The Only Alien on the Planet

The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle

AR Reading Level: 4.6
On the library stacks: YA Fiction
Award: State Award
Recommended for: Grades 8+

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ginny's parents decided to move to the opposite end of the county right before her senior year of high school. Her older brother has just left for college and her parents are busy starting their new business. Ginny is lonely and homesick for her old friends and her old life.

But then she meets Caulder, a boy who lives next door. They become best friends and spend all kinds of time together. Caulder has always had an interest in another boy who lives on their street named Smitty. Ginny had noticed gorgeous Smitty the first day of school, but she didn't know then that Smitty had not said a word to anyone since age 2, despite being a genius. Caulder pulls Ginny out of her comfort zone and the two of them develop a relationship with Smitty that will change their lives.

This is a book about friendship and what true love really means. But it is also about abuse and how it can impact so many lives. The abuse element is handled extremely well with little detail, making this an easy book to recommend. It's not a perfect book--there were some cheesy moments and some things that didn't ring true for the average teenager in my opinion. But this is an uplifting read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Recommended to me by: Good Clean Reads

Book 91 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge, Book 40 of 50 for the YA Reading Challenge, Book 23 of 25 for the Support Your Local Library Challenge
Source: Library