Dancing with an Alien
   Mary Logue
  2000 HarperCollins Publishers, NY USA
   ISBN: 0060283181


Branko is here on Earth for a mission & his time is running out. Tonia can hardly wait for her best friend to return from camp so their summer vacation can truly begin. At the lake she rescues a stranger from drowning; as Branko returns to life he falls in love. Can he make his mission succeed & still love his target?

From Branko's point of view, you begin to see the nature of his mission. You begin to see Earth & human beings from an outsider's insights. You begin to see how complicated our language is & how strange are some of our customs; & you begin to see how desperate & serious is his reason for being here.

From Tonia's point of view, you begin to see the mission of nature. This statuesque teenager, head & shoulders taller than her best friend & an ace swimmer, has a much younger brother who she often cares for & a couple of parents whose marriage could be classified as rocky until Tonia brings Branko home for dinner; then, you might say, it goes ballistic!

Branko is amazed by the abundance of water here on Earth & how it is used; his grasp of the language is often hilariously, often poignantly naive & his comfortability in his body is both curious & amusing.

Tonia is amazed that someone is taking an interest in her, a boy who is taller than she & she finds his ideas & interests out of this world. What she doesn't know is that they really are! She will soon find out! Meanwhile, it's summer & a great time to fall in love.

Mary Logue has spun a surprisingly profound, curiously chilling tale of first love, withheld identity & a desperate mission. Of equal parts science fiction & romance, Dancing with an Alien is going to be an oft-read favorite!

Mary Logue is an acclaimed poet & mystery writer. She spends half of the year in Arizona & the other half in Wisconsin. All year 'round she lives with her two dogs & writer Pete Hautman, who is not an alien, as far as she knows.
(02/18/01)

Rebecca