First published 2014
Gabe Fuentes is reading in bed when a purple creature that looks like a sock puppet appears in his room. The being calls itself the Envoy and offers Gabe the chance to represent Earth as ambassador to the galaxy. What twelve-year-old would say no? The Envoy uses Gabe's washing machine to send his consciousness to the galaxy's center, where he learns that a destructive alien force threatens Earth. Someone also wants Gabe dead, though he doesn't know who or why. Meanwhile, back in Minneapolis, his undocumented parents face deportation. Gabe must navigate two different kinds of alien problems while running for his life across both his hometown and outer space. William Alexander creates a story where intergalactic politics collide with very earthbound immigration fears.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, contemporary, aliens
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: chosen-one, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Minneapolis, Earth, Galaxy
Period: 21st-century
240 pages · Hardcover · Margaret K. McElderry Books