Our Discussion of The Spaceship Next Door by Gene Doucette

The Spaceship Next Door (Sorrow Falls #1) by Gene Doucette

When a spaceship lands in Sorrow Falls, a lovable and fearless small-town girl is the planet’s only hope for survival.

Three years ago, a spaceship landed in an open field in the quiet mill town of Sorrow Falls, Massachusetts. It never opened its doors, and for all that time, the townspeople have wondered why the ship landed there, and what—or who—could be inside.

Then one day a government operative—posing as a journalist—arrives in town, asking questions. He discovers sixteen-year-old Annie Collins, one of the ship’s closest neighbors and a local fixture known throughout the town, who has some of the answers.

As a matter of fact, Annie Collins might be the most important person on the planet. She just doesn’t know it. Goodreads

Below are a sampling of our comments:

• It was very entertaining with fleshed-out characters – I had a grand time!
• The tone was positive and even when terrible things happened, you felt it would be okay. The connection people felt to Annie was real and not too one-dimensional – people did things you would expect them to do and seemed like real people
• I enjoyed the unflappable New Englanders – these characters could be my relatives!
• I started getting tired of the spaceship about half way through, but then it picked up and there was a lot of action
• I liked how the main defense of the spaceship was to make people feel really sad
• I was surprised that Violet was an alien – living off the grid isn’t really that unusual
• It was interesting that the aliens were sentient ideas that sent a spaceship/probe to earth to gather data, and only after evidence of Violet was found did the “idea” arrive in the ship
• The camper-dwellers were quirky and fun – you’re not paranoid if aliens really are after you
• The chapters were named after the old movies Annie and her mother watched like “A Few Good Men” and “Ordinary People”
• I was not expecting zombies

Please add any additional thoughts or comments you have about The Spaceship Next Door. We gave this title the codes XEN, ETH, SOP, FEM, HRO, AGE, & HIT with an average rating of 4.6.