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Overview
Ketchvar III's mission is simple: travel to Planet Earth, inhabit the body of an average teenager, and determine if the human race should be annihilated. And so Ketchvar--who, to human eyes, looks just like a common snail--crawls into the brain of one Tom Filber and attempts to do his analysis. At first glance, Tom appears to be the perfect specimen--fourteen years old, good health, above average intelligence. But it soon becomes apparent that Tom Filber may be a little too average--gawky, awkward, and utterly abhorred by his peers. An alien within an alien's skin, Ketchvar quickly finds himself wrapped up in the daily drama of teenage life--infuriating family members, raging bullies, and undeniably beautiful next-door neighbors. And the more entangled Ketchvar becomes, the harder it is to answer the question he was sent to Earth to resolve: Should the Sandovinians release the Gagnerian Death Ray and erase the human species for good? Or is it possible that Homo sapiens really are worth saving?
Wickedly wry and hysterically skewed, David Klass's take on teen life on our fabulously flawed Planet Earth is an engrossing look at true friends, truer enemies, and awkward alien first kisses.Stuck on Earth is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780374399511
- ISBN-10: 0374399514
- Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
- Publish Date: March 2010
- Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
- Page Count: 240
- Reading Level: Ages 11-14
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An alien in junior high
Ketchvar III has a job to do, and it isn’t easy; he’s an alien from the faraway planet of Sandoval who has come to Planet Earth to evaluate its inhabitants for the Galactic Federation. This isn’t some purely anthropological expedition, either. The lives of Earth’s entire human population hang in the balance, as Ketchvar’s experience will determine whether they’re worth saving—or annihilating. The outlook isn’t good, since Earth’s dominant species don’t appear to be doing a very good job as caretakers of their planet
The inhabitants of Sandoval resemble another earth creature—specifically, a snail—and the Federation’s superior technology has enabled Ketchvar to take over the body of a randomly selected human to conduct his analysis. That random selection happens to be one Tom Filber, a 14-year-old boy from an astonishingly dysfunctional family, the butt of jokes and the designated target of every bully at his junior high school.
At least that’s how Stuck on Earth, David Klass’ new novel for young readers, starts out. There are a lot of silly interactions between the befuddled Ketchvar, his hormone-infused host and the people he comes in contact with. They already think Tom is weird (his nickname is “Alien“), but they aren’t prepared when Ketchvar takes things to a new level. But then, Klass slyly takes the reader to a new level, turning this sci-fi romp on its ear by suggesting that what’s happening, however silly, is real—but not for reasons you’d expect.
Klass deftly weaves a story of growing up, environmentalism, the girl next door, human nature and all-powerful alien beings in a strikingly original way. Stuck on Earth manages to be hilarious, thoughtful and poignant, and there are plot twists you won’t anticipate; it’s got an ending that will leave you wondering, to boot. Don’t miss this entertaining novel.
James Neal Webb works with an alien species called “college students” at a university library.
An alien in junior high
Ketchvar III has a job to do, and it isn’t easy; he’s an alien from the faraway planet of Sandoval who has come to Planet Earth to evaluate its inhabitants for the Galactic Federation. This isn’t some purely anthropological expedition, either. The lives of Earth’s entire human population hang in the balance, as Ketchvar’s experience will determine whether they’re worth saving—or annihilating. The outlook isn’t good, since Earth’s dominant species don’t appear to be doing a very good job as caretakers of their planet
The inhabitants of Sandoval resemble another earth creature—specifically, a snail—and the Federation’s superior technology has enabled Ketchvar to take over the body of a randomly selected human to conduct his analysis. That random selection happens to be one Tom Filber, a 14-year-old boy from an astonishingly dysfunctional family, the butt of jokes and the designated target of every bully at his junior high school.
At least that’s how Stuck on Earth, David Klass’ new novel for young readers, starts out. There are a lot of silly interactions between the befuddled Ketchvar, his hormone-infused host and the people he comes in contact with. They already think Tom is weird (his nickname is “Alien“), but they aren’t prepared when Ketchvar takes things to a new level. But then, Klass slyly takes the reader to a new level, turning this sci-fi romp on its ear by suggesting that what’s happening, however silly, is real—but not for reasons you’d expect.
Klass deftly weaves a story of growing up, environmentalism, the girl next door, human nature and all-powerful alien beings in a strikingly original way. Stuck on Earth manages to be hilarious, thoughtful and poignant, and there are plot twists you won’t anticipate; it’s got an ending that will leave you wondering, to boot. Don’t miss this entertaining novel.
James Neal Webb works with an alien species called “college students” at a university library.