Space Opera (Catherynne Valente)

Do you like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Or Spinal Tap? Or lush descriptions of alien worlds? Then this book about a high stakes galactic battle of the bands is for you!

While Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes were wowing the crowds of planet Earth, the rest of the galaxy was engaged in a brutal, planet destroying conflict known as the sentience wars. Many years later, Decibel Jones has long outgrown is bright yet short lived stardom, and the rest of the galaxy has decided on what makes a species truly sentient: music. Every year, all sentient species come together to present their songs and prove themselves worthy of a place in the universe. Earth is newly discovered, and must enter their first contest. Decibel Jones is somehow chosen to represent planet Earth and literally save them from obliteration, despite having not written a song in years.

Good luck!

This book was so much fun, and I really enjoyed reading it. The one complaint I had is that it was a little slower than I had expected, but once it got going it was fantastic.