Author: Melissa Landers
Publisher: Hyperion
Genre: Sci-fi, Romance
Blurb: 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.
Me: Aliens that are just crazy-evolved humans that don't have three eyes and green skin? Seems awesomeee.
The Ups: The entire concept of aliens not being some weird "I come in peace" green things and intellectually advanced, selectively bred, "better" versions of humans was really cool. I think that the entire concept of other life on other planets fascinates me, and to think of it like this was very fresh. I really enjoyed imagining L'eihr and the people living on it, and their culture and such.
Aelyx was an amazing character, and I totally had a huge crush on him. I am not ashamed. I think that he really embodied how we make mistakes and view groups as stereotypes, and only think the way we were raised to think. His intellect and his cultural differences made him the perfect amount of awkward.
Cara was, I think, somewhat of a "perfect" girl, and that annoyed me at first, but as the book went on and everyone seemed to hate her, I think that made me feel kind of sorry for her and sympathize.
What I really liked, though, were the small supporting characters. Tori and Eric were especially my favorite, sticking with her until the end. Her parents too, I think, showed a incredible surge of bravery.
The Downs: This book had the potential to be something more. It had the strength to not be just another romance novel, but to make people compare our everyday lives and our bias about things we don't know, and how we could work to break that wall. Instead it turned into a book about saving Earth and staying together to marry each other or whatever and I was over here like, "Come ON."
Also that and the book was so crazy cheesy. Like cheesy as in double cheese hamburger with a hunk of cheese as the burger and cheese fries with it. Some parts I was inwardly groaning because I could not take that much stereotypical teenage love at one time.
Overall: Not bad, but it could have been more.
Rating: 3 kisses!
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