Review: From A Distant Star by Karen McQuestion

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance

Published: 05/29/15 by Skyscape 

Pages: 272 

Format: ARC e-book, Netgalley

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars 

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Description:

Seventeen-year-old Emma was the only one who hadn’t given up on her boyfriend, Lucas. Everyone else—his family, his friends, his doctors—believed that any moment could be his last. So when Lucas miraculously returns from the brink of death, Emma thinks her prayers have been answered.

As the surprised town rejoices, Emma begins to question whether Lucas is the same boy she’s always known. When she finds an unidentifiable object on his family’s farm—and government agents come to claim it—she begins to suspect that nothing is what it seems. Emma’s out-of-this-world discovery may be the key to setting things right, but only if she and Lucas can evade the agents who are after what they have. With all her hopes and dreams on the line, Emma sets out to save the boy she loves. And with a little help from a distant star, she might just have a chance at making those dreams come true.

My Thoughts
This book is essentially E.T. but if E.T. took over your boyfriends body. So essentially the alien, Scout, gets stuck inside Lucas and has to find a way to "Phone Home".

I did enjoy this book. It was fun and I did find it to be a fresh story (besides it's similarities to E.T.). However, if you are looking for romance, you are not going to find a lot of it here. It is more a story of friendship between Emma and Scout and trying to find a way to get him home so she can have Lucas back. It does take some interesting turns and I'm the kind of girl who loves a good alien conspiracy theory so this book was up my alley. 

I did have a few issues with this book. First, I am a pessimist when it comes to teenage relationships (likely because I had one crazy and burn). I find it hard to believe that Emma and Lucas are "soulmates" or whatever. They have only been together a year, which isn't very long in the grand scheme of things. Which also bothered me because if they have only been together a year, how long did Lucas have cancer? It could have been a very fast moving cancer but I still find it hard to believe that he went from perfectly healthy, doing all those things with Emma to dead in less than a year. I know it happens but I feel like it's a short timeline for them to be that in love before he got sick.

But most people can overlook those kinds of things, and there was an interesting adventure to try and get Scout home. I also really enjoyed how the first chapter was told by a dog. It was adorable. You also get a few chapters in Scouts POV which really helped for you to get a feel for his world and situation. 

Conclusions: Besides me being a pessimist to young love, this book was enjoyable. It wasn't perfect but it's a cute quick read with a Extra Terrestrial twist. If you enjoy contemporary books and E.T. then this book is for you.