Book Review ~ Alienated by Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated (Alienated #1)
Author: Melissa Landers
Release Date: February 4th 2014
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

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

Alienated by Melissa Landers is a fresh and interesting YA story that revolves around the integration of an alien boy and a human girl.

I pretty much devoured the first two thirds of this book, soaking up the well written story, the interesting characters and the journey of prejudice and love in which Cara and Aelyx find themselves.

However, I felt let down by the rushed and too easy ending that just didn’t ring true for me. The hurried and seemingly simple solution to the plight of the entire world, and the punishment met out by the L’eihr elders just didn’t measure up with the punishments the reader is led to believe exists for much lesser crimes, earlier on in the book. 

The lack of emotion and compassion we are also led to believe about the L’eihr race seems to disappear in order to round out the story, letting Cara and Aelyx off pretty much scot-free.

Overall, I did enjoy the story and I’ll be sure to read the follow up, but in-my-opinion, there needs to be more story consistency in order to make it coherent and believable. 3.5 STARS