Having complained at the start of the year that there appeared to be a lack of science fiction stories for children, I am delighted that they now seem to be coming thick and fast – with this title just the latest in a steady stream to be published recently. Not only does there appear to be a growing selection of books in this genre, but I am pleased to report that this title is the first in a new series which I am sure will appeal greatly to many younger readers.
This might not seem important, but lots of readers – myself included – like to read all of a series if they enjoy the first book and – if I’m honest – I would far rather my charges got into a sequence of books like this than certain others I could mention. Not only is this a cracking story, but it covers a lot of issues important to our children such as bullying, the challenge of not being popular and also being accepted when you are different, making this a thought-provoking read which many children will relate to.
Following an incredibly powerful storm, the town of Fairfield is on the news having been flooded for the very first time. As Kiki watches, she sees Wes, a boy from school, being interviewed and sends an unkind message about him to her best friends. Glued to the screen, Kiki is then horrified to see little brother Ty also interviewed and cringes when he tells the reporter that the storm was caused by aliens in their spaceships. As if this were not bad enough, she is further humiliated by the harsh texts she swiftly receives from her friends laughing at her expense.
Unknown to Kiki though, her little brother is correct and the alien Star Boy has crash-landed close by and later on spots Kiki dejectedly making her way home from a party at which she has quite spectacularly embarrassed herself. Curious about the world on which he finds himself, and in particular human beings, Star Boy takes the opportunity to carefully watch both Kiki and Wes as they attend school, determined to learn as much as he can before he is rescued.
When Kiki gets roped into helping at a school event, Wes inadvertently ends up getting involved too. Despite apparently having nothing in common, the two have no option but to slowly start to work together. As the alien continues to observe them, can he keep his presence a secret from the two children or will he be discovered before he can be rescued?
Among the sci-fi titles that I’ve read over the past few months, there seem to have been several where a child or children meet an alien and have some sort of adventure, but what makes this different is that prior to Star Boy appearing, Kiki and Wes have pretty much nothing to do with one another. He is a real loner, who spends his breaks in peace and quiet away from his peers, while Kiki is so desperate to be part of the in-crowd that she has cast off her real friends and is prepared to put up with an awful lot of bullying from the cool girls in her attempts to be popular. Initially, when they are thrust together, neither is particularly keen to spend time with the other but once they start to actually talk to one another, and more importantly listen, they realise that they are similar in several ways.
The importance of true friendship and treating others with kindness and respect runs through the story. Kiki finds herself torn between doing what she knows she should and being popular because of peer pressure. This is something that we quite regularly talk about in schools and yet so many children find themselves lacking the confidence to make a stand against those children who rule the roost, which saddens me enormously. By using this as a class reader in Year 4 upwards, some very valuable discussions could be had to encourage our children to consider what proper friendship looks like and the importance of how best to stand firm when you are being asked to go against your own moral code.
I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to reading Book 2, although I do not as yet know when that is expected. Enormous thanks must go to Little Tiger for my gifted copy of this read which was published on August 5th. An out of this world 5 out of 5 stars.
Mrs Sydney's Famous World's Smallest Library 