William Alexander (18) (1976–)

I really enjoyed this story about a pilot of a messenger spaceship who fosters baby AI onboard the ship. One of the things I enjoyed most was that—while some humans still obviously held "the bots are going to kill us all and take over!!" mentality—this is ultimately a hopeful and very sweet story. We get to meet several of the bots during the course of the story and they are all very human in personality, though of course with different abilities and perspective on things.

There's a show more little hint of this version of the solar system's history: Earth is no longer habitable, but there's a space elevator there which is somehow still running. There's an underground city on the moon, as well as cities spread out on many of the planets or moons in the solar system—including cities in the clouds of Venus. It's a fascinating world, even if we don't see much of the detail of it because so much of the action takes place onboard on MC's spaceship.

I loved the whole package of this story. The premise, the characters, the plot. I loved that the bad guy wasn't evil, and that the conflict came more from misunderstanding than a proper villain. This is a wonderful installment of the cozy science fiction genre, and I'll be looking for more from Alexander in future. show less

Gabe’s adventures as Earth’s ambassador to the universe continue: he connects to the previous ambassador, whose attempt to figure out how the genocidal Outlast are spreading has left her visually impaired, as well as the Kaen ambassador, who turns out to be descended from the Maya people who left thousands of years ago (in a neat reversal of the “aliens built the pyramids” canard). Struggling with ICE as well as the Outlast, he tries to make a fragile peace. (Alexander was writing show more about warehouses full of kids separated by chain link fences and mylar blankets a few years before Trump, because they existed before Trump.) show less

Loved this. Loved the POC main characters, the weird haunted world, the renaissance festival and the library and the swordplay. Loved the emphasis on respect, and Rosa's unflappable reaction to tree and wildcat dismembering ghosts. Loved the historical tidbits throughout and the wacky, quick moving plot. Hugely entertaining.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher at ALA Annual 2017. This is an honest review.*

A Properly Unhaunted Place is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. It’s a cute middle grade book where ghosts roam freely with people, and the living observe rituals to keep them happy and content. Rosa’s mother is an appeasement specialist — the best in the field — she can appease any ghost to keep them from causing chaos. However, after a family tragedy, she takes a show more job in Ingot, a town that is unhaunted. When Rosa explores the town on her own, she finds out that there is some serious otherworldly activity building outside Ingot, and there may be a sinister reason for why ghosts stay away.

This book is just downright enjoyable; it has everything I look for in a story. First, the characters are absolutely wonderful. Rosa is an independent girl who is well-read, practically an appeasement specialist herself, and who knows her own mind. Her foil is the other main character, Jasper, her first friend in Ingot. He tends to be shy and unsure of himself. It’s fun to see them both bring out different sides of each other; Rosa’s confidence helps Jasper overcome his natural hesitance, while Jasper’s cautious nature helps Rosa to think things through and not throw herself into a crazy situation.

Second, the story is perfect. The pacing is so well done, I just breezed through it and felt that the world was perfectly explained while also having the action move right along. I also love how the kids have to figure stuff out for themselves because the adults are so deep under the spell that has been placed on Ingot to keep hauntings away. There’s a lot of adventure, mixed with mystery, and fun paranormal stuff about how to appease ghosts and keep them happy. Along with that, the author takes the time to develop Jasper and Rosa by giving them internal conflicts to struggle with, which really fleshes out the story as a whole.

As a side note, both Rosa and Jasper are POC, which I really appreciated. The story itself doesn’t make a huge deal about it, but it’s great to be able to give my half-Mexican younger cousin a book that has a main character who has her last name and looks like her. Jasper is also half-black, and again, I love that it’s not the main point of the story, but it’s there and helps with being able to give a kid a book they can see themselves in.

Basically, this book is amazing. It’s a wonderful paranormal story where ghosts are a part of every day life — it almost has a magical realism feel with how well Alexander makes the world feel just like ours, but hauntings are a thing people deal with regularly. Definitely get it for the ghost story fanatic in your life, and try it out yourself. I can’t wait to get a copy for the children in my life — it’s fun, a little scary, and full of action and adventure.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less