Title: How I Stole Johnny Depp’s Alien Girlfriend
Author: Gary Ghislain [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Parental Advisory: sex, drugs, alcohol, language, criminal activity, violence
Teachable Moments: acceptance, independence, teamwork, ingenuity

“Oh God!  We both turn to Zelda — she’s standing right there behind us in the corridor.  A strong draft that came from out of nowhere blows her coat and hair.  Her fists are firmly locked on her hips, and her black leather knee-high boots shine in the sunlight.  She looks exactly like a Supergirl about to kick some ass.”

Summary (from the publisher):
David Gershwin’s summer is about to take a turn for the weird.  When his dad’s new patient Zelda tells him she’s from outer space and on a quest to take Johnny Depp back to her planet, he knows he should run away screaming.  But with one look from her mean, green eyes, David’s hooked, and soon he’s leaping across rooftops, running from police, and stealing cars just to stay by her side.  He might not be a typical hero, but David’s going to get the girl even if it takes him to the ends of the earth — or beyond.

Opinion:
I find myself hard pressed to appropriately describe this book. It was so quirky that I can’t quite put my finger on the best descriptors outside of that and quirky seems to fall short.  It wasn’t ohmygodawesomefantastic and it wasn’t runrunasfastasyoucan but it was so original that I don’t think you should miss out on it.

Part mystery, part sci-fi thriller, How I Stole Johnny Depp’s Alien Girlfriend was a super fast ride through the streets of Paris.  One that left me wondering what was real and what wasn’t.  Entertaining throughout the humorous tone is best heard through protagonist David’s self-deprecating voice.  He’s a nerdy young thing and he knows it, in fact he’s somewhat satisfied with it.  That is until he meets Zelda, a criminally insane girl sent to his therapist father for help.  And so sets up this wild ride around Paris where I was left waffling between believing Zelda really was and then wasn’t an alien.

This is the best part of this quickly paced book — the is she or isn’t she.  At times it appears pretty clear but then something else happens that makes me start to wonder.  By the end I had a pretty good idea of where everyone stood but still I’m left with the tiniest bit of wonder as to if I’m right or not.  Could it really be an alien encounter?  Is David also insane and this is all happening in his head?  It’s never really determined one-hundred percent for me.  There is still a very small part of me that thinks things could be entirely different than how they were portrayed to be at the very end of the story. And this is a good thing!

The story, mind you, is entertaining and humorous (as I’ve said) but it’s also very periphery.  There isn’t much to the plot outside of these kids running from a variety of foes (cops, parents, and various other individuals from Zelda’s life).  Sure, Zelda wants to take Johnny Depp back to her planet and most of the running revolves around her trying to find him and do so.  But, when all is said and done there wasn’t a lot of deeper meaning to the story.  This was A-ok with me though, it was a fun read that made me laugh out loud.

If you’re looking for an interesting and different read with comedic flare then you should definitely pick up How I Stole Johnny Depp’s Alien Girlfriend, it was well worth it.