How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend

Gr 9 Up—With a decidedly European sensibility, this French import takes readers on a madcap, quirky adventure with nerdy 14-year-old David Gershwin, who quickly falls for Zelda, a hard-case patient in his father's therapy practice. Zelda appears to be suffering from the delusion that she is a warrior from the alien planet Vahalal and must meet with her "chosen one," Johnny Depp, in order to save her Amazonian race from extinction. Beautiful and feral, Zelda has an emotionally stiff manner and brash, violent behavior; even her wardrobe of designer bathing suits seems to come straight from 1930s sci-fi serials. David uses his life's savings to bribe his (sort of) stepsister, sophisticated urbanite Malou, into taking them on a boozy road trip to gate-crash a Parisian party where Depp is rumored to be going. What Zelda doesn't count on is developing feelings for David before she has a chance to meet up with her on-screen idol. The already-strange novel takes a turn toward the surreal at the end. An interesting debut, shorter and more accessible than Libba Bray's Going Bovine (Delacorte, 2009), this novel should appeal to mature YA readers looking for short, humorous, action-packed science fiction.—Madigan McGillicuddy, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, GA