Review: Being by T.R. Mousner

For elite extraterrestrial pilot EBN-Reyoz-X, awaiting rescue while hiding out in a trailer park is a grueling nightmare. She’s injured, lacks proper supplies and can’t blend in with the indigenous population because she’s seven feet tall and can’t control the trail of wildflowers blooming in the wake of her footsteps. She’s unprepared to begin sexual maturity in the alien land and when she develops feelings for Shale, the mute teenage boy next door, she’s convinced circumstances can get no worse.

Except rescue never comes and once word spreads that her touch holds miraculous healing abilities, EBN must find a way to fix her ship, evade capture by the United States Air Force and survive long enough to return home.

Though I admit to having read mostly paranormal romances and dystopian YA novels in recent years, I've always loved sci-fi. Back in middle school, I was the girl who read Ender's Game while many of my female classmates showed more interest in books like The Clique. Being helped bring out my inner sci-fi junkie once again.

EBN-Reyoz-X is not your average female protagonist--she's seven feet tall, has extraordinary healing powers, and can read through an entire library in half a day. Did I mention that she's not human? EBN is an extraterrestrial whose ship crashes in the middle of Lancaster, California, leaving her with no choice but to wait for rescue forces to arrive. During her stay on Earth, or Erox as her people refer to it, EBN is exposed to Sent (human) life unlike anything she had ever been taught back her home planet.

I really enjoyed EBN's character. Though EBN originally views the human population as wasteful and almost primitive, her opinion begins to change as she comes across Sents who are kind and different from the rest--cue Shale. Shale is an extremely intelligent thirteen-year-old boy living in the same trailer park where EBN is hiding out. The two begin to develop feelings for each other as EBN aids Shale in dealing with his personal problems. I appreciated the fact that the novel had a hint of romance, but didn't need an intense love story to sustain itself.

Being is broken up into three points of view--that of EBN, as well as Shale's and another interesting source: EBN's younger brother Aix. While EBN and Shale are on Earth/Erox, Aix is on the extraterrestrial home planet. This gives the reader some key insight into three very different lives, three unique perspectives. At the same time, the stories of these characters are tied together very nicely, and thus it is not at all difficult to read from three separate POVs.

I loved the unpredictability of the book and the originality of the plotline. My only issue was some difficulty keeping up with the unfamiliar terminology, but that's pretty common with science fiction. The ending provided a good bit of resolution which I was glad to see since, at present, no sequel is listed.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars