Eight Days on Planet Earth

by Cat Jordan

Overview

A heart-wrenching romance full of twists that are sure to bring tears to readers’ eyes, from Cat Jordan, author of The Leaving Season.

How long does it take to travel twenty light years to Earth?

How long does it take to fall in love?

To the universe, eight days is a mere blip, but to Matty Jones, it may be just enough time to change his life.

On the hot summer day Matty’s dad leaves for good, a strange girl suddenly appears in the empty field next to the Jones farm—the very field in rural Pennsylvania where a spaceship supposedly landed fifty years ago. She is uniquely beautiful, sweet, and smart, and she tells Matty she’s waiting for her spaceship to pick her up and return her to her home planet. Of course she is.

Matty has heard a million impossible UFO stories for each of his seventeen years: the conspiracy theories, the wild rumors, the crazy belief in life beyond the stars. When he was a kid, he and his dad searched the skies and studied the constellations. But all of that is behind him. Dad’s gone—but now there’s Priya. She must be crazy…right?

As Matty unravels the mystery of the girl in the field, he realizes there is far more to her than he first imagined. And if he can learn to believe in what he can’t see: the universe, aliens…love…then maybe the impossible is possible, after all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062571755
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/07/2017
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	966 KB
Age Range:	13 Years

Editorial Reviews

A wonderfully readable, ultimately hopeful, and life-affirming story that will be enjoyed by fans of Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also a Star and Gae Polisner’s The Memory of Things.” — School Library Journal

PRAISE FOR THE LEAVING SEASON: “Jordan has crafted a story about leaving, about growing up, and about finding your path and being true to yourself… Fans of Sarah Dessen, Lurlene McDaniel, and other similar romance authors may enjoy Jordan’s debut offering.” — School Library Journal

“The real-life drama told in Middie’s voice artfully weaves a complicated personal story of rebellion and personal growth as she figures out what is really important to her and what love really means. A touching coming-of-age romance.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Some may find the ending exhilarating, while others will be reaching for hankies. Jordan’s debut novel should appeal to fans of Elizabeth Eulberg and Jenny Han.” — Booklist

“Debut author Jordan capably shows how Middie discovers new dimensions of herself, as well as how life moves on and brings new opportunities in the process… readers looking for happy endings won’t be disappointed as Middie stumbles her way back toward love and happiness.” — Publishers Weekly

“A story at turns gentle and devastating-the subtle romantic tension simmers as Jordan’s characters fight to define themselves and connect with one another. Gripping and joyful all at once.” — Megan Mulry, USA Today bestselling author of A Royal Pain

From the Publisher

A story at turns gentle and devastating-the subtle romantic tension simmers as Jordan’s characters fight to define themselves and connect with one another. Gripping and joyful all at once.

Megan Mulry

Some may find the ending exhilarating, while others will be reaching for hankies. Jordan’s debut novel should appeal to fans of Elizabeth Eulberg and Jenny Han.

Booklist

Some may find the ending exhilarating, while others will be reaching for hankies. Jordan’s debut novel should appeal to fans of Elizabeth Eulberg and Jenny Han.

Booklist

10/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—An immediately engaging story with a massive plot twist. Seventeen-year-old Matty is facing an aimless summer in his small town when his slacker dad, DJ, finally leaves for good. Living next to a field where a spaceship purportedly crashed, Matty and his dad had bonded over a love of space. But as DJ becomes addicted to his fringe theory followers, the whole family grows apart. Matty tells himself he and his mom are better off without him. Then a frail white-haired girl appears in the mysterious field to whom Matty and his dog are irresistibly drawn. Priya claims she is on Earth to collect data and is heading back to her home planet soon. She embodies everything Matty and his father once wanted to believe about the possibilities of space. Priya is delightfully odd and perceptive, and she helps Matty see the small wonders of his life. But Matty doesn't know if he is waiting on a spaceship, heartbreak, or both. This compelling page-turner will have readers happily suspending disbelief. Matty and Priya give each other much in terms of belief and faith, leaving readers to constantly wonder if their relationship is coincidence or cosmic destiny. Matty is an excellent and engaging narrator and all supporting characters play true parts. VERDICT A wonderfully readable, ultimately hopeful, and life-affirming story that will be enjoyed by fans of Nicola Yoon's The Sun Is Also a Star and Gae Polisner's The Memory of Things.—Lee De Groft, Jamestown High School, Williamsburg, VA

School Library Journal

2017-07-17
A white teenage boy must decide if the strange girl he's falling for is an extraterrestrial in this sophomore effort by the author of The Leaving Season (2016). Matty Jones' life is upended when his alien-obsessed father suddenly abandons the family. His grief is tempered by the discovery of a brown-skinned, white-haired girl named Priya in the field behind his rural Pennsylvania home. The ground is rumored to be the site of a past UFO crash, and Priya claims she is an alien who will soon be catching a ride back to her planet. Matty is doubtful, but that doesn't stop him from introducing Priya to all the wonders of Earth, including roller coasters, swimming, and, of course, sex. But he worries about Priya's severe headaches, which she chalks up to gravity sickness. It takes some time (readers who know that Priya is a fairly common Indian name will be way ahead of him), but finally Matty is forced to confront the truth about both Priya's situation and his feelings about his father. While Jordan's predictable, Starman-esque story is executed in boilerplate prose ("Take your bullshit frustrations out on some other chump. Not me" and "That is not the tone to take with me this morning" are typical exchanges) the tragic, touching ending is memorable. Secondary characters Brian and Emily Aoki are Japanese-American siblings. Shoots for the stars; doesn't quite make it. (Fiction. 12-15)

Kirkus Reviews