Read of the Week: Alienated by Melissa Landers

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them. 

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara’s classmates get swept up by anti-L’eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn’t safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara’s locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class. 

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she’s fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

Alienated is what I would like to think the mirror image of what our world will look like – I am hoping, at least – sometime in the next seventy-five years; troubles with the environment, aliens who know how to fix things, moving lifeforms to other planets, such and such.

Or maybe I am just really crazy. 

I love reading a great book about aliens and actually feeling like what’s happening may actually be possible. And when does that ever happen? Never, I tell you. It’s also actually way helpful when trying to relate to characters and motives.

The idea of hot young aliens coming over and bunking with an Earth family as a sort of exchange student program had me from the start. The best romances always  happen in the house – or maybe I just saw the TV movie version of Flowers in the Attic a little too recently. Most of the alien sci-fi novels I’ve been breezing through lately have this unoriginal fixation with the government and some under wraps organization where they’re allowed to burrow on our planet and mix in with small groups in big hilly places, much like Jennifer Armentrout’s Lux series, which I actually do enjoy very much, contrary to belief. It was extremely refreshing getting to see things played out a little bit differently, or, well, a lot of bit differently this time around. Aliens are crazy popular now and it’s nice to know that horizons are broadening.

Alienated also did a great job of getting my emotions working, and for me that sort of thing happens close to none. Between Cara’s deteriorating relationship with her best friend Tori, tension between her and Alex, and the constant harassment coming from HALO’s(Humans Against L’eihr Occupation) end of things, I was just about ready to curl up and bawl. Melissa Landers certainly knows how to write in a way that keeps you going crazy, and also, inevitably, wanting more.

Aelyx is one of my new favorite aliens boys. While Alienated was written in third person we got a small view into his world and seeing his logic for everything he was for made him not only reasonable, but totally swoon-worthy. And he has nice hair. And those kind of boys are always the best. Cara’s friendship was him was genuine and heartwarming and seeing their love grow was so adorable.

Intergalactic travel! Space! Galaxy stuff! Science! You get all of that, and it’s all the fun you’re imagining and much much more. Astronomy and extraterrestrial people will love this thing – if they weren’t already sure about that. People who aren’t so sure about it? Landers makes it fun, so nothing to worry about if sci-fi isn’t your thing.

I’m currently having mixed feelings about how the novel ended, but I also just finished it about half an hour ago. None the less, we’ll have a sequel coming our way soon enough, and that gives me something to hold onto and not whine about so I’ll spare you all.

Conclusion: Alienated is all sorts of romantic intergalactic planetary fun for everyone.

I really hope someone saw what I just did there.

Rating: 9/10