Alienated (Alienated Series #1)

by Melissa Landers

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423186991
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	02/04/2014
Series:	Alienated Series , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn't afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in publicâ??just ask her embarrassed kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Milford, Ohio, where she writes romantic space adventures for teens and the young at heart.

Editorial Reviews

"A perfect blend of sizzling romance, action, and suspense." ---Jennifer L. Armentrout, New York Times bestselling author

From the Publisher

12/01/2014
Gr 9 Up—In Alienated, Cara Sweeney, high school overachiever and class valedictorian, has been selected to host the first L'eihr exchange student. Initial excitement and pride are quickly overshadowed by doubt and unease upon meeting the alien Aelyx. Although almost genetically identical, the two cultures are as different as night and day and the level of discomfort is evident. Further complicating matters is anti-alien paranoia and violence directed not only at Aelyx and the other exchange students, but also at Cara and her family. Drawn together due to circumstance, the teens start falling for each other. In Invaded, the couple continues to try to forge an alliance between the two planets, as mutual survival of both populations are depending on it. Amid hate and an unknown future, Cara must decide between love, the unknown, and the future she always dreamed of having. Excellent character development and a nice integration between modern reality and science fiction drive the plot in a satisfying story arc. Continuation of the story line is seamless between series installments, giving readers a continued interest in and connection to the protagonists. Themes of racism and environmentalism are integral to understanding and developing the emotional level of the story as well as the momentum of the plot. Teens will be rooting for the galactic couple while enjoying the action and suspense that runs through the two volumes. A fun pick for fans of sci-fi with a bit of romance.—Elizabeth Speer, Cisco College, TX

School Library Journal

2013-11-27
A charming if lightweight science-fiction romance bogs down when it attempts to convey moral lessons. High school senior Cara Sweeny plans on being the best at everything--schoolwork, debate, life. These ambitions earn her the ambiguous honor of hosting one of the first "exchange students" from the L'eihrs, the aliens who have just initiated contact with Earth. But while Aelyx might be completely human-looking (and a total hottie), he's also cold and arrogant, with a major hatred for all of humanity. The alternating viewpoints convey their personalities well: Cara's is breezy and chatty and studded with slightly dated slang; Aelyx's more formal, occasionally gloomy and often bewildered. Although there seems little beyond raging hormones to inspire their intense devotion, the romantic shenanigans are entertaining until overshadowed by the heavy-handed, simplistic message that prejudice is wrong--a moral somewhat undercut by the reliance upon such stereotypes as the temperamental redhead, the bigoted jock and the vivacious Latina who sprinkles her conversations with Spanish obscenities. Once the tone abruptly shifts to science-fiction thriller, the willing suspension of disbelief snaps under the weight of unbelievable behavior, nonsensical science and a "happy ending" with profoundly disturbing implications. It's still rather fun in an after-school–special sort of way, but hardly an essential purchase or read. (Science fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews