Keywords
fiction, Nebraska, pre-teen boys, Catholicism, extraterrestrial intelligence search
Preview
Nothing ever really changes in Grin and Bear It, Nebraska. Since the town is a research site for the SETI program (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), there is a ban on internet and cell phones that makes getting news from the outside world a little slow. For 12-year-old Simon O’Keeffe, that sounds perfect. Having survived a school shooting two years earlier, Simon has spent far too much time in the spotlight and longs to fade into the background in this new town where no one knows his past. However, blending in proves challenging with his accident-prone Catholic deacon father, his quirky mortician mother, and an aggressive pet peacock they inherited with the house. Mix in a new puppy, an emu farm, and a friend scheming to fool the scientists, and Simon finds himself attracting all the attention he wants to avoid.
Recommended Citation
Strachan, Sarah
(2025)
"Book Review: Simon Sort of Says,"
The Utah English Journal: Vol. 53, Article 32.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/uej/vol53/iss1/32