Review by Booklist Review
Years ago, Jakob Shao disappeared on the shores of Lake Kinbote with his father--who reappeared days later, convinced that his son had been abducted by aliens and needed to be rescued. Jakob's two sisters dealt with the incident in very different ways. Kass became the responsible rock, while Evie dove into alien conspiracy groups, trying to find proof of what happened to Jakob. The two haven't spoken in years when Jakob reappears, sending a shock wave through their lives. As always, Chen has written a science fiction novel rooted in a deeply emotional core: the focus is on this family and their tensions and pain, and whether they can find a way to trust one another moving forward. This soft sf story is strongest when digging into the complicated dynamics between big and little sister: Kass and Evie struggle to understand each other and accept the other's mistakes. It's a vivid, strong novel that will enchant sf fans who enjoy concentrated, touching stories that narrow in on relationships and emotional consequences.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Chen (We Could Be Heroes) delivers an emotional blend of space opera and family drama. Fifteen years ago, Jakob Shao joined the war efforts of the alien coalition that abducted him from Earth. Now, dire circumstances force him to return home and face the family left behind. Jakob's disappearance devastated the Shao family, sending sisters Evie and Kassie on divergent paths: Evie spent those 15 years researching possible alien sightings, while Kassie has always believed that Jakob simply ran away--and that Evie has abandoned her responsibilities to chase a delusion. Chen captures both the love and the friction of their sibling relationship when Jakob returns with a cover story about backpacking through Europe, confirming Kassie's theory. An element of doubt creeps in, however, when the FBI shows up wanting to question Jakob as part of a domestic terrorism investigation. Kassie and Evie agree to help, but Evie breaks her promise when given the opportunity to prove that Jakob was abducted. Chen adroitly explores the contradictory emotions typical of sibling dynamics and the holding pattern of familial roles against the distant backdrop of UFO investigation and intergalactic battle. The result is sure to keep readers turning pages. Agent: Eric Smith, P.S. Literary. (Jan.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Chen (We Could Be Heroes) returns with an endearing alien contact space opera that mixes dysfunctional family drama with UFO abduction conspiracies and makes for an excellent audiobook. Fifteen years ago, the Shao family was ripped apart when two of its members disappeared from a family camping trip: Arnold Shao, the family patriarch, who eventually returned, and his son Jakob, who did not. Arnold swore until his dying day that he and Jakob were abducted by aliens. Now Arnold's twin daughters Kass and Evie barely speak and live on opposite sides of the country. Kass takes care of their mother, who has dementia, while Evie has dropped out of college to dive into the conspiracy theory--riddled world of UFO hunters. Soon Jakob returns, but is he really the brother Evie and Kass remember? Chen has written supremely thoughtful science fiction intertwined with a deeply relatable family drama, narrated here with gusto and empathy by the incomparable Emily Woo Zeller. VERDICT Chen's novel is sure to please fans of literary fiction as well as staples of sci-fi TV like The X-Files and Fringe. A worthy addition to any contemporary science fiction audio collection.--Chelsea Lytal
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Three siblings torn apart by their brother's disappearance, father's death, and mother's dementia team up to save an alien world. Jakob Shao returns to Earth after years away to retrieve a device that's key to saving his alien friend Henry's home world from a species of ravaging marauders. After a stop in Reno, Nevada, Jakob makes his way to the family home in Mountain View, California, where he's reunited with his sisters. Twin Kassie is a divorced, cigarette-smoking psychologist, online role-playing gamer, and caregiver for the siblings' mother, Sofia Aguilar-Shao, who has dementia. Younger sister Evie is a selfie-taking veterinarian tech in Buffalo, New York, whose side hustle involves proving the existence of extraterrestrial life in an effort to locate her missing brother. Shattered by the death of their father, Arnold Shao, as an indirect result of Jakob's disappearance 15 years earlier, the siblings must overcome past hurts and misunderstandings and learn to appreciate one another and work together to determine whether Jakob is suffering from psychotic delusions, is a terrorist on the run from the FBI, or is actually a space soldier on a desperate mission. A rich backstory that explores the Shao family's disparate memories of the night Jakob and Arnold disappeared and a highly satisfying ending add welcome texture. All the stars for Chen's warmhearted space-travel story. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
