Cosmic

by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Hardcover, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

823.92

Publication

Walden Pond Press (2010), Edition: 1, 320 pages

Description

Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Science Fiction. HTML: Liam has always felt a bit like he's stuck between two worlds. This is primarily because he's a twelve-year-old kid who looks like he's about thirty. Sometimes it's not so bad, like when his new principal mistakes him for a teacher on the first day of school or when he convinces a car dealer to let him take a Porsche out on a test drive. But mostly it's just frustrating, being a kid trapped in an adult world. And so he decides to flip things around. Liam cons his way onto the first spaceship to take civilians into space, a special flight for a group of kids and an adult chaperone, and he is going as the adult chaperone. It's not long before Liam, along with his friends, is stuck between two worlds again--only this time he's 239,000 miles from home. Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of MILLIONS and FRAMED, brings us a funny and touching story of the many ways in which grown-upness is truly wasted on grown-ups..… (more)

Media reviews

Publishers Weekly
The hero of Boyce’s enchanting third novel has grown a bit over the summer. “Seven inches is not a spurt,” his father says. “Seven inches is a mutation.” Having facial hair and the height of an adult is a nuisance for 12-year-old Liam, until he realizes he can pass for a grownup. The
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charade escalates into danger when Liam passes himself off as his own father and wins a trip to a new theme park in China with his friend Florida, where they will be the first to experience an out-of-this-world new thrill ride. “The Rocket” turns out to be a real rocket, and the novel opens with Liam and four other kids literally lost in space. What follows is a hilarious and heartfelt examination of “dadliness” in all its forms, including idiotic competitiveness and sports chatter, but also genuine care and concern. Luckily for the errant space cadets, Liam possesses skills honed playing World of Warcraft online—yes, here is a novel, finally, that confirms that playing computer games can be good for you. A can’t-miss offering from an author whose latest novel may be his best yet. Ages 8–12.
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Awards

Great Stone Face Book Award (Nominee — 2012)
Sasquatch Book Award (Nominee — 2013)
Nēnē Award (Nominee — 2012)
Independent Booksellers' Book Prize (Shortlist — Children's — 2010)
Concorde Book Award (Shortlist — 2010)
Virginia Readers' Choice (Nominee — Middle School — 2013)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — Grades 6-9 — 2012)
Manchester Book Award (Longlist — 2009)
CYBILS Awards (Nominee — 2008)
Sakura Medal (Middle School — 2011)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2011)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Fiction for Older Readers — 2010)

Language

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