The book's description makes it sound as if this boy meets a cast of characters in space. But that's only true in the sense of comics, comic-cons and what lies in the imagination of this 9-yr old boy whose head is actually screwed on straighter than most adults. What this story manages to do so well is straddle a line between the world of comics and the lives of people. Those lives happen to be part of that world: artists, writers, actors. Therefore, it's a great read for those who love reading comics and watching sci-fi because within these pages you'll get a dose of what you love, plus some tasty bits of the insides. (Note: you don't have to be a comic geek to enjoy this. Point in fact: I know very little outside of the movies). Proehl does an awesome job creating this. He doesn't use the comics and heroes that we all know (Marvel, Avengers, etc.). Maybe that's because of copyrights - I'm not sure. Instead, what you see in the book is this closely-related, alternate reality of that. Recognizable but fresh. And guess what? It works. At least it did for me. 
 On the flip-side, this book is good for those of us who like a story about people struggling to get through life. Some struggles are everyday issues. Some are life-altering, as it is for this young boy, Alex, and his mom, Val. I liked these characters so much because they felt real, and their plights are our plights. This book doesn't try to be exciting. No flash-bangs. Not at all necessary. (not something you would expect in a world of comics and movies, but it's another thing that keeps it real). What it is does have is some pretty good depth, and multiple-likeable-characters with crossing story lines. And of course, it has uniqueness. In that I think it truly excels.