Good Book Day

"He never speaks. He never makes eye contact. No one has ever touched him. They say he’s retarded. Autistic. Strange. his name is Smitty, but everyone calls him “The Alien,” and Ginny is intrigued. She’s been feeling like an alien in a strange world since she and her family moved here from the West Coast. Against her first impulse, Ginny vows to make contact with Smitty. To be his friend.

But still waters run deep. And Smitty is like the ocean. Ginny soon finds herself being sucked under – going out too far. But Smitty is the one who could drown. Because the world he‘s created is safe from love, from pain, from everything. There’s no room for anyone else. At least – till Ginny comes along...." (website)

I read The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen Randle at least five times when I was in high school. I also read select parts of it many times more. I worked at the public library in high school and there was a copy of this book that someone had marked up- underlined the best parts. Once in a while on my break, I'd grab that copy and read the underlined parts. I eventually bought my own copy of the book.

This book isn't a science fiction book, it's about feeling like an alien in this world, especially as a teenager. I don't know that I felt too much like an alien, but every teenager does to some degree. Even as adults we still feel like that sometimes. This book resonated with something inside me. It's a good book for teenagers and adults to see the world through someone else's eyes. That often helps us see our lives in a different way.

Check it out and have a good book day!