This story was a sad story about an alien species trying to explore Earth and find out about human life. If they could live there. The scout that is sent takes some time to understand what human emotions mean but doesn’t expect to fall in love and want to stay with him. She has to take over each person and read all their thoughts and experiences in life to report back to her mother ship that hovers over the hillside. I found this story a great read and would love to think ther could be a sequel to this. Many thanks to Bonnie Books Uk for the opportunity to read this arc copy for review consideration via Netgalley. #Netgalley, #BonnierBooksUk, #OliviaLevezAuthor.

I don't think I can do this book justice with any review I write. It is absolutely outstanding. There are subtle things Levez does throughout that elevate Silver in a way that many may overlook, but that set her apart as an extremely talented writer. - Silver has been trained since birth to become the First Pioneer and collect data about the human race in preparation for her mothership, Charybdis, to colonise. The only rules are that she must feed back the data she collects to the ship, and at all times follow the mantra, remembering that "To touch is agony. To feel is pain." As Silver settles into the body she has inhabited and the family she has infiltrated, she begins to learn that the Charybdian mantra may not be true after all. - Levez begins her story with Silver touching down to Earth on a hill outside a small rural town. It is in these opening chapters that Levez's writing shines with the way Silver tentatively explores and finds the words to describe her new surroundings; "Two pips, then a trilling. Its perch is pinned with fire berries. I spark at it and it hops. I find the word: tree. Treehopper. Bird." The imagery is so strong but so quiet at the same time. This is also how Levez makes you care so deeply about Silver as a character; she is like Bambi learning to walk on ice, delicate and innocent, even though her quest is anything but. Levez also includes well timed flashbacks that give us an idea of Silver's upbringing on Charybdis, where we learn that her and her fellow infants were taught not to require touch or reassurance, which makes you want to nurture Silver yourself. The supporting characters in Silver's story are also strongly rendered and it is clear that Levez is an observer of people because she deftly creates distinct personalities for them through all the small things they do and say. As a fellow ex-English teacher, I would wager that Levez was an expert at teaching her students 'show don't tell' for their Language Paper 1B, because she does a cracking job of it herself. - The story itself is engaging throughout. The budding relationships that Silver forms with her new family are easy to invest in, and each character learns things about themselves as they grow with Silver. There is nothing I didn't like about this book, only that I can never read it for the first time again. I've seen it compared to ET a lot, but although there is a literal nod to that classic, it reminded me more of a kind of reverse of the Xenogenesis series by Octavia E. Butler. Sci-Fi is nowhere near the top of my go-to list of genres, but Silver is definitely on my list of 2024 favourites and I am so excited to use it for my booktalks in schools.

This is a story about love, desire, sacrifice and despair. It’s beautiful and devastating and heart wrenching. The writing starts off jerky, like a newborn deer experiencing its surroundings for the first time which fits with the main character’s experience. The writing becomes more lyrical as the character experiences humanity and grows into their own individual, and they decide on their own priorities, taking matters into their own hands. A truly beautiful story!

There must surely be more quotes - and clichés - about love than any other subject but still it fascinates us and still there is an enormous market for love stories. As Shakespeare said - and who am I to argue with him - 'The course of true love never did run smooth', and although in real life it would perhaps be a whole lot easier if it did, in the stories that we enjoy it really needs not to to increase our engagement and enjoyment. Here, in this brilliant new read from author Olivia Levez, the whole boy-meets-girl trope gets a massive reboot as we join alien Silver who is charged with carrying out a reconnaissance mission to Earth with a view to her race invading and learns what it is to be human as she meets and falls in love with Finch. Humorous in parts, and heartbreaking in others, theirs is a story that I thoroughly enjoyed - one I didn't want to end and one that teenage readers will gobble up when it hits the shelves in the autumn. Chosen from amongst her peers, the First Pioneer has been placed on Earth to perform her duty and looks around her to try to get her bearings in the strange setting in which she finds herself. Watching her Ship disappear into the clouds above, she becomes aware of the voices of two humans and unsure as to what to do, accidentally allows herself to be seen by one of them after the other has left. Panicked, the boy who remains runs from her and falls over a cliff, injuring himself and knocking himself out, but is rescued by the alien who carries him to safety - ensuring she does not touch him as to do so would cause her enormous pain. Reflecting on her failure to follow commands as she has not inhabited the boy, the alien vows not to make the same mistake again and when a girl approaches looking for her dog, she seizes her chance. Accessing the girl's mind to discover more about her, she discovers that her host is Sylwia - a Polish student visiting England on an exchange scheme and staying with a family nearby. Locating the dog, the First Pioneer heads to the girl's accommodation, where she falls asleep in the room of Doodles, the owner Stella's daughter, getting her off to a poor start. Introducing herself as Sylwia, Doodles mishears it as Silver and introduces her in turn to her brother Finch when he arrives home. As Silver studies the family and the rules and rituals of human life, she reports her findings back to the Ship and is given further instructions that will help those onboard to gauge the suitability of the planet's inhabitants as a host species. But as Silver learns more about the humans, and when Finch touches her and she feels no pain, she starts to question everything she has been taught. Realising that she has feelings for Finch, she finds herself torn between pursuing a chance of happiness with him or completing her mission. Which will she choose, and what will be the price that she will have to pay to do so? From her arrival on Earth onwards, it is clear that Silver struggles to fulfil her duty. As we read the flashbacks she has of her life onboard her Ship, Charybdis, we see the harshness and inhumanity of her upbringing and learn that she is an individual who has always found it difficult to follow the rules but has somehow managed to gain the privilege of being First Pioneer. Charged with inhabiting the bodies of the people she encounters, as though they are books to be read and discarded, as she gradually grows to understand what it means to be human she finds that she craves the life that those around her lead, with all of its challenges. When she realises that as a species, they are not at all what she has been taught they are she starts to feel increasingly uncomfortable at the thought of using them as hosts - as a parasite would - leading ultimately to her having to decide whether to betray her race or the family she has grown to become a part of. Along the way, Silver learns the biological practicalities of living as a human as well as what sets them apart from other animals - what it is to be kind, to celebrate Christmas, to make mistakes, share friendship and to be a member of a family. As we accompany her, we cringe when she gets things wrong - sometimes really badly - but grow to root for her when she gets things right - often in ways that make her more human than those around her. She is a fabulous character, and her story is one that fans of YA novels - and in particular romance and/or sci-fi - will love.

This story was a sad story about an alien species trying to explore Earth and find out about human life. If they could live there. The scout that is sent takes some time to understand what human emotions mean but doesn’t expect to fall in love and want to stay with him. She has to take over each person and read all their thoughts and experiences in life to report back to her mother ship that hovers over the hillside. I found this story a great read and would love to think ther could be a sequel to this. Many thanks to Bonnie Books Uk for the opportunity to read this arc copy for review consideration via Netgalley. #Netgalley, #BonnierBooksUk, #OliviaLevezAuthor.