Sean+O.

media type="custom" key="7800795" //** The Dark Side of Nowhere **// by Neal Shusterman, was a gripping book that had me on the edge of my seat as I read every page. Now I have never been much of a sci-fi fan, but I have to admit that this book was one of the best books I have ever read.

The science topic addressed in this book is Aliens, meaning extraterrestrial beings.

The author’s writing style is first person. That is, he tells the story through the eyes and ears of the main character Jason. I greatly enjoyed this writing style because I could relate to this character as I am about the same age and gender as Jason. While this writing style is not unique, the story itself was so unusual that it kept me guessing and interested as I read every plot twist.

There are several interesting characters in this book and the reader is surprised to learn that they are all actually alien life forms. I especially enjoyed the main character Jason. I could relate to Jason because he is like me ; a middle schooler struggling with all the same problems that all middle schoolers’ face (acceptance, peer pressure, parent relations, etc.) Jason is a courageous, young man with leadership abilities. He’s the kind of guy anyone would want to have as a friend. On the other hand, the character Grant is an evil janitor who works at Jason’s school and is set on destroying the human race. At first Grant seems like a nice likeable man that a student could trust. As the story unfolds, the reader is surprised to discover that Grant is really a bad man who is intolerant of other life forms.

The setting takes place in a small town called Billington. Billington is a realistic place that reminded me of my new hometown, Libertyville. Even the middle school that the characters attended reminded me of Highland. The setting makes this story even more attractive to my age group because it takes place in an average town and school.

In summary, this is a story about a seemingly typical teenager named Jason who is angry with his boring life. To his astonishment, Jason learns through Grant that they are both (as well as most of the people in the town) Aliens living in a human world. Jason’s own parents never revealed this to him! The reader learns that about twenty years ago, the Aliens’ ship crashed into Earth killing many humans in the town of Billington. The Aliens were coming to Earth to destroy it and take it over. After the accident, the Aliens decided to change plans and take over the dead humans’ bodies by extracting the humans’ DNA. This required the Aliens to continually take shots to maintain the human life form. Jason grew up being lied to by his parents about the purpose of his constant need to take shots (i.e. a grave illness). That is why Jason never knew he was an Alien. The Aliens intended to live like humans until their fellow Aliens would arrive on Earth and join them in the overthrow of Earth. The character Grant manipulates Jason and other young Aliens into training and developing combat skills and weaponry skills so that these young Aliens will be prepared unknowingly for a war against the humans. After twenty years of living on Earth as humans, some of the Aliens decided that they liked their life on Earth and would prefer to coexist with the humans instead of destroying the human race. The story’s climax is the struggle between the evil forces of Aliens led by Grant vs. Jason who singlehandedly decides to sabotage the plan to destroy Earth.

I would strongly recommend this book to any middle schooler who has an interest in Aliens and struggles with authority. They will love this book because it is filled with plot twists and surprises yet is so relatable to their lives!