The Spaceship Next Door

by Gene Doucette

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

The Spaceship Next Door is a fun story I would never have discovered without Evelina's glowing recommendation, so before I go any deeper into this review, I want to shoutout my thanks!  Book bloggers do make a difference. :)

Sorrow Falls, Massachusetts feels very much like where I live - a small New England town with more cows than people.  Where everyone knows each other, and there's one small diner, and nothing interesting really ever happens.  Except, in the case of Sorrow Falls, a spaceship lands in an empty field.

Just, lands.

Then does nothing.

For years.

The Spaceship Next Door is a delightful twist on a first contact story.  Gene Doucette's take on intelligent life from other planets is clever and thought-provoking, but more fun than profound. Doucette sets a slow, meandering pace that - while not my personal preference - is so well-suited this this story and the atmosphere.  He takes the time to awaken each character slowly and allows each one to speak in their own voice.  Lines are blurred, unusual pairings form... it's honestly all a delight?

But this book is also very comfortable.  It's a comfy read to tuck into, nothing that will make your heart race or keep you up late at night.  No, it's more like something you look forward to settling in with. One for lazy afternoons in a hammock or cozy evening wrapped in a fleece sweater and with a mug of cocoa.  The Spaceship Next Door is, simply put, a nice book.

However.  Keep in mind that even nice books aren't all happy endings and sunshine and rainbows.  In the case of Annie, she has to worry about her mother's cancer, and reminding people that she's sixteen and watching out for some of the creepier men (mentioned in the beginning, not a theme in this book). Also, um zombies.  While triggers in this book are minimal, it's still something to watch out for as there are some sad underlying themes in certain aspects of the story.

The Spaceship Next Door took me in all sorts of directions I didn't expect and I had the best fun reading this one and breathing in the little world of Sorrow Falls.  It's a book I would read again, and one that I would easily recommend to even the more casual sci-fi fan.