Smek for President by Adam Rex (review)

Fans of Tip and J.Lo (from The True Meaning of Smekday, BCCB 2/08) will be excited to herald their return in this savvy, silly sequel. Alien J.Lo is determined to clear his name with his people, and human Tip is feeling rebellious now that her mother is back home and acting like a mom with rules and such, so they decide to head to New Boovworld aboard Slushious, the Chevy-turned-spaceship that carried them around the first book. Upon their arrival, they learn that Smek has both a legitimate and a sleazy challenger for president of New Boovworld, and J.Lo becomes a pawn in a political standoff. From there, the plot is pretty much an extended chase scene, buoyed by Tip’s hilariously deadpan narration of her navigation through Rex’s goofily clever imaginary world. All the best comic sci-fi tropes are here, including galactic dumpster diving, sentient but outwittable weaponry, low-gravity bounding, and adorable artificial life-form sidekicks. There’s even an appendix that explains the Boovish sport of Stickyfish (a tongue-in-cheek nod to Quidditch?). Like its predecessor, this contains some accessible if low-level satire of contemporary national concerns, and it will thus serve as a humorous antidote to the inevitable civics lessons on offer during election seasons, but readers don’t need to make that conscious connection to enjoy the show. While not quite as well plotted as the first book, this will nevertheless please fans whose attachment is to the characters anyway, especially since Tip and her mom have a rousing heart-to-heart reconciliation and J.Lo decides to remain on Earth with his new family after all.