I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
From a Distant Star by Karen McQuestion
Genres: Sci-Fi (YA)
Pages: 272
Goodreads
When Lucas Walker inexplicably recovers from a terminal illness, everyone is astonished --except for his girlfriend Emma, who never gave up hope. However, as friends and family celebrate the miracle, Emma becomes alarmed: Lucas has changed. He speaks haltingly, can't recall past events, and even his own dog doesn't recognize him. Emma begins to suspect something is terribly wrong. What happened to the Lucas she loved? Does his strange behavior have something to do with the shooting light that fell into Lucas's backyard the night he recovered?
As the two set off on a road trip in search of the truth, the journey takes an unexpected turn. First they're shot at by unknown enemies and then helped by unlikely allies. Before long, Emma and Lucas are plunged into a desperate life or death race against time.
Packed with intrigue and emotion, FROM A DISTANT STAR is a riveting novel about loyalty and the power of love.
I actually don’t read many books about aliens, so I was definitely skeptical going in. But I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book!
The two words or phrases I would use to describe my feelings about the story would be cute and a roller-coaster ride. I know, what? Those are two very different descriptions, but this story had two different moods. There was so much about friendship, love and humanity in general while still containing action. Some of the scenarios that the characters get themselves into are a bit far-fetched, then again, it’s a book about aliens – so who cares? Also, there were a few things that could have been explained more thoroughly, like how Scout was able to cure cancer, who the two agents that were hunting them down were/where they came from, how did they know about the fallen pod if the brother and sister were the ones that shot it down? Just a few unanswered questions for me, but it was still an enjoyable story.
Emma’s boyfriend is terminally ill, he is basically just waiting for cancer to kill him while in a coma. Still, Emma is by his side every single day. This made me love Emma from the beginning. To be in high school and be able to handle this situation shows her strength at such a young age. She’s willing to do anything to save this boy that she loves, whether that’s naïvety or not, she stays true to her feelings. I will say she was immature at times with her jealousy but I didn’t find that distracting.
Lucas’ (her boyfriend) mother was the least likable character for me. She was so cruel to everyone, even the family dog. Honestly, I felt so bad for the dog so many times because of how the mother treated him. If his mother knew her son at all she would know that he would want Emma there every day and would want Mack (the dog) to be treated with love! That’s just me ranting, though.
I loved Scout! He was so innocent and I loved his dialogue. There are a few chapters here and there with his point of view, but only a page or two long. I finished the book wanting WAY more from Scout! He was by far my favorite character.
Overall, I think all the characters were well developed and easily relatable.
The book is written in dual perspective, separated by chapters. However, as I stated above, I wish we got more of Scout. Even a whole book written just from his perspective would have been fantastic! Although, it was nice to be able to peek into his mind now and then. The story did start a little slow, but when it picked up it was fun and addicting! Also, as I stated in my observations of the plot, I wish there was a bit more detail about the “aliens” – but I guess they weren’t really the point of the story, so that may be just me.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was one of the first Science Fiction/Alien books I read, so I didn’t go into it with any expectations, yet it lived up to what I wanted out of a story. It isn’t so much a love story as it is a look at friendship and humanity. McQuestion did a great job bringing humanity to all her characters, even Scout. This is a fun, addicting, and sweet read for anyone.
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| Overall: | 4 / 5 |
2 Comments
Great review! I’m currently reading this via audiobook and am enjoying it so far. I love that the narrator went so far as to make Scout’s voice very stilted and awkward–it really helps drive in that he’s not quite as “human” as everyone else thinks he is. Thanks so much for sharing!
Ah, I didn’t listen to the audiobook but that does sound interesting! I always read his parts in kind of this awkward tone in my head lol