From a Distant Star

by Karen McQuestion

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

From a Distant Star was super cute! We got off to a really rough start, so I was concerned in the beginning, but once Emma and Scout start their adventure, I was hooked! Emma's boyfriend, Lucas, has stage four cancer and is now in a coma. His family is preparing for the end, but Emma isn't willing to give up on him. She goes to the town "witch" who gives her a potion to bring him back. That same night, an alien scout crash lands in Lucas' backyard and needs a host body to survive. Lucas miraculously wakes up, starts healing, but Emma know it's no longer her Lucas.

I'll start with the two things that initial bothered me, but got cleared up as From a Distant Star moved forward. First, it alternates between third and first POV, which I always hate. Luckily, it's not an every other chapter deal. It's mostly told from Emma's first person account, but occasionally we get Scout's which is in third. The opening chapter is also in third, but from Lucas' dog's perspective. But honestly, having Scout tell his parts in first person wouldn't make any sense at all, because of reasons.

Second, Scout's control of Lucas' body seems like a major inconsistency at first. When Scout first crashes, he enters Lucas' dog who is sniffing around his pod. He doesn't take control though. He just kind of hitchhikes, and lets Mack do what he does. Then he transfers to Lucas, and has to learn how to be Lucas. Wouldn't it have been easier to just hitchhike again, and observe for a little while before taking control when he needed to? He says Lucas is there, but "sleeping." Which from an outside perspective would seem like he did something to Lucas in order to take over the body, leaving him trapped in there. However, at the end, it's explained better as to what was going on. I feel like that would have been easy for Scout to explain in the first place and would have dismissed any lingering questions.

Now, my main problem with From a Distant Star in the beginning was Emma. She is so annoying! One of the first things she tells us is that her mother is okay with her spending all of her time at Lucas' house, so his mother should be okay with it. Girl, that makes no sense! You're in HER house! Taking up time with HER dying son. Emma admits that it never crossed her mind that she might in the way or intruding on private family time. I can totally understand that she wants to be there for him, but use your noodle! She's also just irritatingly optimistic (or idiotic, I'm still not sure). Like, Lucas is dying; the medical evidence is there. His family is trying to prepare for that, but she's living in this land of sunshine and rainbows where no one ever dies from cancer. It's a bit much. Then, when she finds the alien pod, she thinks it's either something illegal or a weapon being tested, so she picks it up and puts it her bedroom closet. BOOM!

From a Distant Star wasn't bad though! Not at all! Despite those initial complaints, I had so much fun reading it! Mostly because Scout (as Lucas' brother names him, since he's an alien scout) is adorable and unintentionally hilarious. He just does not understand humans, and it's easy to see why. We make no sense! Like when he says that instead of drinking alcohol to feel better, why not just make the world better? Exactly, Scout! Exactly! And there's just a bunch of little things he says and does as he's learning to be human. Less than three!

Of course, the main plot is about getting Scout home, so Lucas can have his body back. It's a bit ridiculous at times, but I felt like it worked for the story. There's government agents trying to take them in. There's a research facility who wants to experiment on him. There's independent humans who want to kill all aliens. There's even a funny old couple who are also trying to evade the government who become allies. I adored them! It's all fast-paced fun.

I really enjoyed From a Distant Star. It totally didn't go the way I expected it to. Mainly that this is not a romance! Emma really does just help Scout as a friend. I'm not saying there's no feelings or anything, but this is definitely a tale about getting an alien back to his home planet!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.