Book Review: From A Distant Star by Karen McQuestion

Read: 25 - 26 September   Verdict: 5 Stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

The best way to describe this book is E.T meets YA fiction. Emma is the girlfriend of Lucas, a young man dying of cancer. On a night that Emma vows to do anything to save the love of her life, he suddenly wakes up, miraculously cured. However, Emma soon realises that the new and improved Lucas is not actually her Lucas. Instead, his body has been temporarily taken over by the consciousness of an alien life form called Scout, who is looking for a way to call home. Before too long, Emma ends up becoming involved in a race to get Scout home, and Lucas back.

I really enjoyed this book. It took me little over a day to read and it really kept me enthralled throughout. I felt that the personalities of all the characters really shone through, even Scout. Karen McQuestion had a great way of allowing her character's unique personality to shine through, such as Mrs Walker's...annoyingness, and Eric's smarts. I liked the small glimpses the reader got of Scout's world...I'd almost really love some kind of novella all about Scout when he returns home and reunites with Regina (also, I loved the Mean Girls references).

While Emma's devotion to Lucas was one of the strongest points in the book, I did feel concerned about how Lucas seemed to be her whole world. While I understood that Emma would be preoccupied with Lucas while he was sick, it seemed that even before that she had no one else but him. At only points in the novel does Emma mention her friends - one was when she said she used her phone for updates from friends (but didn't mention names), another was when she said that two of her friends had ditched her in fifth grade. She didn't seem to have one best friend. When Lucas got sick, his friends dropped her to school...she had no friends of her own. I found this concerning, and a little unhealthy. I don't think it's a great message to send to younger readers, that's it okay to make your world center around one boy because when they leave, you end up with nothing. I enjoyed the book overall too much for me to detract a star because of this though.

This was a fast-paced, easy and enjoyable read and I just really want to know how Scout is doing now!