Reviewed by Teri Takle
Nate lives a reasonably everyday life for a 10-year-old boy. Along with his parents, little brother, big sister, and grandmother, life survives with little excitement. The school exists, but Nate’s standard is to get by doing as little work as possible and to tolerate his admiring little brother. Nothing exciting has ever happened to Nate until he met Tommy Rocket. Purchase Here.
Tommy Rocket is your typical 10-year-old boy, except he only has one human friend. Life with a wheelchair can be confining, but Tommy has adjusted well by creating his social group with A.I. robots that he invented with his father’s help. Normal? For his one human friend, Nate Turner, this relationship can be challenging as Tommy really does not understand what it takes to be a friend. Tommy doesn’t usually use the telephone to call Nate. How would you react to a robotic helicopter tapping at your window with a coded message? Yes, you have to use a decoder ring to decrypt the message. Have you ever been treated as an obedient robot? That is how Nate feels when he plays with Tommy.
Learning how to relate to others is not Tommy’s strong point, but his robots are fascinating. Tommy’s basement is his playroom which isn’t your typical playroom. Functioning robots are everywhere. Each one has their own purpose which Tommy created. These are Tommy’s true friends, his Goober Patrol. Also, his creations are extraordinary. Sentient, meaning they can think for themselves, best describes them. Due to a special chip Tommy’s dad created, called a Prometheus Chip, each robot has some degree of freewill. Now you can begin to see what intrigues Nate with this unusual friendship. Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrol is a wonderfully engaging adventure for boys aged 8-12. I strongly feel that most children would thoroughly enjoy this book either to read by themselves or as read out loud to them. The adventures are fun, and yes, even dangerous. As for characterization, the reader knows Nate and Tommy well. You can easily visualize each boy as well as the various robots. The illustrations are perfectly matched and enhance the story line. Moral character and doing the right thing is woven within the storyline. This often-overlooked development is expertly exhibited as problematic for the characters which is realistic. The illustrations perfectly match the text. These are needed to show that Nate is black and Tommy is white. Nate comes from a blue-collar family and Tommy from white. Tommy’s family is well-educated, Nate’s is not. Through all these differences the friendship grows through Nate’s compassion, patience and morality. My only complaint was the reference to Marlin Perkins who passed away in 1986.
Do kids today have any idea who this renowned zoologist is? I would suggest to the author to rewrite that section and either use Steve Irwin, who is still well-known although deceased, or the Kratt Brothers. The challenges of Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrol are vocabulary and the length of the novel. Vocabulary might be difficult for the younger readers, but the story is so engaging that readers are likely to want to know any unfamiliar word. The book length can be overwhelming to some readers, but this author expertly engages the reader with this captivating tale on the first page. Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrol is difficult to separate yourself from the book from the beginning. Warning: This book is addictive. I adored this novel, and even though I am far from being a 10-year-old boy, I have purchased and am currently reading the author’s other book.