The following unabridged reviews are made available under license from their respective rights holders and publishers. Reviews may be used for educational purposes consistent with the fair use doctrine in your jurisdiction, and may not be reproduced or repurposed without permission from the rights holders.

Note: This section may include reviews for related titles (e.g., same author, series, or related edition).

From School Library Journal

October 1, 2009
Gr 5-8-George and Annie, the middle-school cosmologists in the Hawkings' "George's Secret Key to the Universe" (S & S, 2007), return in a sequel that, if not spellbinding, will please fans of the first book. Annie's scientist dad, Eric, is called from the UK to America to oversee a robot probe bound for Mars. Soon after, Annie invites George to visit and join her on a "cosmic mission." When he arrives, she shows him a coded message she thinks may have come from aliens, which she found on her father's broken super-laptop Cosmos. It suggests that if they can't crack the code, Earth will be destroyed. With the help of Emmett, a super-geek genius, they repair Cosmos and can once again travel the planets and stars. Meanwhile, Eric's robot probe arrives on Mars and behaves bizarrely. Brief essays on cosmology interspersed between the chapters expand on the topics Annie, George, and Eric mention, plus color photos of heavenly phenomena. Fun cartoon drawings throughout carry along the unsubtle tale whose message seems to be "Wow! Isn't science great?""Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Horn Book

July 1, 2009
In this sequel to George's Secret Key to the Universe, friends George and Annie (daughter of a Global Space Agency scientist) again venture through the universe, this time to investigate possible extraterrestrial contact. Contrived dialogue and precious plotting hamper the story, but the interspersed essays--contributed by leading scientists--are inspiring, communicating both basic concepts and thrilling frontiers. Stunning photos are interspersed.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From AudioFile Magazine

Hugh Dancy sounds like a lovable museum curator in Lucy and Stephen Hawking's second science fiction novel for kids. George and Annie shoot around the universe searching for intelligent life while science essays by noted astronomers provide factual commentary. After the story, Linda Emond narrates approximately an hour of astronomy facts. The production claims to include a PDF file containing supplementary information; however, it was not present in the downloadable edition. While the science essays interrupt the narrative somewhat, one can't help but warm to Dancy's boyish humor. He also maintains a calm, approachable tone and pace as he wades through scads of scientific information. Science-hungry fans will warm to this astronomical feast. C.A. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine