Dark Side of Nowhere ANNOTATION
Fourteen-year-old Jason faces an identity crisis after discovering that he is the son of aliens who stayed on earth following a botched invasion mission.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Jason Miller feels trapped in the small town of Billington — where nothing
ever happens. But when his friend Ethan dies of what the doctor calls a
burst appendix, Jason's life changes forever. First he is given a mysterious
glove that can shoot pellets with deadly force. Then he learns that the
monthly shots he gets from the friendly town doctor are not for his health
but for a far more sinister purpose. As he peels away layer after layer of
the lies he's been told, Jason comes to learn of his own true nature.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Jason Miller's life is like a Norman Rockwell paintinghis parents enjoy woodworking and barbecues; his friends all play Little League; and his town, he says, is so uneventful that "whenever I heard people talk about someone going nowhere fast, I figured they were headed here." Why, wonders Jason, is everyone so insipidly happy? And why do some people need injections every month, but others don't? Shusterman (The Eyes of Kid Midas) delivers a science fiction page-turner in a classic mold: Jason realizes his town houses 30 extraterrestrial familiesand his is one of them. They are scouts, prepping the earth for an invasion that is now imminent. Where do Jason's loyalties really lie? Cyber weaponry and strange bodily transformations keep the action speedy, and Jason's puppy love (a brash pitcher named Paula) rounds out the plot convincingly. Finally, the hero comes to empathize with the small-town cheer that once repulsed him. Pretty flowers and the taste of home cooking win out over the temptations of super-intelligence and world domination, proving that anatomy is not destinyeven if your parents are aliens. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)
Children's Literature - Mary Sue Preissner
What begins as an interesting story about kids growing up in a small "Norman Rockwell" town has so many twists and turns that young adults will be riveted to the pages of this surprise science fiction story. Jason's life begins its metamorphosis with the death of his friend Ethan from a burst appendix. Enticed to a secret afternoon meeting by the school's very strange janitor, Jason receives a special glove that can shoot pellets with a flick of the wrist. Secrets upon secrets emerge, as Jason learns the truth about his seemingly humdrum life. This knowledge, coupled with his conscience, brings this exciting story to its shocking conclusion. With the exception of Jason's girlfriend, who is just too understanding and accommodating, the story has great character development. The premise is believable. It will appeal to boys and girls.
VOYA - Hillary Theyer
Jason is a teenager living in a boring small town where nothing ever happens. He often wishes for adventure and excitement and cannot believe his parents actually love living there. When Jason meets Paula, a beautiful girl from out of town, he begins to realize how odd his little town and the people in it really are. Jason, his family, and all of his friends get monthly shots of a mysterious pink liquid, while there is an entire section of the town that has been abandoned, reportedly due to an epidemic of which there are no records. Jason does not even begin to wonder how these things could be connected until Paula comes along. When Grant, the school janitor, gives Jason a mysterious metal glove, Jason discovers the glove is a weapon, and a whole group of kids are training with Grant on how to fight with the gloves. Jason's growing feelings for Paula are mixed in with the feeling of belonging he gets from being with the other kids and Grant. It is not until he shows the glove to his parents that he learns the truth. His parents, and all of the parents of his friends, are aliens who landed on the Earth, accidentally killing the residents of the abandoned part of town and genetically taking their places. The kids have been training with the gloves because more of their race is coming, and an invasion of Earth is planned. The plot is a bit complicated, and it takes patience in the beginning to follow it, but the focus is more on Jason than it is on the aliens. His feelings change throughout, from dismay at the loss of his boring life, his growing affection and admiration for Paula, and the feeling of inclusion and superiority he gets with the other kids of his kind. The ending remains unpredictable throughout, and there is enough action in the last third to keep fans of alien movies interested. This novel would make a good introduction to science fiction for YA readers new to the genre. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Broad general YA appeal, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9). Brown,
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9This story appears at first to be yet another problem novel, populated by teenagers dissatisfied with their too ordinary circumstances. No amount of subtle foreshadowing prepares readers for the direction the plot takes, however. The main character and most of his close friends and relatives are in fact extraterrestrials, living forgotten on Earth after a failed invasion. As the story begins, Jason is bored with life in his small town. The school janitor, Grant, disturbs the boy's placid universe, hinting at long-hidden secrets and presenting him with an odd metallic glove that can fire BBs through its fingers. Later, readers learn that it is a training glove for a far more lethal weapon. Jason slowly realizes that he is part of a colony of aliens who maintain human form through DNA injections, the DNA having been obtained from people killed during their ill-fated invasion. Now Grant has reestablished contact with their lost world. The adult extraterrestrials go off to plan another invasion, leaving Grant to assist the young people as they revert to their alien forms and to train them as fighters. But Jason thwarts this plan, having decided to remain what his mind and emotions tell him he ishuman. Shusterman makes most of this believable; the most difficult part of the story to swallow is the way Jason's girlfriend, a real human, takes everything in stride. Still, plenty of adventure and suspense move the story along nicely. Jason is unquestionably a hero. Ultimately, the book asks readers to examine the question of what it means to be truly human. This is great science fiction. It's fun to read and thought-provoking at the same time.Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
AudioFile
For Jason Miller, life in Billington is routine, monotonous, and boring, with perfect parents and a world of predictability. Or so he believes, until the untimely, mysterious death of his best friend, after which the too-perfect life he has known unravels with terrifying speed. Jason Harris is the perfect match for Jason, maintaining his adolescent irony and self-deprecation, while voicing his building uncertainly, confusion, and fear, as he faces his ultimate decision—does he really want to be one of them? Harris delivers realistic and individual voices for the other adolescents and adults in Jason's world—from sinister to miserable—but he builds and changes the mood and tension in the story through his excellent portrayal of Jason. W.L.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
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