Mission One of Auggie the Alien: Blog Tour Review

Missions One of Auggie the Alien (Auggie the Alien, 1) by Leah Spiegel and Megan Summers, June 6, 2013. 146 pages. Source: blog tour.

This is the humorous story of a 4th grader, seen through the eyes of a human hybrid alien child, sent to Earth to study our culture - to see if they could coexist with the humans. Auggie has to try and understand 4th graders slang, body language, and the unwritten protocols of the classroom; all in an attempt to blend in. He upsets his teacher, Mrs. Malumrector, who constantly thinks Auggie's trying to get smart with her when getting stupid with her would be counterproductive. Not only does Mrs. Malumrector not get Auggie's literal logic, nor do any of the other students in his class. That is except for Left Hand Chuck who thinks Auggie's hysterical and helps him by teaching him how to use human slang. But if Auggie truly wants to complete his mission of blending in with the other children he needs to cheer for both teams, except if they're losing. He needs to learn not to wear the 'P and the J' with the feet conveniently attached to school because they're for sleeping in only. That ironically enough, Grandpa isn't going to faint from low blood pressure even though his eyes often tend to roll upwards whenever Auggie is speaking. 'Pop-a-Squat' isn't a good name for a dog, even though he's great at it. And under no circumstance is he to bring his pet to school even if his teacher has her own pet there, Emily, another student in his class who is neither a gerbil nor a fish.

First Sentence:

Hello, my name is Auggie, and this is my log book. 

My first thoughts upon starting Mission One of Auggie the Alien, well to put it mildly, I was skeptical because the main character, Auggie, was just a little too weird. Even though I found it interesting to see how the author's made him so plainly not human (at times reminded me of Zim), his overtly strangeness was at first too much to handle.

My continued thoughts as I was pulled into the story, were that while it was a little too obvious to me that he was not from earth, I enjoyed reading about Auggie because he was strange and seeing how little he understood when it came to way people thought was pretty funny. Also, you cannot help but love a character who is willing to go along with a friend's cover story just because that's what friends do. You'll just have to read Mission One to find out exactly what I'm talking about. But trust me, when you see and hear the full story of that friendship it will bring a smile to your face. 

There are really only two reasons that I didn't give up on this book. Reason one: the writing was quick paced with engaging dialogue. While this was my first time reading anything by either author, I really enjoyed the way they were able to pack the book with wit and humor. Reason two: I really enjoyed seeing the bond that was formed between Auggie and Left Hand Chuck because those two were a riot together. Part of the reason I enjoyed reading about their friendship so much is because they had that best bud bond that seems to missing in most books these days. 

While I ended up enjoying this one quite a bit, the first twenty or so pages of Auggie being, well, himself, were almost a little too much. The way his character was written, and the way he went into the mission with his pre-planned goals of what it would take to blend in with the humans, that it took some time for me to warm up to him. So, the first twenty or so were the biggest problem for me in Mission One, but in the end the kookiness that is Auggie won me over.

Final Verdict: A delightfully quirky read that the younger set will devour.

Mission One of Auggie the Alien earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.

This book was received for an honest review.