Earthborn

by Sylvia Waugh

Book Overview

Nesta Gwynn has always known that her parents are different. She thinks it's because they're from Boston instead of the little town in England, where Nesta was born and where she's always lived. But... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385729642
• ISBN13: 9780385729642
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 273 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 10 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 7

Customer Reviews

Alien Story

Nesta, an adolescent girl living in England, has never felt all that different from other kids her age. Therefore, her parents try to break the news to her gently. Her mother used to tell her a fairy tale when she was young about living on another planet and traveling to Earth in a tiny little spaceship. It turns out that the story wasn't such a fairy tale after all. Now there has been a crisis--another alien from their planet who is living on Earth has roused suspicions in the government and it may be dangerous for Nesta's family to remain. Her parents receive instructions to prepare to leave immediately. They must be in their spaceship within days, and the ship will take off automatically on time. Nesta's parents now must tell their daughter the very difficult truth--that she is an alien and within a week she will be returning to an alien planet. The news does not go over well with Nesta. In fact, she absolutely refuses to return to her parents' home planet. Instead, she develops a plan to go into hiding until it is too late for her parents to be on the spaceship heading home. But will her plan work, or will it just rouse more suspicions? I liked the concept of the story--the descriptions of the home planet and of the spaceship were really interesting. I also liked most of the characters, and I liked how Nesta's parents were portrayed, as loving parents but also as bewildered aliens.

Earthborn

Do you ever think you must be from another planet? That is what Nesta thinks. This is a science-fiction story set in England about a girl who finds out that she is an alien. She comes from afar away planet called Ormingat. The only reason Nesta's family is leaving Earth is because of a disappearance of a boy and his father. Nesta's family thinks that they are from Ormingat too. The main characters are Nesta ,Alison (the mom) and Matthew (the dad). Nesta is a normal 12 year old with unusual problems. Alison (Mom) is normal too. She works at the university as in assistant. Matthew (Dad) is normal as well. Every year he has to leave an a `business trip'. Nesta would not listen to her parents that she was from another planet. She thinks that her parents are lying... but they aren't. Nesta is trying all her best to miss the dead line to the trip to Ormingat. Will her parents leave with out her? Read this story and find out. I recommend this book to young and old science fiction readers.

A Delightful Read

Imagine thinking that you were a normal twelve-year-old girl living in England with your parents, leading a very normal life. You know that you are somewhat different than your peers because you refuse to fight off the school bullies, nor will you tell on them. Suddenly, and without warning, your parents divulge the shocking news that, though you were born on earth, they actually come from a faraway planet. It will take three years to travel there in a golf ball-size spaceship and you must all leave in seven days! Nesta, the protagonist, at first thinks her parents are playing a joke on her, then is shocked when it becomes obvious that what she's hearing and seeing is the truth. She quickly comes to the realization that she is earth-born and has absolutely no desire to leave her home to live in a strange new world. She devises a plan which will make her unavailable when the deadline arrives. She becomes worried that her parents, who have strong ties to their home planet, will leave without her, but this doesn't stop her from knowing that she can never make the journey with them.This story contains the elements of secrets, suspense, the strong forces of love, and the meaning of true friendship. It is written in the style of English prose and uses the vernacular of that country. It may be difficult for young readers to discern the meaning of some words that are of distinctly British origin without help from an adult, but the story is worth the effort.Earthborn, written by British author Sylvia Waugh, is a good read for adults and for children ages nine and up who are on the verge of wanting to be independent, yet are still young enough to need the ties that bind them to their parents. I read this book without first having read the companion book Space Race. I did not get the feeling that I had missed anything, but I now find myself anxious to read that book as well as the Mennyms series. Sylvia Waugh has just landed another fan in me, and I will recommend this book to other avid readers of childrens' books.