Book Title: Jack From Earth (available here)
Author: Chris Wooding
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: May 2019
Most Suitable For: Years 3-6
Reviewed By: Carol Carter, Librarian
Jack’s family is not like anyone else’s. After a hard day at school, there’s no TV or games for him – it’s straight into pop quizzes on chemical elements, target shooting, assault courses and surprise attacks. By 12, his mum can’t understand why he doesn’t know complex algebra and the complete works of Shakespeare. The only thing Jack is good at is drawing fantastical alien worlds from his imagination (or are they?). Making friends is also hard when you move house every year, when the school nerd, Thomas, has decided you are his new best friend and when your dad has taught you “the ability to form short term social relationships is advantageous in a survival situation but deeper emotional connections are baggage”.
But soon Jack and Thomas find a secret room in the attic and find themselves being chased by killer aliens, kidnapped through a hole in the sky and caught up in an epic quest to save the universe. Along the way, the unlikely pair meet brilliantly inventive alien lifeforms, a bickering team of inter-galactic bounty hunters and hyper-intelligent space craft, Epsilon.
Like a mash-up of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Doctor Who and Red Dwarf, Jack from Earth is a hilarious and exciting full-throttle rollercoaster, which brilliantly juxtaposes interplanetary escapades with sarcastic asides and unexpected twists on genre conventions. As such, it is perfect for fans of Alex Rider and Skulduggery Pleasant who are looking for a fantastic plot but also plenty of humour and surprises.
———————
You can order Jack From Earth online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Review Panel member Carol for reviewing it.
Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub
> Browse our Topic Booklists
> View our printable year group booklists.
> See our Books of the Month.
