Horn Book Review
In 1949 Brooklyn, Lily Lupino wants to be an astronaut, but her parents forbid her from even listening to a space radio serial. Lily cuts her hair short in protest and finds herself spirited away to "Outer Outer Space" by child Spacetronaut Kosmo Kidd. Lily proves that girls can indeed be space explorers as she and Kosmo battle child-hating space villains. Retro illustrations capture the madcap vintage-space-opera action. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In a universe full of authoritarian adults, the kids fight back.Aspiring astronaut Lily Lupino is stationed in 1949 Brooklyn, her dreams fueled by the Trip Darrow radio show. On the same night she cuts her hair off in a gesture of feminist rebellion, a real spaceship crashes into her kitchen, piloted by none other than Spacetronaut Kosmo Kidd. Armed with a British accent, Kosmo declares that Lily's 2-year-old brother, Alfie, is a secret space operative. Kosmo's mission is to free "Agent Argos" from the adult jailers (his parents) of "prison planet" Earth, so, thinking Lily is a boy, he takes both her and Alfie back to Fort Spacetronaut, "a tree-borne tin space shack" occupied by a ragtag group of girl-hating boys. As Lily stands strong to prove her worth, retrograde gender politics isn't the only thing plaguing the kidverse. It seems that kids in Outer Outer Space live in hiding, constantly fleeing the evil Morgonites, soldiers led by the Mean-Man of Morgo, an adult with a comically long mustache whose main mission is the Dejuvenation of mischief-making kids. But when Lily and Kosmo are captured, she learns the Mean-Man has a secret of his own.Readers don't need to know the radio serials this book is lampooning in order to enjoy the silliness and abundant wordplay; feisty Lily ably grounds the narrative's over-the-top shenanigans. Lily's white, Kosmo's black, and Outer Outer Space is a multicultural place.Humorous space opera with a distinct Dr. Who flavor. (Science fiction. 8-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
It's 1949 and Lily is obsessed with outer space, astronauts, and the Trip Darrow radio show that is until her pesky toddler brother, Alfie, causes her dad to curtail her radio time. In protest, Lily stomps off to the bathroom and cuts her hair to a short, pilot-appropriate length, an act punished with an early bedtime and the loss of her beloved space memorabilia. Lily's still awake when Kosmo Kidd lands in his wind-up tin spaceship in her house, claiming to have come for Agent Argos, the leader of the Spacetronauts, who has been posing undercover as Alfie. Unwilling to stay behind or lose Alfie, Lily joins Kosmo on a wild adventure to outer outer space, where they must escape the Piranha Sisters and defeat the Mean Man of Morgo (who looks much like her dad). Ashley's almost-melodramatic, imaginative debut is embellished with humorous illustrations, including fish-bowl helmets, a tree fort, and toy ray guns all things from which dream adventures are made. And, happily, it looks like more exploits await Lily and Kosmo.--J. B. Petty Copyright 2018 Booklist
