Andrew Auseon

This novel is about a "freak" named Charlie and a "magnet" named Gloria. Charlie is a very interesting character. He has Asperger-type behaviors and totally sees the world in his own way and he embraces that.

When we first hear about Gloria, the reader makes the assumption that she is one of the beautiful girls who has no problems.

Then Charlie sees Gloria and their story begins.

The chapters alternate in this book between Charlie and Gloria. Charlie first sees Gloria when she enters a coffee shop to get coffee. To him, she is the most beautiful person he has ever seen and he feels the need to tell her.

We learn that Gloria definitely attracts freaks though she tries not to and when she meets Charlie it reinforces her view that she is a freak magnet.

Charlie is one of the sweetest characters I have read. He has such a good heart and he totally wears it on his sleeve. Gloria could have been a typical snobby girl, but the author gives her a vulnerability that makes her likable.

Although the characters meet through many chance encounters, the author makes us believe that it is totally normal and that perhaps fate does take an active role in some lives.

This was a fun read and I am glad that I had the opportunity to go into Charlie's and Gloria's world, even if just for a little while.… (més)

Alienated is a science fiction novel for older children/teens written by author Andrew Auseon.

Gene and Vince are best friends who are reporters for the Globe, a weekly tabloid that the boys publish out of their junior high. Every week, the Globe publishes stories about strange aliens living among the humans in their community.

What most people believe is that these stories are made up, but everything they write about is true. When Gene and Vince discover that a local teacher has a dark secret, Gene believes that this is his ticket to fame and acceptance among his peers.

Vince is not convinced, but Gene goes behind Vince’s back and publishes the story in a special edition of the Globe. Instead of popularity, Gene and Vince are suddenly in the middle of an intergalactic conflict that has been waging for centuries, and now because of their story, the battle has come to Earth.

I thought that this was a pretty good book. There was plenty of action, and the different aliens had interesting powers and were very imaginative. I wouldn’t say that there was much character development, but plenty of action to keep a person entertained as well as a few twists to the plot.

Although this book is recommended for children age’s eight to twelve, the book is pretty thick, and I believe that teenagers interested in this genre will also find this book to be interesting.… (més)