The New York Times Book Review - Ethan Gilsdorf
Think Wall-E meets E.T., Ziggy meets Mork and Mindy.
From the Publisher
Jomny Sun’s incredible writing knocks you to the floor, breathless, then scoops you up and gives you a kiss where it hurts before it occurs to you to cry. Read this book only if you want to feel more alive.” — Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Jomny Sun has created a frightened, hopeful view of Life As We Know It from the perspective of a weirdly relatable alien intelligence. Fantastic.” — Patton Oswalt
Impressively sincere, at times insightful, and humorous…. Sun’s fans will welcome his first book with wild enthusiasm… — Library Journal
Patton Oswalt
Jomny Sun has created a frightened, hopeful view of Life As We Know It from the perspective of a weirdly relatable alien intelligence. Fantastic.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Jomny Sun’s incredible writing knocks you to the floor, breathless, then scoops you up and gives you a kiss where it hurts before it occurs to you to cry. Read this book only if you want to feel more alive.
Joss Whedon
This book is funny and sad, simple and complex, badly spelled and beautifully written. Jonmy Sun gets more out of a panel than most do out of a page, revealing obvious yet hidden truths as only someone one step out of step could.
Library Journal
06/01/2017
Sun, the playwright and artist famous for the popular @jomnysun Twitter feed, presents the story of an "aliebn" named Jomny who is sent to Earth to study humanity. Jomny instead encounters an array of forest creatures, including an owl with impostor syndrome, a kindly tree, an egg agonizing over what it's destined to hatch into, and a hedgehog with artistic aspirations. Jomny and his new friends discuss death, love, art, depression, insecurity, and more, all with the outsider perspective and naïveté (expressed in the character's interactions and observations, as well as the simple illustrative style and unique spelling and syntax) that have gained Sun a huge readership. Impressively sincere, at times insightful, and humorous, many of Sun's observations and conclusions about humanity can also feel aphoristic or platitudinous rather than groundbreaking, as most of what's here boils down to "what makes you different makes you special." VERDICT Sun's fans will welcome his first book with wild enthusiasm, while those not familiar with his online presence might be a little less excited. Still, even the most cynical reader will have a hard time not being somewhat charmed.—TB