Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

Hello earthlings,
today I am bringing to you my review of Melissa Landers' Sci-fi novel Alienated.
Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed this book a whole lot and therefore give it a 5/5 stars.
★★★★★

Plot: The story centers around valedictorian Cara Sweeney, who was picked to host the first ever alien exchange student, Aelyx, from planet L'eihr. While first reluctant, Cara eventually agrees for it would mean going to her dream college and getting the inside scoop on L'eihrs that a lot of journalists would kill for. L'eihrs have a very similar DNA to the one humans have, and so it happens that Cara finds herself slowly falling for the attractive, cold alien boy. However, not everyone on planet Earth supports this exchange program and anti-L'eihr groups begin to form and not only protest in public, but also start to threaten Cara and Aelyx. Are they right about L'eihrs? After all, there is something that Aelyx is keeping from Cara as to the real nature of his intentions on Earth. In the end, Cara needs to not only fight for both their lives, but for the future of her entire planet.

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
New words? Yes, there are a couple of L'eihr words that repeatedly come up.
Getting into it? Fairly easy

Pros:

• The writing style! This is probably the strongest, most crucial point. Melissa Landers has a wonderful way of putting her thoughts on paper. The book is written from both Cara's and Aelyx's point of view, and especially the former has such a sarcastic, witty, strong voice. It barely happens to me, but I even had to laugh out loud a couple of times (check my favorite quotes down below for some examples).
• This book is gripping and even a bit mysterious right from the start. You can see Aelyx and the other two exchange students plotting something and can't help but wonder what it might be.
• The romance! I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but part of the reason why I liked this book so much was the amazing chemistry between our protagonists. Whaaaat? I know, I know. I'm usually not much of a fan of young adult romance books, but Melissa Landers portrayed Cara's and Aelyx's relationship so beautifully, it's truly amazing. It was not over the top and it definitely didn't feel forced, which is probably because both of them have been spending a lot of time together, given that they live in the same house, and really got to know each other. The timing, also, was just right. Way to go, Melissa! Show 'em how it's done.
• The protagonists! If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a big fan of Cara's and Aelyx's characters. The former is such a strong, sassy character, who knows what she wants, who's overly ambitious and competitive; the latter can be cold and other times caring, sweet and protective. His character development was just top-notch!
• Guys, brace yourself for aliens' views on earth! It is super hilarious to see how the most ordinary things seem to extraterrestrial beings and how Aelyx observes them as if he were at the zoo watching chimpanzees (how they "mate"). And who in their right mind doesn't like pizza and chocolate?!
• It's an easy read and you don't need to concentrate with all your energy to keep up.

Cons:

• I realize that the alien words used in the book can be kind of confusing and hard to pronounce in your mind (honestly, I did have some trouble with that), but there are only a few of them and it's not that important to memorize them.

Other: 

• This is the first one in a serious, the sequel, Invaded, comes out February 2015. Melissa Landers does not yet know how long the series is going to be; it depends on how well the first two books sell.
• Alienated is not hardcore science-fiction, so do not let the genre scare you off! 

Favorite quotes: 

"Closing her eyes, she counted backward from ten to one and tried to recall the bulleted list of suggestions in Anger Management for Imbeciles." (p.22)

"Troy Sweeney, the family's oldest child, seemed intent on eating his weight in an appetizer called shrimp cocktail. It certainly didn't look appetizing." (p.29) 

"That's right, gentle readers, Midtown's population of 21,096 just grew by one. Maybe now we can justify that new traffic light on Main Street." (p.43)

"The fact that you purchased an inferior gift hardly seems like any failing on my part. It's common knowledge that shiny rocks are preferred among human females." (p.67)

"'Let's not talk about me anymore', she said, resolving to lay off the carbs, starting tomorrow. Wait, tomorrow was pasta night. She'd lay off the carbs Wednesday [...] And that tragically neglected breakfast had been Mom's throat-choking, triple chocolate chip pancakes - manna from heaven, proof that God loved her and wanted her to be happy. To hell with cutting carbs. Life was too short for that nonsense." (p.73)

"Cara shook her head at their orange-streaked faces. Friends didn't let friends abuse self-tanning spray." (p.79)

That was just a little taste of the epicness of this book. If you're still hesitant, just go pick it up, you won't regret it.  

Have you read Alienated yet? If so, what are your thoughts? Be sure to let me knoooow!