In Light Years from Home, Mike Chen (Here and Now and Then) once again delivers a moving story of fractured familial relationships against the backdrop of a science fiction adventure.
On the run from a voracious alien race called the Awakened, Jakob Shao flees to "one obvious, hilarious, completely impossible choice. Earth." There he'll face a force even more terrifying than the Awakened: his family.
After Jakob's disappearance 15 years ago and their father's death while searching for him, his sisters Evie and Kass followed divergent paths. Evie, who always believed their father's story that aliens took Jakob, left college to chase evidence of extraterrestrials. Kass always believed her irresponsible twin brother ran away; she now has a steady career and looks after their mother, who has early-onset dementia. When Jakob reappears out of nowhere, Evie believes his story about an intergalactic war, though Kass thinks he's mentally ill. Soon, the FBI is looking for him. Caught between blood ties and unhealed inner wounds, the Shao siblings have to find a way to make peace if they're going to save their family, let alone the universe.
Chen gently unfolds every fissure in the Shao family and, in particular, its effects on Kass and Evie. The idea that an intergalactic war cannot seem to alter sibling dynamics feels true here, and readers will root for the Shaos to find the reconciliation they need to move forward. Fans of light sci-fi and emotional journeys should enjoy this touching family drama spiked with a hint of space opera. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads