they (slowly) unfold. I couldn't help feeling that this detracted from the pace and the action in the story, but perhaps others will enjoy that aspect more than I did. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book sat in my to-read pile for months, patiently waiting for me to pick it up and discover what a gem it is. Maybe the cover didn't spark enough of my interest, but the pages inside are always what matter most, and these pages are top-notch.

Characters have been and will always be what make or break a story for me. I'm not much of a re-reader, as once I've read a book I'm not apt to visit it again. However, my favorite books all have the most memorable characters that I love revisiting time and time again and I think Calling Major Tom can now be included in that short list of special books.

I definitely recommend this one. It's wonderful.

I loved this book. It has a very interesting if absurd plot and it is full of very loveable characters. It was heartbreaking to learn about the events in Thomas Major's past that made him such a curmudgeon and I was really pleased to see how he confronts his past and makes peace with it.
I had hoped for a different end, but there you are. You can't get everything. Still, it was a very memorable read.

Calling Major Tom is one of those books that crawls its way into your heart and stays there. Original, sad, funny, full of wonderful characters that become like family, this book is one that I won’t forget for quite a while!

Tom Major, a 40ish chemist with the British Space Agency, never intended to be an astronaut. But that’s what he finds himself when the man slated to go to Mars drops dead of a heart attack right before the press conference about the mission. Given that Tom was announced as the mission’s astronaut on the day David Bowie died, the press starts calling him Major Tom and it sticks. Soon Tom is on his way to Mars, and he thinks that’s not all bad. Grumpy and a loner, Tom feels he has failed at everything in his life, so why not leave the earth behind? It doesn’t hold anything for him anymore. If he makes it to Mars, fine; if he doesn’t, that’s fine too. What does anything matter anymore?

The Ormerods are a dysfunctional family trying hard, very hard, to make the best of their situation. Darren, the father, is in prison; the mother is dead; their children, Ellie, 15, and James, 10, are in the care of their grandmother, Gladys, who is actively losing her mind. Ellie works 3 jobs to support the family and tries to take care of everyone and everything. James, bullied at school, tries hard not to add to Ellie’s burden. Both children fear that if anyone knows that Gladys is not up to the task of being their guardian, they will be separated.

Tom decides to make a last call to his ex-wife, Janet, before he is out of range. Gladys answers the phone instead (Janet having moved years before). No one believes her when she tells them she has talked with Major Tom; soon she is calling him, A LOT, for advice. Annoyed, Tom tells her to stop calling him. When he receives an emergency call from one of the family, he finds himself drawn more and more into their lives.

How can a man out in space possibly help this troubled family? What can this family do for him? The answer to both questions is A LOT!!!

Please don’t deprive yourself of this odd, excellent read that will make you happy, sad, heartbroken and full of hope all in turn.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group – Trapeze for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Wowzer! The ultimate science experiment! Awesome English humor! Real issues mixed with far out story telling. Loved this advance read!

This was an adorable read. Expect the first 35% of the book to be a little boring, but keep going, because all the groundwork Barnett lays is crucial to the rest of the story line. I love the way he develops the characters, and though I guessed the ending, it was still highly enjoyable watching it play out.

While I seem to remember a bit of cussing in it, that's only to be expected for a UK book. Teenage boys and girls will enjoy it, and it appeals to the teenager in all of us. One other thing that US readers might not get is all the references to what happened in the UK in other decades: songs, news, TV shows, radio shows. This happens when the granny with dementia in the story keeps thinking back in time.

Loved it. Stayed up to finish it. Pretty sure you'll love it too , especially if you enjoy UK writing and culture.