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corndogqueeen's review
4.75
I loved this tbh! Very excited to read her next book because that premise sounds even more interesting than this one (for my tastes, at least) and I loved this one. Soooo fun! And also sweet at times. Definitely for the cat lovers!!!!
adrumgoole's review against another edition
3.0
Emily Jane’s debut novel, “On Earth As It Is On Television” combines Science Fiction and Humor along with a whole bunch of cats! Seriously, if you love cats you’ll appreciate this book a lot more.
I decided to pick up “On Earth As It Is On Television” solely based on the cover and catchy title. It was a blind read; all I got was from the book summary. Writing about aliens seems impossible these days, so I can always appreciate an author who gives it another go.
With that being said, Jane had a unique take on her story; it was modern and revolved around family dynamics more so than aliens and the science fiction aspect of it.
I gave this book 3 stars because I genuinely enjoyed the story, I thought it was well thought out, and the plot was pretty clear for the majority of the book. A spaceship came to Earth and left, now what?
Before doing any research on Emily Jane I knew she was a millennial. From the tone of her writing to what the characters' interests were (the kid's favorite cartoon was Adventure Time) it reeked of millennialism. As a Gen Z-er, it unfortunately tainted the humor of the book (of course that is totally subjective), but I wanted to note that in case that turns off any readers.
As for the characters within the book, there were 3 main POVs that we see. Blaine, Oliver, and Heather (and the occasional cat;). It was hard to differentiate the characters' unique tones because they all kind of sounded the same… yet understandable from the third-person POV. Oliver’s storyline was initially the most intriguing, but his thoughts would transgress into paragraphs of analogies and analyses that had me skimming. The word vomit in this book: is stomach flu level. However, I did enjoy Blaine’s POV and found myself looking forward to “The Husband” subtitle. Each POV delves into that family’s dynamic and issues to give more of a background on the characters, which I thought was starting to off-road. It is a slow half of the book that you have to get through to get to the fun alien part, but I can respect how it was a thought-out story in that regard. There was a cute side plot of the cats being affected by the Malorts that I liked; I hope Mr. Meowmitts never gets to talk because those annoying children will force him into running away again, on purpose this time!
All in all, I enjoyed this book. Were there parts I rolled my eyes at? Sure. But the story was cute and I was satisfied with the ending. The last quarter of the book was the most engaging part and I started to bond with the characters as they had more dialogue. I am looking forward to Emily Jane’s future endeavors!!
I decided to pick up “On Earth As It Is On Television” solely based on the cover and catchy title. It was a blind read; all I got was from the book summary. Writing about aliens seems impossible these days, so I can always appreciate an author who gives it another go.
With that being said, Jane had a unique take on her story; it was modern and revolved around family dynamics more so than aliens and the science fiction aspect of it.
I gave this book 3 stars because I genuinely enjoyed the story, I thought it was well thought out, and the plot was pretty clear for the majority of the book. A spaceship came to Earth and left, now what?
Before doing any research on Emily Jane I knew she was a millennial. From the tone of her writing to what the characters' interests were (the kid's favorite cartoon was Adventure Time) it reeked of millennialism. As a Gen Z-er, it unfortunately tainted the humor of the book (of course that is totally subjective), but I wanted to note that in case that turns off any readers.
As for the characters within the book, there were 3 main POVs that we see. Blaine, Oliver, and Heather (and the occasional cat;). It was hard to differentiate the characters' unique tones because they all kind of sounded the same… yet understandable from the third-person POV. Oliver’s storyline was initially the most intriguing, but his thoughts would transgress into paragraphs of analogies and analyses that had me skimming. The word vomit in this book: is stomach flu level. However, I did enjoy Blaine’s POV and found myself looking forward to “The Husband” subtitle. Each POV delves into that family’s dynamic and issues to give more of a background on the characters, which I thought was starting to off-road. It is a slow half of the book that you have to get through to get to the fun alien part, but I can respect how it was a thought-out story in that regard. There was a cute side plot of the cats being affected by the Malorts that I liked; I hope Mr. Meowmitts never gets to talk because those annoying children will force him into running away again, on purpose this time!
All in all, I enjoyed this book. Were there parts I rolled my eyes at? Sure. But the story was cute and I was satisfied with the ending. The last quarter of the book was the most engaging part and I started to bond with the characters as they had more dialogue. I am looking forward to Emily Jane’s future endeavors!!
mcumoletti's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
holly_keimig's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book was unexpected. Lots of twists and turns and aliens and cats and bacon. It was written from multiple character perspectives which can be a bit difficult at first, but once I got everyone straight, I was hooked. Alien ships show up, everyone panics, and then the aliens leave (without ending the world or communicating). This book is what happens to several people as a result. I laughed multiple times while reading. I was nervous as the characters experienced pretty crazy stress as a results of all the chaos. I was looking at the world through a cat's perspective (Bouchard the cat has a chapter full of kitty puns and it was amazing and Mr. Meow-Mitts is a great cat name). I think I was maybe a bit sci-fi-ed out when I read this one but I'm definitely glad I read it. It gave my book club plenty to talk about! Highly recommend if you're looking for a light apocalyptic, sci-fi, alien-y thriller with cats that both reaffirms and calls into question your faith in humanity (Thanks Dave!).
off2explore's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts sloooooooowly (and confusingly), but stick with it! I was buoyed by the raving blurbs from authors I enjoy to push through the first third, and I'm glad I did! This is an alien invasion tale like nothing I have read before! It's full of heart and humor.
jjopek's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.5
timinbc's review against another edition
2.0
No, it's not science fiction. It just lifts a few ideas from SF. Closer to magical realism, which I detest, and closer still to American sitcom, which I would detest if I ever looked at it.
No, it's not like Adams and Chambers and Klune. They are much better storytellers.
I think there's a hint in the title. It feels more like a TV show than the kind of story I expect in a book; and I don't watch standard TV shows anymore (if you don't either, check out Korean pop dramas with subtitles; they know how to tell a story!).
As the aliens left and I waded through the dull-but-annoying families, I actually thought "well, at least one of them isn't an unsuccessful assistant profesor of literature at a bottom-level college in Snake Legs, Nebtana." And then I thought "maybe it would have been better, though."
I flipped ahead to see how it developed. Hmm. There might have been a good novella here.
It sure seems as if these might be the least interesting aliens ever committed to paper.
Anyway, you might like it. If you profiled what kind of reader is likely to dislike it, yes, you'd probably get me.
If you like a down-to-earth (sorry) story with just a touch of SF/fantasy, you might like this.
No, it's not like Adams and Chambers and Klune. They are much better storytellers.
I think there's a hint in the title. It feels more like a TV show than the kind of story I expect in a book; and I don't watch standard TV shows anymore (if you don't either, check out Korean pop dramas with subtitles; they know how to tell a story!).
As the aliens left and I waded through the dull-but-annoying families, I actually thought "well, at least one of them isn't an unsuccessful assistant profesor of literature at a bottom-level college in Snake Legs, Nebtana." And then I thought "maybe it would have been better, though."
I flipped ahead to see how it developed. Hmm. There might have been a good novella here.
It sure seems as if these might be the least interesting aliens ever committed to paper.
Anyway, you might like it. If you profiled what kind of reader is likely to dislike it, yes, you'd probably get me.
If you like a down-to-earth (sorry) story with just a touch of SF/fantasy, you might like this.
valb13's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jdbrown90's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0