Full Review on NG ( )

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

I liked the premise of this book. Kaila is a young girl struggling to figure out why her mother insists she keep her head covered under a strange shield and hasn't let her go to school. Kaila also has a strange deformity, only four fingers on one hand. When she's finally allowed to go to public school, she finds out there are others like her. We find out through the narrative that Kaila is a starseed - an alien/human hybrid.

I'm not 100% sure what the true purpose of the starseeds are. I think they're there to learn/feed off humanity, but also partially control it. While I liked the idea of the book, there were places where I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be rooting for or against Kaila. I found Kaila somewhat wishy-washy at times. Was she for or against being a starseed?

The physics and world building were intriguing, but I admit I was put off by some of the teenage angst and tropes - cliques, highschool antics and slut shaming.

I did like the mind-screen and some of the other alien powers [travel, time bending, healing] and would have liked to see more of them. I'm not sure if this book is going to continue on as the ending did leave room for more action.

Overall, I'd be interested in knowing more about the agenda of the starseeds creators and how they plan to enact that agenda on earth.
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This was an interesting read. It felt a lot like Roswell, but different. There are alien hybrids at high school and a romance. After that it diverges from the Roswell theme. These hybrids have a darker purpose for the earth. It takes Kaila a while to remember who she is and what's really important to her.


What worked--Gruder does a great job building the dark mystery of what the aliens are really up to on earth. You can guess, but you're not quite sure. She hints and then shows the growing division among the hybrids. I also liked her look at school life. The cliche characters are all present, but Gruder shows that everyone has a side of themselves that they hide from the public view.

What didn't work--I had a hard time relating or getting inside Kaila's head. Maybe that plastic wrap really worked. I knew I was reading a story, not living it with the characters. ( )

This was an interesting read. It felt a lot like Roswell, but different. There are alien hybrids at high school and a romance. After that it diverges from the Roswell theme. These hybrids have a darker purpose for the earth. It takes Kaila a while to remember who she is and what's really important to her.


What worked--Gruder does a great job building the dark mystery of what the aliens are really up to on earth. You can guess, but you're not quite sure. She hints and then shows the growing division among the hybrids. I also liked her look at school life. The cliche characters are all present, but Gruder shows that everyone has a side of themselves that they hide from the public view.

What didn't work--I had a hard time relating or getting inside Kaila's head. Maybe that plastic wrap really worked. I knew I was reading a story, not living it with the characters. ( )

In all honesty, sci-fi is a genre I enjoy, but haven't gotten into much, and space-y books are always a question mark for me. The synopsis of this book caught my attention though, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The beginning was interesting, taking a look at Kaila's family and life, and she seemed pretty relatable. With the exception, of course, of her tin foil head-covering and blonde wig...

Her first few meetings with the aliens, masquerading as High School students, was quite humorous, and had me laughing at several points. The descriptions of them fit most of the sci-fi standards for humanoid-looking aliens, which was nice. As Kaila finds out more about herself, her family, and her past, things become much more complicated, and less humorous. Ominous and scary events and plans unfold, and take the story on an exciting ride.

I liked this book overall. The characters were really different, and I enjoyed all the plot turns in the story. The story was well written and easy to follow. The author did a wonderful job of describing the surreal elements of the story, carrying the reader though an exciting adventure.

I took away two stars because of some plot points I personally didn't care for (no spoilers here, folks), and through part of the book, it did get somewhat confusing. I would still recommend this book though, especially if you're a fan of alien stories, and, even if you're usually not, this one may surprise you :)

*I was given an ebook copy of this book, by the author, in exchange for an honest review. ( )