Howdy YAL!

To see full review click here: http://yalbookbriefs.blogspot.com/2012/08/mothership-martin-leicht-and-isla-neal.htmlDisclosure: I used to be a huge fan of Ancient Aliens (i.e. before I went to law school and had to allocate my TV time appropriately). The show was ridiculous on so many levels it was hilarious. Plus, some of the folklore they talked about was sort of cool. So I'm sort of into reading anything about aliens and boy does Mothership have them. I really, really liked this book. And admittedly it had some faults, but it brightened up what otherwise would've been a very dull week. I think the thing that made me smile about the book the most is it's originality. As previously mentioned I've always had a thing for aliens. Besides watching Ancient Aliens, I was very much into sci-fi when I was a kid. The thing is, usually sci fi takes on such a dark tone. I mean, haven't you seen Independence Day? Spoiler alert: the aliens try to kill all man kind. And while there were some dark parts to this book, there were other parts that just made you want to smile like Elvie. She was a hilarious and snarky main character. I really liked the fact that she was such an action oriented character and for that matter she knew how to fix things. While I might be your stereotypical girl who can't fix a car or tell you what sort of screwdriver to use, Elvie is brilliant when it comes to this sort of thing. And I really like the fact that she breaks these stereotypes.For that matter, I liked the other characters in the book as well. Nobody was perfect. Even the love interest-who FYI is dumb as a box of rocks. Usually I hate dumb characters, but there was something charming about Cole. Though I personally liked Elvie's best friend Ducky more. Yes, she has a friend named Ducky. And he's just as awesome if not more than his namesake.Mothership was also a quick read. The writing was clean and things happened throughout the book to keep the reader engaged. I never got bored with this book and that's a good thing. Besides the various maladies that happened on the spaceship, the tone of the book makes it engaging. Leicht and Neal don't take things seriously and that seems to help the book be a success. Honestly, if this book had more of a dramatic tone I wouldn't have liked it as much.Best Feature: Uniqueness: Lately I've been reading a lot of run of the mill YA books. May it be chick lit, dystopian fare, or a paranormal romance. Mothership is unique because it doesn't fit any of these genres and it doesn't take itself seriously. Plus, I really like the fact that this is a futuristic book but the future is not that different from the present. Okay, so there have been some advancements in technology but it's not like the Earth has transformed overnight like it would've in a lot of other YA futuristic books.Worst Feature: Science. Okay, as much as I loved this book the logical part of my brain was occasionally screaming at it for some scientific impossibilities. Case in point, running out of oxygen in space. First of all, most people can hold their breath for less than a minute. The whole holding your breath scene lasted about five and their were only two casualties that resulted. Plus, space's temperature is so cold that it would probably kill you within seconds.Appropriateness: This book deals with teen pregnancy, so if that's not a subject matter you like to read about then I would advise you not to read it. There is some cursing in this book, a very brief sex scene. But nothing extremely graphic.