Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause

Recently I picked up an older book from one of my favorite YA authors,  Annette Curtis Klause.  Annette is the brilliant author behind Blood and Chocolate, The Silver Kiss, Freaks: Alive, on the Inside!, and The Restless Dead: Ten Original Stories of the Supernatural.  She has the ability to make readers fall in love with the most grotesque or deadly animal.  Be it vampires, werewolves, or circus freaks, she is able to reveal their lives in such a way, the reader immediately feels a part of their world.

Alien Secrets is a touching tale of a young misfit who saves a sacred alien artifact.  Puck, who's been expelled from school, has been sent shamefully back to her parents.  While on a spaceship headed to another planet where Puck's parents are studying alien races, she meets her first alien, Hush.  Hush is shunned by other passengers and at one point imprisoned as a criminal because of his looks and alien ways.  Puck struggles with self-doubt at every turn, but her lighthearted spirit and youthful energy is infectious.  This once misfit is able to solve a case of the stolen goods, free Hush, and help put a criminal away for good.

This tale speaks on prejudice and the hate that ignorance can breed.  It also shows that even misfit kids have strengths and gifts.  If only someone will believe in them and give them a chance, they can shine.  Unlike Annette's other books, there is not a love story in this one per se, but the friendship that blossoms between Hush and Puck is just as intoxicating.  This tale is safe for all readers and I especially recommend it for troubled pre-teens.

If you're interested in reading the first few pages of Alien Secrets, it is available on Amazon.com.