From Publishers Weekly
Thomas, 11, and his father, Patrick, live a seemingly ordinary existence in the cozy northern English village of Belthorp. In reality, however, Thomas and Patrick are Tonitheen and Vateelin, alien agents from the planet Ormingat sent to Earth on a benevolent mission to record the doings of this planet's inhabitants. Their five-year stint nearly over, father and son expect to return to their planet the day after Christmas. On their way to recover their golf-ball-size space ship, stowed in Edinburgh, a dramatic traffic accident separates the pair, leaving Thomas stranded (and pretending to be mute) in a hospital. Meanwhile, PatrickAtemporarily miniaturized by the shockAmust fend for himself. In outline, this plot is as whimsical and imaginative as those of Waugh's earlier books; in execution, however, the story has a muffled feel, lacking the cozy warmth and immediacy that made her Mennyms adventures so vivid. Since so much of the novel takes place in the hospital, as a bedridden Thomas waits for his father to find him, melancholy introspection often takes the place of action ("He watched the Mickey Mouse clock and went listlessly back to his effort at telepathy, though with no real hope that it would work"). Even the shrunken Patrick's journey to EdinburghAachieved partly via catching rides on the shoes of passers byAis strangely joyless. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Thomas Derwent and his father have lived in the small English town of Belthorp for the last five years. Now 11, Thomas has a good friend and substitute mother in Stella Dalrymple, the kindly neighbor who helps care for him, and a best friend at school. Then his father announces that it is time to return home-to the planet Ormingat. En route to a spaceship buried in Glasgow, a speeding brewery tanker cuts their journey short. The boy lands in the hospital and his father can't be found. Waugh provides an interesting background for this story, with brief descriptions of the varieties of Ormingat science, the workings of the spaceship, and the aliens' intentions for their continuing study of Earth's inhabitants. However, much of the focus of this novel is on Thomas's relationship with his father and his friends, and how they illuminate basic truths about human interactions. In her books about the "Mennyms" (Greenwillow), a family of sentient and sensitive rag dolls, the author created an absorbing fantasy that explores the many meanings of family, friendship, and even life itself. In the same way, Space Race is a thoughtful examination of friendship, loyalty, and love. Readers will enjoy the exciting plot and fast-moving action, and the sympathetic characters will stay with them long after the book is closed.
Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
