It started off really slowly and I pretty much hated the main character until about the middle of the book, but, by the end, I really enjoyed the story and the characters. ( )

Contact with an alien race has finally happened. A mile-long spaceship has crashed, putting a 300-mile-long gouge in the American Midwest, killing thousands of people. Alice has been put into a local boarding school, because her father, who works for NASA, has to be at the crash site.

After several days, a hole is cut in the side of the ship, and the aliens start coming out, by the thousands. They call themselves the Guides, and they sure do look human. A bit of secret genetic testing shows that they really are human. They also speak a version of an old Native American language from the American Southwest. The humans get a look inside the ship, and see large rooms with lots of spilled blood. Perhaps the ship crashed because of a major battle or mutiny on board.

The Guides are not the only inhabitants of the ship. These other aliens are gray-skinned, much taller than the Guides, with lots of horns and claws and a nasty disposition. It seems that the Guides were practically slaves, and that a mutiny did cause the crash, and that the "bad guys" are not going to let the Guides go that easily.

Alice and a couple of friends have been taking care of a couple of the Guides. They suddenly find themselves racing across America, to a supposed sanctuary, knowing that, at any moment, they could be blasted into atoms.

This is a really good Young Adult novel. The author does a first-rate job from start to finish. It has plenty of action, and is very much worth reading. ( )

Dark energy is about a girl Alice Goodwin who goes to Minnetonka Minnesota because of her dad who works for NASA. She goes to a private boarding school for the wealthy where she lives like any other person there. She likes going there but then she finds out aliens have landed on their planet. She does not like the fact that the aliens can just come onto our planet. The aliens look no different than humans but they just seem paler. Over 500,000 aliens have landed on the planet Earth. Her dad and his coworkers have made a translation machine for the aliens and the humans. She and her friends are roommates with the girl alien. She and her friends later find out that the aliens no nothing no calculations they just know how to work the ship but not really how they made it. Later her dad calls and ask if she wants to go onto the ship and take some pictures for undiscovered rooms with her friends. Alice also ask the girl alien if she can go on the ship and the girl alien said yes Alice goes to the site with her friends to take some pictures. They found another massacre in the ship and they left. A day later more aliens monstrous looking appear. They take both the alien boy and girl to Alice’s Grandmas house. They figure out the aliens are tracking them through their phones or the car. They also learn that the both the boy and girl aliens are human they speak a different type of native American language. They later find out Alice’s Grandma knows a poison that will defeat the monster aliens. They kill the aliens but with some injuries.
In my opinion this book is a good book with all the detail about the character especially the aliens. I like the way the origin of the aliens who look like humans is that they are humans but they were once native Americans. One of the better things about the story is they introduce some characters in the beginning do not talk about them a lot and then they are an important side character like Alice’s Grandma. The base of the book is good about how Alice came to Minnesota and what her dad does and his daily habits. This book has been top five on my list because of the key details that they use in the story. The thing about is that the main character is usually not the one who talks the most.

Funny, suspenseful and a little scary. I was surprised by the twist in the plot but I don't read or watch many alien themed books and movies. I especially liked the humorous dialogues. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: An intriguing, suspenseful twist on an alien story that I enjoyed immensely.

Opening Sentence: Want to hear something freaky?

The Review:

Five days ago, a massive UFO skidded across two countries in the American Midwest, killing more than 15,000 people. Alice’s life is uprooted when her father, director of special projects, moves them closer to the base of the site. Alice moves into a boarding school for talented, rich children. And then, the aliens emerge. One thing is soon clear – nothing will be the same again.

I am not a huge reader of alien books. I loved Alienated, and the Lux series, but I can’t think of any other novels I’ve read with aliens as the center focus. However, I’ve been on a Star Wars kick recently (for the first time in my life, I watched the movies, and I enjoyed them a lot. I plan to see the new one soon! Spoiler alert – Darth Vader is Luke’s father). That being said, I was excited to jump into a book with galactic enemies and human resilience.

This book, right off the bat, was much different than I expected – in the best possible way. The plotline went ways I never saw coming and I absolutely adored the spin that the author took on it. Reveal after reveal led to the inevitable climax. My only disappointment was the ending. It seemed too rushed, too convenient, to really be realistic after all the buildup. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this book greatly!

The main character, Alice, was a fun point of view. Her mindset was relatable and she had a good sense of humor, so that my laughter intermingled with tense, suspenseful alien goodness. I liked the love interest, as well. It wasn’t insta-love, thank god, and their relationship worked well. It was interesting watching the romance blossom, and their exchanges were a lot of fun to read. Another relationship that was lighthearted and cute was between her and her father. Their banter was hilarious and in the notable scene.

This was a short review, but I didn’t have much to say – I just really loved this novel. There were so many aspects of it that were interesting and expertly weaved together: mystery, action, suspense, romance, even history. It was a different idea than any other alien novel I’ve read, and the aliens in the story brought surprise after surprise. It was heart-wrenching, at times, but oh so worth the read. The only thing I would have changed was the ending – I would have extended it more, made it a little harder for the characters to succeed. It felt like this massive advantage was just handed to them. Nevertheless, I can’t wait for the world to read this novel!

Notable Scene:

“She loved the streak in my hair, and she said she wanted one – so like good friends and roommates, we dyed her hair and then snuck her around the back of the building to avoid the R.A.”

“If I didn’t know you were a good kid, I’d be terrified.”

“What makes you think I’m a good kid?”

“Because a bad kid would lie about sneaking out and getting caught.”

FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Dark Energy. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )