A pretty decent story for early teens in the traditional 'what if' style of my favorite classic SF. Could be enjoyed by fans of Heinlein and Clarke, et al, as well as [a:William Sleator|14004|William Sleator|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1206554364p2/14004.jpg]. A little heavy on the dialogue and adventure, a little light on the world-building. Interesting take on the truly alien, esp. the new race introduced at the end. ( )

If I had read this as a teenager, I would've liked it very much. I felt like it occupies a science-fictional space somewhere between Andre Norton's Star Ka'at stories and C.J. Cherryh's Chanur saga.

A young human girl, Nita, has been raised by a catlike alien known as Llipel. Her home, the bounds of which she has never gone beyond, is The Institute - an abandoned facility maintained solely by an artificial intelligence, which has been Nita's source of education, 'socialization' and knowledge about her species.

However, as Nita grows, so does her natural curiosity. Her nature puzzles her guardian, whose species seems to lack some qualities innate to humanity. But Nita is driven to know: what has happened to humanity? What was the purpose of the Institute? What lies outside? And what is Llipel's companion, Llare, occupied by, in the parts of the complex that have been forbidden to Nita?

It's an enjoyable and interesting story with a lot of potential. However, I don't feel that it fully lived up to that potential. The scenario raises questions about what characteristics are innate to humanity - the 'nature vs. nurture' debate. What would a human child be like who had only ever had contact with only one other individual, and that one an alien? I don't feel that the book used enough imagination in proposing answers to these questions. Nita seems remarkably 'normal' and similar to a girl of our society. Even inarguably socially-conditioned ideas such as modesty and the 'attractiveness' of some fashions over others are shown as immediately-adopted by Nita, even though she has NOT been brought up with those ideas. The story gets even more awkward in the way it handles things when it starts dealing with the awakening of sexuality and relationships - presenting events and characters' behaviors in a way that is very much bound to our present society's ideas about gender norms, to the extent that it feels stereotypical. I expected more from Sargent (who's known for editing the groundbreaking 'Women of Wonder' anthology series, and her many female-centric sci-fi books)!

Many thanks to Open Road Media and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review. As always, my opinions are my own.

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A Solid SciFi Story for the Tween Set

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through NetGalley. Trigger warning for rape.)

"The emptiness of the world outside told her that the last story of her people had ended badly."

For as long as she can remember, Nita has lived in the east wing of the Kwalung-Ibarra Institute with her furred, cat-like guardian, Llipel. Their only company is the robotic gardeners that maintain the grounds; the artificial intelligence that controls the Institute; and, later, a cat retrieved from the cold room for Nita. Llipel's companion and fellow space traveler Llare occupies the west wing, but the two only communicate through the mind, and then only when necessary: this being their time of separation, Llipel and Llare are compelled to pursue solitude - from members of their own species, if nothing else.

As far as Nita knows, she's the last remaining human on earth. That is, until she attempts to call Llare on the intercom and is stunned to find a furless face staring back at her. On the cusp of womanhood - no longer a child, but not yet an adult - Nita makes a shocking discovery: there's a human boy named Sven just a stone's throw away. And, for some reason that neither of them understand, both their guardians have kept the presence of the other a secret from their charges.

Emboldened by her new friend, Nita eagerly tries to unravel the mystery of their existence. The library located in the west wing - Sven and Llare's wing - tells her the story of humanity's rise - and fall: an escalating series of wars that eventually ended with the extinction of h. sapiens. That is, until Llipel and Llare stumbled upon the Institute - a former laboratory and cryonics facility - and accidentally activated the embryos that would eventually become Nita and Sven.

As Llipel and Llare's time of solitude draws to a close, Nita and Sven must decide what to do with their lives - not to mention humanity, whose future almost literally rests in their hands. Will they go the way of their ancestors, and succumb to their most violent and base impulses? Or will compassion and hope prevail?

Though it's a little young for me, Alien Child is an engaging and relevant science fiction story for the tween set. When first we meet Nita, she's just a toddler, giving the story a middle grade feel. However, as she grows older (and meets Sven, and discovers s-e-x), Alien Child starts to feel a bit more like YA - but on the younger end of the spectrum. Say, junior high?

The story tackles many issues intrinsic to adolescence - understanding your changing body; relating to others around you, especially members of the opposite sex; finding your place in the world; grappling with the mistakes of those who have come before you and trying not to repeat them; feelings of loneliness, isolation, and alienation. Especially interesting is how Sargent navigates issues of sexual desire, expectations, and consent; while far from perfect, it's not bad considering neither protagonist has taken a sex ed. or women's studies class. If anything, it provides a useful jumping-off point for parents to explore such issues with their kids (and teachers, their students).

Pro tip: while I do include a trigger warning for rape here, as the scene between Nita and Sven might be troubling to some readers, there isn't actually a rape scene. No sex scene either. However, there is an attempted sexual assault in which Nita has to fend off a clueless, fumbling, and victim-blaming Sven.

Weirdly enough, I enjoyed the story more before Sven entered the picture; and once the two left to explore the world beyond the Institute, my attention started to wane. There's quite a bit of repetition of detail in their arguments, which slows the story down. And Sven is a bit of a pill. Much more interesting are their respective relationships with their alien caretakers.

The future of humanity? Yeah, that didn't excite me as much. I would have lived a full life exploring the world and let humanity die with me. I mean just look how beautiful and wild and free the rest of earth's creatures are without us! It's a no-brainer.

I particularly appreciate the book's diversity. (It was the book's cover that initially drew me in.) Nita has dark, curly hair and "dark-brown" skin; later we learn that her "parents" were named Juanita Gutierrez and Robert Kufakunesu, and that her father was a native African. (A specific country would be nice, but you can't win 'em all.) There's much confusion about Llipel and Llare's gender; whereas Nita thinks of Llipel as a "she," Sven genders Llare male like himself. However, there's no real indication that they're either/or; in Llipel and Llare's species, the concept of gender seems to be fundamentally different from ours. Likewise, when they meet the humanoid alien Raen ("golden-skinned," with "short black hair" and "pale, yellowish eyes"), zhe is androgynous as well.

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 where necessary.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2015/05/29/alien-child-by-pamela-sargent/ ( )

A young girl, Nita, is being raised by a gentle, furred alien being in an abandoned cryogenics facility, where her embryo was accidentally unfrozen by the alien Llipel. She learns from the facility's "mind," the computer that communicates with her through screens, that in another wing of the building, her guardian's partner, Llare, is raising a human boy also brought to life by mistake.

Despite their guardians' intentions to keep them apart, Nita and the boy, Sven, soon meet and compare notes, and Sven shares a horrible secret that he learned in the facility's library: that all the other humans are gone from the earth as a result of the humans' inability to control their violent tendencies.

Though Sven and Nita are horrified by the truth about human nature, their knowledge of it drives them to embrace fear and violence almost immediately...with consequences that neither of them could have foreseen.

This book could be a little slow at times, but overall it really grabbed me. This book seems to be unfortunatley little-known, it's a shame it doesn't have a larger audience. I'll definitely recommend it to teens looking for a good sci-fi read. ( )