Plot Summary
The story is told in essay format, to be sent to a committee and put in a time capsule, to be opened in 100 years.
The protagonist is eleven-year-old Gratuity Tucci (sometimes nicknamed 'Tip'), who must survive on her own after her mother is abducted by aliens. The aliens, called Boov, arrive and take over the Earth, which they call Smekland after their leader, Captain Smek. Christmas, the day of the Boov's arrival on Earth, is renamed "Smekday".
On "Moving Day", all humans are required to relocate to Florida. Tip decides to drive instead of being transported by the Boov. She soon makes friends with a Boov, who calls himself J.Lo, and is actually very friendly. The two journey to Florida, but discover the Boov like oranges and told the humans to go to Arizona instead. They travel across the United States, running into all kinds of problems and adventures, including two organizations called B.O.O.B., a crazy Indian, cat allergies, and the fact that J.Lo accidentally summoned the Gorg, a more evil group of aliens. The Gorg have taken the Boov's old planet, Boovworld, and are looking to conquer Earth also. They want to eat their planet and enslave the humans. It is up to Tip and J.Lo to find Tip's mother, Lucy, and save the world.
Read more about this topic: The True Meaning Of Smekday
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“We have defined a story as a narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence. A plot is also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality. “The king died and then the queen died” is a story. “The king died, and then the queen died of grief” is a plot. The time sequence is preserved, but the sense of causality overshadows it.”
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