Look’N Up Invasion by Janice Carr Smith
What's It About?
As humble pomegranate farmers from the alien village of Nauve, Baput and his family’s lives are changed forever when they are sent through a portal to Earth, where they try to adapt to — and save — this strange new world.Science fiction and fantasy stories are often grand and out of this world, involving epic quests against great forces of evil. The heroes don’t tend to remain humble farmers.
Be prepared for all of your expectations about science fiction and fantasy to be subverted in Janice Carr Smith’s debut novel, Look’N Up Invasion. The cast of heroes is an alien race of pomegranate farmers adapting to — and trying to save — a strange new world.
Very much a character study, Smith’s characters remain humble farmers as their worldviews are changed by the people they meet. This fantasy is at once thrilling and thought-provoking, exploring real-world issues of racism and sexism, religion and theocracy — all while tackling the impending threat of alien monsters.
Alien Pomegranate Farmers
Every three years, on the first day of the pomegranate harvest, the small, stone-age village of Nauve is attacked by deadly flying creatures: the nimblies and bumblies. 12-year-old Baput — a native Nauvian with their signature green skin and blackish-purple hair — is only three years away from taking over his grandfather’s place as leader. That is, until his grandfather, the Akash, accidentally sends Baput and his family through a portal to another world.
Baput and his family of five — mom, dad, grandpa and uncle, plus the family dog — find themselves on the lush pomegranate fields of the Look’N Up Ranch in California. But instead of facing federal agents with guns, the family is met by the Musiks, who welcome the strange-looking aliens and provide them with shelter and work.
Baput quickly befriends the Musik’s 12-year-old son Jerry. Jerry is a stubborn boy who likes to be right, and when he directly points out how the Nauvian religion contradicts science, Baput’s worldview is shattered. But eventually, after much internal battle, Baput is slowly won over by the young scientist. This, of course, angers the Akash; but the old man continues to weaken on Earth, both physically and mentally, and Baput finds himself questioning his grandpa’s authority and everything his people have been taught. By the end, Baput discovers a deeply rooted secret that blows the Nauvian religion wide open.
Tensions continue to rise when the group discovers some nimblies and bumblies were transported to Earth with them. A race begins to prevent the creatures from awakening before the next three-year cycle. But if they must fight the buzzing creatures, the Nauvians might not be able to make it through the portal and return home. However, they start to question whether or not they really want to go home.
Entertaining and Enlightening
Look’N Up Invasion is a one-of-a-kind story with a unique culture built into it. The Nauvians’ cultural and religious background was thoroughly explained in an entertaining way, often through the family’s tradition of dynamic oral storytelling.
Look’N Up Invasion takes a modern and unique approach to the sci-fi genre as it tackles a complex array of themes, most notably the concepts of empathy amidst cultural diversity. There are clear parallels between the Nauvian family and immigrant workers, especially near the end when issues of hatred and bigotry arise. The Musiks, however, had a very empathetic worldview thanks to their family background. “It was the Look’N Up Way to try and imagine what the other person was feeling.”
Jerry’s mother, Francine, often reminded her family of the Look’N Up Way when interacting with the Nauvian’s more “primitive” culture, especially when it came to their more rigid definitions of gender roles. Smith showed an expert touch in her treatment of womanhood throughout the book; though all the women varied greatly across cultures — some domestic caretakers, others breadwinners — they were all deemed valid and no less worthy of respect.
All the characters in Look’N Up Invasion are thoroughly explored. The Akash is a particularly interesting character; readers witness a powerful leader dwindle into a feeble old man, at once a sort of villain and also a sympathetic character.
“He is the past. Let him pass,” Baput thinks to himself. “You must bring the rest of your family into the future.”
Look’N Up Invasion is a fascinating work that is both entertaining and enlightening. Readers will marvel at the unique world-building and complex character developments — and perhaps, walk away with a little more empathy for others.
About Janice Carr Smith:
Janice Carr was raised by liberal parents in the 60s in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a short hike from Harvard Square. But when cancer struck her family, Janice was orphaned by fourteen and living in Florida with relatives who had a very different worldview. When they decided to move farther into their rural world, Jan rebelled and returned home to finish high school, living with a dear family friend to whom her first book is lovingly dedicated.
Itching to be on her own, she left campus-rich Boston for a Radio-TV-Film major at Northwestern University. The college Outing Club opened her city-born eyes to the natural world and she switched to a Geology major. After years of wandering, she married John Smith and became an Environmental Consultant, shepherding public works projects through California’s rigorous environmental compliance process, first at a private engineering firm and later for a rural county public works department in Northern California. She retired in 2017 and Look’N Up was soon born.
