TITLE: Mothership
SERIES: Ever Expanding Universe #1
AUTHOR: Martin Leicht & Isla Neal
PUBLICATION DATE: July 10, 2012
PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse, a division of Simon & Schuster
PAGES: 308
FORMAT: Ebook
SOURCE: PulseIt
RATING: 5 stars
I’ll be totally honest, when I started this novel I didn’t have a clue what it was about beyond the vague notion that it would involve aliens. I never read the synopsis. The thought process was simple, I just finished Second Chance Summer and while it was good, it was a bit of a downer and I wanted to read something uplifting and funny. I saw this little novel up on PulseIt and vaguely remember reading various reviews proclaiming it to be laugh out loud funny, so I thought I’d read it while I had the chance. I’m glad I did. The reviews were right, this book is one of the most original, funny stories I’ve read in a while.
Elvie Nara is in a fairly common situation, she’s knocked up and the father disappeared right after hearing the news. She finally fesses up to her father (who I adore by the way) and she decides that the best thing for her is to enroll her in this new school for pregnant teens make on an abandon party cruiser that is orbiting the earth (which is possible because this book takes place in 2074). Perfect solution, right? WRONG. Everything goes rather smoothly for the first few months, or as smoothly as things can go for an expecting teen mother who’s ex lover also happens to have father a kid with her archnemesis who is stuck in the same floating school and determined to make her life hell, until…..Cue the dramatic music: ALIENS ATTACK! From that point on, Elvie’s world gets turned upside down, which she didn’t think was possible at this point. I can’t really go into detail with the plot after this point because there are too many potential spoilers, but suffice to say that you’ll never see a lot of it coming and you’ll be rolling on the floor laughing if you figure it out. Everything that can go wrong does and Elvie ends up face to face with Cole (aka the father of “Goober”).
I cannot say enough good things about this book. All the character’s were completely perfect. Ducky is an amazing best friend and they could have easily pushed that into love triangle land but thankfully they don’t. Instead of trying to be all Jacob and “I love you and I’m better for you”, Ducky never confesses his love and just supports Elvie in every endeavor, no matter how deranged. Cole was the perfect leading man. He’s hot and dimwitted and completely sincere in his affection for Elvie, though it’s not apparent in the beginning. Then there is Elvie, who though I was irritated with in the beginning, turns out to be a completely badass lovable character. She’s been dealt a shitty hand (though by her own admission, it’s for choices she made) and instead of whining and moping about what could have been and how things should be, she just rolls with the punches makes sarcastic jokes as the goes. Thanks to all her younger years being raised by her father, she is a mechanical genius and that skill comes in rather useful for what’s in store for her. Speaking of her dad, I love him. He’s doesn’t have a huge role in this novel, but the small amount you see of him makes me wanna give the guy a big hug. He’s got a plan for any (well almost any) worst case scenario and when Elvie confesses that she is knocked up, his response isn’t anger, but just acceptance and then he proudly digs out his “teen pregnancy” contingency plan and starts dealing with the current dilemma.
The plot keeps you guessing until the end. Just when you think it’s all over, something else happens. Just when you think they are all doomed, Elvie pulls a new plan out of her ass and saves the day. It’s a delightful read and anyone looking for a kickass novel that will have you snorting for hours, this is your book!
Quotes:
“Ducky seems intent on working on a strictly psychological level. Like sneaking into Britta’s house every morning to swap out her bra with a series of nearly identical brassieres with infinitesimally larger cup sizes, causing her to believe her boobs are shrinking.”
“If anyone can ever find a way to explain to me how carrying around a sack of flour with a diaper on it is supposed to prepare you for motherhood, I will personally bake that person a chocolate cake with my practice baby’s insides.”
Bows & Bullets Reviews 