A few aspects of COSMIC that will really stay with me are the contrasting styles of parenting that are lampooned through our getting to know about the fathers of Liam's four charges, and the degree to which the author is able to convey a sense of wonder and awe about space travel. but it's clear to the reader that he isn't really trying to take advantage of people, he just likes to have big adventures. A slightly awkward boy, and socially somewhat stilted, Liam's application of gaming logic to real-life situations is totally believable. Faking a letter to his parents about his class going to the Lake District for a school trip is easy enough.

In fact, I frequently found myself reading with a mental British accent, and a big smile on my face, because seriously. But being super-sized height-wise has its advantages: he's the only eleven-year-old to ever ride the G-force-defying Cosmic rollercoaster – or to be offered the chance to drive a Porsche. Cosmic illustrates the extreme consequences of lying as well as the immense power that comes with responsibility and friendship. It's funny when people mistaken him as an adult, and he did some pretty crazy but cool stuff because of this.In an unusual turn for a middle grade novel, it's also a reflection on fatherhood, and as our young protagonist attempts to be "dadly," (why? So that suddenly you hear yourself repeating your father’s hackneyed phrases, feel entirely out of your depth and long to be the child you are really? But he is still a twelve year-old and, in a manner reminiscent of Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks' character in the movie Big), we repeatedly experience Liam's being thrust into the role of an adult who frequently has more of a child-like spirit than any of the "normal" kids around him. The friends find themselves competing for the chance to be sent into space; soon Liam is playing a grown-up in a situation that his dad can’t save him from.

I am also now quite interested in standing over someone's shoulder and watching him or her engage in Worlds of Warcraft. the main character has to discover this for himself, and there's an interesting comparison between being seen to be responsible and actually choosing to act responsibly, all wrapped up in a very entertaining story about space. something, possibly bad, because all through the book you know that these five children are stuck in space, orbiting the moon, completely cut off from Earth and home and their parents.It's very jarring to leave the British vocabulary but not the spelling, and seriously, when you hear or picture British people talking, they do leave the "U"s in! As this is mostly Liam’s reflection of the events that led him to be in charge of a space shuttle, there is a bit of jumping between ‘present-day Liam’ talking about his view of the Earth, and the Liam of the past, in the months leading up to the adventure.

Fantasy is interspersed with reality in this funny and touching story, which ultimately celebrates parents and the love they give. His inquisitive nature and adult appearance often get him into trouble but his dad usually intervenes and helps him avert disaster.It's become a bit of a reward - "If you get all your writing done before lunch , we'll be able to read some more of Cosmic this afternoon! But being super-sized height-wise has its advantages: he's the only eleven-year-old to ever ride the G-force-defying Cosmic rollercoaster - or to be offered the chance to drive a Porsche. Can you convince the organiser that the children need an adult to attend and thereafter that you can fulfil that role? Oh and the other children who went to that trip with them as well, parental guidance is really important and parents nowadays seemed to focus too much on materialistic values, like the importance of winning and money.