Of Jenny and the Aliens

Gr 10 Up—The United States is on the verge of war. Beings from a distant planet called Pud 5 have just contacted Earth. Derek's dad and half brother are coming up to Ohio for a last-minute Thanksgiving visit. And Derek is madly in love with Jennifer Novak. Somehow, that last problem is the one consuming Derek, the hormonal narrator of Gebhart's funny, occasionally psychedelic novel about the cosmic angst of young love and adolescent egomania. When Derek hooks up with Jenny after an end-of-the-world party, he's surprised at the deep connection he feels. Nothing can distract him for his quest to win Jenny's devotion, not even a face-to-face encounter with a stoner alien named Karo. He's so desperate to preserve what they have, he's even willing to beg Karo for a cosmic intervention. This is more than an account of one teenager's single-minded sex drive—in between his daydreams and questionable choices with controlled substances, Derek is a big-hearted, sympathetic kid with a unique, if immature, view of the world. Teens should find his confusion about romantic, fraternal, and familial love relatable, and Gebhart keeps the love story fresh with aliens, interstellar hallucinogens, and surreal imagery, including one long sequence in which Derek follows Karo to Pud 5.