Gideon Hofstadt lives in Lansburg, Pennsylvania. A true science geek, this high school junior loves space, aims to get into MIT, and then work for NASA as an engineer. Problem is, he doesn’t really like people. Gideon only has one best friend, Cassie, and he barely tolerates Arden, the third wheel in this trio. He happens to be in love with Owen, who reciprocates the feeling, but it’s complicated.
Ishmael, Gideon’s older brother and a senior, participates in one of Gideon’s experiments and causes an explosion so powerful it digs a giant crater near their farmhouse. Suddenly the greatest hoax Lansburg has ever seen is born. Ishmael recounts how aliens came from the sky, while Gideon studies the townsfolk' reaction to the appearance of UFOs among them, hoping to write a sociological study that will impress MIT. As they push the envelope with more rumors and events, things threaten to spiral out of their control, and Gideon soon discovers that a hoax can change a whole town. Gideon is a complicated character.
Though never identified as autistic, he displays several characteristics, among them a love for certainty and the inability to read people. His family dynamics will be instantly recognized by anyone who never quite fitted in. The supporting characters are very realistic, and though the story moves along quickly the reader is always looking forward to Gideon’s next antics. The romantic interest involves only light kissing, making this book appropriate for all ages.
This fake visit from outer space combines into a brilliantly crafted and hilarious tale about the means justifying the end, until they don’t. Fans of humorous stories and of Sedoti's previous novel, The Hundred Lies of Lizzy Lovett, will be clamoring for more of Gideon.
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