The True Meaning of Smekday

I. Love. This. Book.

Author Adam Rex and I apparently have the same sense of humor because I think this book is laugh-out-loud-fall-on-the-floor-hold-your-stomach funny. Not only are the situations and dialogue hysterical, I love its satirical social commentary that pokes fun at human folly. It’s wonderfully ridiculous. 

Intermixed with the funny are these poignant moments between our heroine, Gratuity, and her new Boov alien travel mate, J.Lo. Gratuity and J.Lo are thrown together on a quest to find Gratuity’s mother after the Boovs invade Earth… and then a second alien invasion happens on top of the first. And the second… show more.

I haven’t seen the 2015 animated movie Home, which is based on The True Meaning of Smekday, but my kids assure me that the book is better. The world is taken over by aliens in the opening chapters, and protagonist Gratuity (“Tip”) teams up with a rogue Boov who has named himself J.Lo, figuring that’s a common Earth name, to find her missing mother. The plot zig zags across the country and is full of clever twists and turns.

Tip’s voice, and the relationship between Tip and J.Lo, give the book its real charm. This is an often… show more.

Gratuity Tucci, the main character of The True Meaning of Smekday, isn’t like Hermione Granger on the surface. She’s a biracial, twelve-year-old girl who doesn’t respond to Earth being invaded by aliens by diving into books and solving everything like Hermione would. However, what she does share with Hermione is the ability to make me spray soy milk out of my nose all over the book. I’ve never laughed so hard reading any book. And I have zero sense of humor so that’s saying something. Bonus points for the audiobook version read by Bahni Turpin whose characterizations are so… show more.