How we cite our quotes: (Part.Paragraph)
Quote #1
What is the Smekday holiday? How has it changed in the year since the aliens left? (1.2)
That's the question that launches a thousand essays right there, Shmoopers. Before we even meet Tip or J.Lo we know that aliens came to earth—we're just not sure why or how, though we soon find out.
Quote #2
I was all alone because Mom had already been called up to the spaceships by signals from the mole on her neck. (1.18)
Our first clue about the aliens comes when Tip makes this off-handed comment about how the aliens abducted her mom. Right. Pretty soon, we also find the whole alien presence very normal, or at least, expected.
Quote #3
"'Allo!" he shouted as he drifted away. "There is no to fear! The Boov are no longer eating you people!" (1.93)
Um, okay. Surprisingly that doesn't put our fears to rest. But it does tell us a lot about how the Boov behave, and why they don't get along with humans. It's no wonder Tip doesn't trust them when she first meets J.Lo.
Quote #4
"You don't understand," Mom said, turning; and the look in her eye made me wake up a little. "It was put there! Last night!" (2.11)
Sure it was… As wacky as this whole thing sounds, Tip's mom is telling the truth. Given the supernatural stuff that goes down in this novel, everyone who sounds rational ends up being debunked. That's the thing about aliens—they make even sane people sound like they've lost their marbles.
Quote #5
"I was kidnapped by aliens and they made me fold laundry. I was abducted and the aliens made me clean their rain gutters. You see what I mean?" (2.24)
Yep, we do. It turns out the aliens want to learn all about humans, just like how we're fascinated with them. Maybe their sci-fi section includes books on us regular folk down here on earth. It's weird to think about, but those everyday tasks are supernatural from where the aliens are sitting.
Quote #6
That's when I got my first glimpse: a huge accordion hose, like a vacuum cleaner attachment, swinging down from the roof and sailing off into the darkness. I looked up quickly to see what it was attached to, but I saw only a huge dark shape high in the sky. In its wake, every car alarm in the neighborhood wailed, and every dog barked. (2.76)
When she first sees aliens, Tip isn't sure what to think—it's confusing and colorful and exciting all at the same time. She describes it for us as if we're watching the movie of her life, which helps us get a sense for what it was like.
Quote #7
It fell slowly through the air like a bubble. Like a bubble with tentacles. Like a snow globe the size of half a football field, with an underbelly covered in hoses. Suddenly it lit. Not with blinking lights like an airplane: it was like the globe was filled with a glowing gas, pale yellows and greens. And purples. And inside the globe were smaller globes, and layers of platforms and shapes, and on those… possibly… tiny figures moving. (2.93)
The Boov spaceship sounds creepy, and we're just reading about it (imagine what it's like to actually see the thing). It's interesting how the supernatural spaceship has a bunch of colors and lights. Did you notice how purple is always in the bunch? Check out what we have to say about purple over in the "Symbols" section.
Quote #8
"Everything has changed. The world will never be the same. The aliens changed everything." And the thing is, of course they had. It should have gone without saying. (2.187)
When Tip hears this on television, she thinks it's downright crazy that someone would state the obvious like that. Did people really think things weren't going to change when a bunch of aliens showed up? Notice that once everyone knows about the aliens, it's no longer crazy to talk about.
Quote #9
"The shipskin is made of Gorg. Mixed-up Gorg, like from a blender. Is not even that hard— not hard like Boovish metals or plastics—but it heals. They can keep onto making more and more skin for replacing the old […]." (3.258)
The Gorgs' ship is made of a mixture of their skin, which is just gross. The fact that the Gorg are more brutal and hard-core separates them from the Boov in J.Lo's mind, but we're not so sure there is a big distinction. Both groups invade a planet and try to claim it as their own, after all.
Quote #10
They were four-legged, with wiry hair in tight little curls. Their feet were round and made pock-pock noises when they walked. The smaller koobish came up to J.Lo, and he took a bite out of its ear. (3.834)
J.Lo's pet a.k.a. snack is confusing to Tip, especially considering they find the koobish in the middle of Roswell and even the Boov didn't know they were there. These little critters play a big role in proving that aliens landed fifty years before. Otherwise, how would the koobish get there?