Gabby Duran and the Unsittables

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Author(s)

Publisher

disney hyperion

Genre(s)

Humor

Age Range

Release Date

May 12, 2015

ISBN

978-1484709351

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Case File: The First Unsittable Summary: The Association Linking Intergalatics and Earthlings (hereby known as A.L.I.E.N.) has a new member. After months of investigation, Gabby Duran, Associate 4118-25125A, has proven herself to be a babysitter extraordinaire. Her celebrity clients fly her around the country to care for their rambunctious little humans. Our spy, Associate 4118-23432B, otherwise known as Edwina, believes Gabby can be trusted with the truth: aliens are living among humans on Earth. And here at A.L.I.E.N we believe that even extraterrestrials need a babysitter now and then. No one was up to the task...until now. After accepting the top-secret position, Edwina has paired our new associate up with her first charge, a little girl from the planet Flarknartia. The timing for associate 4118-25125A is less than ideal. It's a school day on Planet Earth, Gabby's audition for the solo part in the band is tonight, and this tiny alien is a bit more than meets the eye. Can Gabby Duran, Associate 4118-25125A, First Sitter to the Unsittables, keep her otherworldly charge safe in the unpredictable halls of middle-school and keep A.L.I.E.N hidden?

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4 reviews

Overall rating

4.0

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4.0(2)

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And you thought the neighbor kids were hard to babysit!

June 01, 2015

Overall rating

4.0

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Gabby is such a good babysitter that movie stars will fly her to Florida to watch their children, so it's no surprise when the mysterious Edwina shows up and offers Gabby an out-of-this-world babysitting opportunity... literally. Edwina is part of the Association Linking Intergalatics and Earthlings as Neighbors and needs someone who can babysit the children of visiting aliens. When Gabby does well with Philip, who is a giant, gelationous blob who just wants to be loved and played with, Edwina promises to keep in touch and line up other jobs for her. This is important to Gabby, because her mother is struggling to make ends with Gabby and her sister after the death of her father in the military when Gabby was quite young. Gabby plays the French horn, and would like to attend a good music school if her family could afford it, and she sees working for A.L.I.E.N. as her ticket to this life. When Edwina next materializes, she has Wutt, an alien princess, for Gabby to watch. The downside? Wutt is being targeted by an anti-alien group, and if anything happens to Wutt, her family might vaporize the Earth. No pressure, especially since Gabby has school as well as a concert to attend while tending to Wutt. Complications ensue when a substitute teacher seems to surmise Gabby's secret, and Wutt's safety is imperiled at every turn. Can Gabby keep herself and Wutt safe and be prepared for the French horn solo in the concert?

Sometimes that action got a bit too goofy and over-the-top for me. Gabby's mother's brief appearance was hectic, and the confusion between the words "what" and "Wutt" reminded me of the Abbott and Costello "Who's On First" routine, but younger readers won't be familiar with that and will find the pacing to be perfect.

Good Points

This takes interests that many middle grade students have-- making money and babysitting-- and puts a humorous, frenetic twist on it. Gabby truly believes that no child, even an alien one, is "unsittable", and her techniques are admirable. The characters, from geeky sister to harried best friend to turn-coat school custodian, are multi-faceted and engaging. The action is nonstop, and there are great details (like Wutt turning into a goofy looking hat to evade detection) that will make this appealing to middle grade readers.

Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 2014 reviews

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Hilarious aliens and fun characters made for a very entertaining read.

May 25, 2015

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4.0

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What I Loved: While reading this I had to completely let go of the fact that I was reading it as an adult. Being in the “kid mindset” is a must for a book like this because there’s a lot of stuff that’s pretty unbelievable, besides the fact that there are aliens in this book. Reading this as a kid (the inner kid in me at least), I have to say that this book was all kinds of awesome. I really loved it. It was so cute and fun. The aliens that Gabby has to watch are hilarious and I loved that even though they’re aliens, they’re still just kids and they still just want someone to play with them. I really appreciated Gabby’s view of how every kid is special and good, you just have to know how to handle them. She’s very genuine and sweet and I like the idea of my kids reading about a character like her.

What Didn’t Work for Me: Being a parent, I didn’t like how Gabby was so flippant during those first scenes with Edwina. That bugged me the most and I was surprised how quickly she gave in to what Edwina told her and how she handled that situation. Gabby is left to her own devices a lot and maybe I’m just being overprotective, but that was a bit crazy to me. Yes, she’s twelve and capable, but still. It’s a personal thing, but that got to me a bit.

Final Verdict: I would definitely recommend this for young readers. It’s fun, light-hearted, and engaging. I really enjoyed reading this book and would love a sequel.