Summary: The story of a young girl named Nesta who has always been a little skeptical of her parents' behaviors. Come to find out, her parents aren't really from Boston, but they are aliens from outer space. One day, their friend Thomas from the planet Ormingant comes to Earth and notify Nesta's parents it is their last chance to return to space if they so choose and Nesta has a difficult time because she wants to stay on Earth.

Personal reflection: I thought this book was fun to read because you are constantly guessing if Nesta's parents are going to stay on Earth or go to space.

Class use: read aloud and ask the students what they would do if they were in Nesta's shoes. Stay on earth or go to outer space? Also, create a character map for Nesta and her human qualities and alien qualities. How do they combine to create Nesta's personality?

Waugh, S. (2002). Earthborn. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Nesta Gwynn always thought that her parents were slightly odd, but she figured it was because they were from Boston. Then she discovers that her parents are not from Boston. In fact, they are from other planet called Ormingat. At the age of thirteen, her parents finally tell her that the fairy tales about coming from another planet are true. Nesta is astonished and hurt. Her parents also tell they that they must quickly return to Ormingat. Will there be enough time?

As a science fiction novel, it explores the issue of extraterrestrial beings. Are aliens living on another planet? The story is somewhat believable, because Waugh does describe Ormingat. However, there are not a lot of details about the Ormingat. In addition, the storyline does not move quickly. The first few chapters focus on Ginger and the gang bullying Nesta. It is not until several chapters later does the author explain Ormingat. The plot is not quite original, because there are other books about families being aliens. Similar to The Giver, the theme of the book is also the power of love.

Girl finds out she's part of an alien family that has been living on Earth and now they need to move back to their homeworld. ( )

Sequel to Space race; followed by Who goes home?. ( )

Nesta Gwynn has always known that her parents are different. She thinks it’s because they’re from Boston instead of the little town in England, where Nesta was born and where she’s always lived. But at the age of 12, Nesta discovers that her parents aren’t really from Boston. In fact, they’re not from Earth at all. They’re aliens from a planet named Ormingat and, even though she was born on Earth, Nesta is an alien too. To make matters worse, her parents’s mission on Earth has come to an abrupt end because of a boy named Thomas Derwent. They will have one chance to return to Ormingat and it’s only seven days away. Nesta quickly devises a plan so that she’ll miss the deadline and not have to leave Earth. But if she stays behind, will her parents choose to stay with her or will they go back to Ormingat without her? ( )