What Goes Up by Katie Kennedy
To be published on July 18, 2017 by Bloomsbury
Source: ARC from publisher
Synopsis from Goodreads: Rosa and Eddie are among hundreds of teens applying to NASA’s mysterious Multi-World Agency. After rounds of crazy-competitive testing they are appointed to Team 3, along with an alternate, just in case Eddie screws up (as everyone expects he will). What they don’t expect is that aliens will arrive from another dimension, and look just like us. And no one could even imagine that Team 3 would be the only hope of saving our world from their Earth-destroying plans. The teens steal the spacecraft (it would be great if they knew how to fly it) and head to Earth2, where the aliens’ world and people are just like ours. With a few notable exceptions. There, the teens will find more than their alternate selves: they’ll face existential questions and high-stakes adventure, with comedy that’s out of this world.
Review of What Goes Up
I really enjoyed Katie Kennedy’s first book. Learning to Swear in America, and I loved this one as well. At first, What Goes Up felt like a crazy astronaut version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with a group of teens competing for spots on the Interworlds Agency, a division of NASA that deals with the exploration of parallel universes with intelligent life. The competition was fierce, filled with psychological tests and intelligence tests and logic tests and stress tests.
Then, just as the testing is winding down and a final two candidates are about to be chosen, something dramatic happens. (I was going to be vague so as not to spoil it, but as the synopsis suggests, aliens from an alternate earth arrive and things get complicated. ) Then the three finalists, aided by their instructor, have to band together and figure out how save the world in a crazy, funny, suspenseful sequence of events.
I’m not a huge fan of books set in space, but I still found a lot here to love.
The characters are scary-smart and hilarious, a Scooby Gang of nerds with a lot of heart. You have Rosa, the daughter of a Los Alamos scientist, and Eddie, the son of a mean drunk who’s recently out of prison, plus Trevor and Reg, their instructor. Parallel universe stuff always freaks me out, and that aspect of the book was no exception. But this story also leveraged the humor behind the freakiness.
If you are a genius or space nerd, this is the book for you. I’m neither but loved trying to keep up and appreciated the book’s emphasis on the value of friendship and teamwork.
Have you read this or do you have a favorite book about space travel?
This is definitely not something I would pick up on my own but it sounds like a lot of fun!
It was!I really enjoyed it!
I love the new blog, Jen! It looks great! I hope you enjoy the changes. 🙂
I haven’t read anything by this author but you kinda had me with “a crazy astronaut version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. lol Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much!
Maybe the C and the CF reference is weird, but the crazy competition with everyone trying to outdo the others (and some contestants getting ejected) reminded me of that book.
Yay on the new blog!! I haven’t read the author’s last book but have it on my TBR (I think) but this sounds fun.I am not a huge space person either but I think I can down with this one. Great review!
This sounds adorbs, so you know I need it now. I actually have been wanting to read Kennedy’s first book too. Great review!
Since we are reading clones, I know you will love this. Her books are so smart and so funny!
You had me at “Scooby Gang of nerds!” I so want to read this one now. I’ve never really much one for space books either, but this one sounds worth it. Great review! 🙂
It was so funny – if you like nerd humor, which I do!
This sounds crazy fun! And nice blog- love the look!
I could be persuaded to read a SciFi in space provided that there’s not too many technical terms i have to get my head around. lol. this sounds like a ton of fun!
Nope – I could follow it, so I know you can!
I would not have picked up this book on my own. However, your review convinced me to add it to my wishlist. It sounds cute and funny.
I love space books, but also sometimes struggle with parallel worlds. This one sounds super fun though, so it will go on my list to read. Great review!
It’s so fun – I hope you try it and please let me know what you think.