Born into Light - Hardcover

Grade 6-10 This science fiction period piece depicts a quiet New England community near the turn of the century as it is visited and changed by a handful of strange un earthly beings, one of whom is taken in by the Westwood family and becomes young Roger's Westwood's brother. Considered at first to be feral children , they soon as tonish their foster families by the extreme rapidity with which they learn language and customs and by their unusual recuper ative powers after injury. Roger's foster brother eventually marries Roger's sister, produces children who seem to share the unique qualities of the strangers, and be gins a grand quest to track down and re unite all the alien visitors who have ap peared throughout the United States in an effort to piece together the puzzle of their purpose on Earth. Jacobs' formal poetic style is appropriate for the time period. The story unfolds through the eyes of el derly Roger Westwood. Although this technique of an adult looking back on childhood events may limit the book's ac cessibility for some readers, the vividly visual language makes the novel a very finely crafted work. Gradual revelations about the nature of these beings and their origin should tantalize and beguile read ers, and with its fascinating plot, the book should appeal to many. Lyle Blake Smythers, Library of Congress, Washing ton, D.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Told in the first-person, this old-fashioned science fiction novel looks back upon the childhood of an old scientist. The narrator has puzzled over certain events for more than seven decades, events set into motion one morning when he was 10. A child appears out of a flash of light in their backyard and, believed to be feral or abandoned, is taken in by his family. But, before long, the child, Ben, reveals extraordinary intelligence and development. He matures quickly, finishes college in two years and ages much quicker than the narrator. The narrator's stepfather begins to investigate the other children who appeared on Earth in the same mysterious fashion as Ben; an alien race has seeded the human population with some of their own, strengthening their bloodlines and stimulating human progress. Ben gathers together as many of the aliens and their half-human offspring as he can find, and, in a flash of light, they return to the stars. While this is not a revolutionary novel, its themes of otherworldliness and superhumans will still appeal to SF fans. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.