Alienated by Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated
Author: Melissa Landers
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication date:  February 4, 2014
Pages: 344
Source/format: Hardcover, library

Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

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.

My Thoughts:

Cara Sweeney is an over achiever. She is valedictorian, president of the Honor Society and is a two time state debate champion. Her school nominated her to participate in an intergalaxy exchange program called the Leihr Exchange Ambassador Program (LEAP). She is paired up with Aelyx, a L'eihr student ambassador. Cara's family hosts Aelyx for a year of schooling while Aelyx shadows Cara at school. This exchange program is meant for the alliance between Earth and L'eihr to grow stronger.

Cara's family is super supportive which I liked. A lot parents aren't so supportive in a teen's life so I found Cara's family very likable. However, Cara's boyfriend isn't so supportive. He believes that the L'eihrs should not be on Earth and are not to be trusted. He even joins this group called Humans Against L'eihr Occupation aka HALO. Some people do not support the alliance and protest at the school and treat the L'eihrs poorly. It gets to the point that Cara breaks off the relationship with Eric due to their different views. Eventually Cara and her best friend of six years decide to break off their friendship as well.

Cara is super thoughtful in terms of making Aelyx feel like he is at home. She asks him how his room looks like at home and replicates it as close as she can on Earth. She tries to make him foods similar to what he eats at home and was successful when she had her mom cook a pot roast which tasted similar to Aelyx's favorite dish back at home called l'ina. I think it's cute how Aelyx calls Cara Elire.

Alienated reminds me of the the CW show Star-Crossed that got canceled after the first season. It is fairly similar except a small group Atrians (alien species) are integrated with humans at a high school of a suburban town. The Red Hawks are the equivalent to HALO. Both Alienated and Star-Crossed have alien species who have a plant that can cure humans from certain illnesses/diseases. However, I believe that Alienated would make a better TV series.

I like how Melissa Landers would start or end some chapters of Alienated with a blog post written by Cara. I also enjoyed reading the dual POV in the novel and I can tell which POV is Cara's and which POV is Aelyx's. Reading from Aelyx's POV and Cara's POV helps the reader feel what they are thinking and what they are going through. Landers does a good job developing the relationship between Cara and Aelyx. There is no instalove and THANK GOODNESS! I love how their relationship blossoms. Both are indifferent to each other when they first meet but over time they start to grow fond of each other. The ending of the novel is action packed. There is so much going on it was pretty intense and crazy! Definitely pick up a copy of Alienated when you have a chance. The sequel, Invaded, has a publication date of February 3, 2015.

There is a pre-order deal for signed copies of Invaded and Alienated. Check it out on Melissa Landers' site. The last day for the pre-order is January 15, 2015.