Xander Caine and the Alien Prophecy Alexander Scruggs

Xander Caine and the Alien Prophecy, Alexander Scruggs, 2012, ISBN 9781484105016

This young adult novel is about a person's physical and emotional journey.

Xander has lived a life of wealth and privilege. It has taken him a long time to realize that people are living in the slums outside the city walls, including his friends, Kai and Priya. Xander's home planet has recently finished a century-long war between the two civilizations that inhabit it, forcing them to work together.

Xander asks his father why he never talks about his family, and receives a really sickening answer. Despite the "peace" between the two civilizations, there are those who really don't like what Xander's father represents (he is more than just a world-famous scientist). They plan to do something about it, forcing the families (Kai, Priya and their mother are now included) to flee, several times. Along the way, Xander learns that his destiny is to get very involved in what is to come, and not just be a spectator.

This is a solid, well done piece of writing, in which the author has left room for a sequel. Teens will enjoy it.