Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson, 2017

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When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth — but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free advanced technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents’ jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv’s miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. And since the vuvv crave anything they deem classic Earth culture (doo-wop music, still life paintings of fruit, true love), recording 1950s-style dates for the vuvv to watch in a pay-per-minute format seems like a brilliant idea. But it’s hard for Adam and Chloe to sell true love when they hate each other more with every passing episode. Soon enough, Adam must decide how far he’s willing to go — and what he’s willing to sacrifice — to give the vuvv what they want.

(160 pages)

Okay . . . what?

This book is pretty awful. And kind of pointless. Why is everyone giving it such high ratings on Goodreads? I must be missing something big here.

I mean, if I switch on my AP English brain and squint a little, I guess I can see Landscape with Invisible Hand as some sort of social commentary–almost. Or maybe it's just supposed to be artistic or something, and everyone likes that. I don't know. I'm not a particularly artistic person–at least not when it comes to stories about human teens in an alien-dominated future Earth society who swear like sailers (I'm talking the f-word multiple times on every page!) and decide to turn their romance into a reality TV show even though one of them struggles with explosive diarrhea.

You read that right. Explosive. Diarrhea. For some strange reason that makes zero sense to me, the vuvv decided to quit purifying city tap water and so Adam has developed a fake illness called "Merrick's Disease" (pronounced, bizarrely enough, like a real-life chicken disease). I don't remember the explanation, but basically he has bad bacteria messing up his gut and giving him gas and sudden attacks of diarrhea. It's really disgusting. Chloe's awful about it, but I have to be honest: I probably wouldn't want to make out with a boyfriend who had Merrick's, either.

The story is oddly short, focusing mainly on the build-up and destruction of Adam's and Chloe's relationship and Adam's struggles to help his family survive (despite being abandoned by his father) while keeping his artistic integrity intact. There are a surprising amount of details included in the story for its short length, but I thought it needed to be longer to really capture more of the creative sci-fi world Anderson invented. Also, I don't like how sudden the ending is. Or at least, I wouldn't if I'd been enjoying the book. By page 160, I didn't really care how it ended anymore.

But can we just go back to the explosive diarrhea? I found that detail incredibly unecessary. And why on earth did the vuvv do away with clean water?! That makes no sense, they're supposed to be health geniuses. Water purification is pretty basic. But even with the dirty tap water, this is supposed to be in the future. Why do characters have fancy 3D technology at their fingertips but no simple water filtration devices? Why is there not a whole market of bottled water available? Adam mumbles something mildly economics-sounding once or two to explain the way things are, but I just don't buy it. There are still humans on the earth, aren't there? So what happened to the government regulations about sanitation? And why does the fact that human money doesn't work with the vuvv mean that our societies basically collapse? It all goes back to the basic rule of supply and demand: if the vuvv services are too expensive, why are there no human alternatives that are cheap enough for people to afford? An influx of new market options should not wipe out all of our previous inventions and accomplishments.

Gah, but this is me approaching a fictional novel as a future economics major. I think I'll just give up now, because I am clearly missing whatever the point of Landscape with Invisible Hand was. If anyone else feels differently about it, please do comment below explaining to me what it is that I'm missing.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Summer on Earth by Peter Thompson, 2017

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on Goodreads 

The night that eleven-year-old Grady Johnson looked out his window and wished upon a shooting star, his life changed forever. Grady, his Ma, and younger sister Luanne are having a hard summer. Dad has died and the family isn't the same. Though Ma is trying her best, Grady knows they don't have enough money to get by. The shooting star he saw was a space craft plunging to Earth, and landing at the back of their farm. Extraterrestrial engineer Ralwil Turth has one goal, to fix his power drive and go back home. But things don't go as planned. Stuck in human form, he gets to know Grady and his family as he works on their farm. He starts to learn about what it means to be human, and the exotic charms of this planet like the taste of potatoes, and how amazing bugs are. As Ralwil grows to care for Grady and his family, he comes up with a plan to help them, sure it will solve all their problems. But when trouble comes, the family's survival and Ralwil's very life are on the line. Can Grady find the courage to help his family and save his friend?
(296 pages)

When Peter Thompson reached out to me to review his new MG novel, Summer on Earth, I leaped at the chance to read it. I'm a huge sucker for sci-fi stories, and MG books, so Summer on Earth looked like a really good combination for me.

And it was. I really loved the combination of futuristic alien tech, realistic small-town ambiance, and meaningful relationship growth between the characters. I was fascinated by Ralwil's exploration of earth, I loved watching him experience everything we take for granted for the first time. His enthusiasm for corn, for example, and his analysis of human family dynamics were both thought-provoking and funny. I especially loved when he observed Grady's widowed mother in control of the children and the farm and decided that earth must feature matriarchal societies. I wish!

If I had to pick one book that Summer on Earth most reminded me of, I would say Alexander Key's The Forgotten Door. There's a little bit of the same underlying story, the idea of an alien from a futuristic world becoming stuck on earth and learning about human ways as he attempts to find a way back home. I wouldn't be surprised, actually, if Thompson got some of his inspiration for Summer on Earth from reading The Forgotten Door as a kid. And as someone who absolutely loved the earlier book but hated how short it was, I have to say that I totally love getting that vibe from Summer on Earth.

Honestly, there's not much else to say. I suppose my one "complaint" is that Summer on Earth doesn't dive quite as deep into some of the issues it brings up as it might have done, but I also recognize and appreciate that it's written for a middle school audience and thus isn't meant to go as far as I would sometimes prefer. I really liked Summer on Earth, but I think I'm also a little older than its target audience. When I handed it off to a younger boy a little closer to the middle-grade target he loved it even more than I did.


Basically, if you're looking for an interesting and engaging sci-fi book aimed at middle schoolers but still interesting for any age group, then Summer on Earth fits the bill. If you do decide to read it, comment below to let us know what you think!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.