Earthborn

Waugh, Sylvia. Earthborn. Delacorte, 2002. ISBN-10: 0-385-90060-0


Plot Summary
Nesta and her parents, Allison and Matthew live in York, England. When a story appears in the local papers about a boy who claimed to be from another planet before he went missing, Nesta's parents confess that they are also from another planet. Now, they must leave Earth because people are getting suspicious. Unlike her parents, Nesta was born on Earth and has no desire to leave. The plan is to enter the spaceship on Wednesday night, spend three days in the ship preparing to leave, then the ship will launch early Sunday morning. The ship will leave whether they are on it or not. So Nesta decides to run away- just until Sunday afternoon. That way, the ship will leave without her. Her parents may decide to leave without her, but that's a risk Nesta will have to take.

Critical evaluation
Earthborn  is told in a lighthearted way, but the subject is distressing: as Allison puts it "My child means more than a myriad of ancestors" (p. 216). Allison's homeland pulls at her heartstrings, (Actually since this is science fiction, it pulls at her in a physical way too.) and she yearns to return. But Nesta, born on Earth, feels no such pull and refuses to return. So Allison and her husband Matthew have to make a choice- return home without their child, or stay on Earth and become permanent residents of Earth. Their dilemma is played out all across the world by thousands of immigrant families. In the end, the love between parents and child is strong enough to face their problems. Also, Nesta gets help from several strangers when she is running away from home, and to read about the kindness of a woman on the train who offers a distraught girl a packet of crisp is very heartwarming. Very heartily recommended.

Readers Annotations
Nesta's parents may be from another planet, but she is not. So when they tell her that the family has to return home, she refuses. Nesta was born in York, England and she will stay there. Hopefully her parents will stay too.

Information About the Author
Sylvia Waugh is a retired teacher. She lives in the North of England and has three grown children.
Genre
Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties


Booktalking Ideas
Why Nesta has decided to stay

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grade 4-6

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas
None

Why Book Included
Appeared on a list of recommended books for 5th and 6th graders, compiled by the Sacramento Public Library.