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OLDER FICTION
Sedoti, Chelsea

It Came from the Sky

503 pp. | Sourcebooks/Fire | August, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4926-7302-6 $17.99
(2) YA Aspiring MIT student Gideon and his older brother Ishmael are testing a seismograph Gideon has made in his laboratory on their farm, but Ishmael overestimates the explosives needed, and the result leaves a large crater in their backyard. A lie to avoid repercussions quickly morphs from a story about a meteoroid falling into one about UFOs, aliens, and abductions and then becomes a bona fide hoax as the brothers actively work to perpetuate the myth they created. But that's not the only deception afoot in Lansburg, Pennsylvania. Their mother's latest business venture turns out to be a multilevel marketing scheme involving a line of health products; that company's charismatic founder is drawn to the town, claiming to be waiting for aliens to deliver the formula for eternal youth. But even as both the boys' hoax and the health product hoax start to unravel, Gideon strengthens his ties with his boyfriend (with some bumps along the way), finally making their relationship public. With wit, humor, and snappy dialogue, Gideon narrates the story after the fact; his narrative is complemented with interview excerpts, text messages, footnotes, and other evidence from the police investigation. Sedoti's (As You Wish, rev. 1/18) entire cast of characters is drawn with warmth and loving eccentricity, and there is just enough thematic depth to give readers food for thought.
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

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