Fans of Ross Welford will be delighted by this story. The quality of the writing is exceptional and it has a fabulous plot. It's possibly his best yet (I say possibly because I've enjoyed all his others enormously too). It's exciting and intriguing right from the beginning and the drama continues right through to the end. My copy arrived on Saturday and I finished late on Monday night; even though I was really tired I couldn't put it down.I love Ross's Welford's work because he manages to combine ordinary children living ordinary modern lives, with the truly extraordinary, in a way that feels totally believable. This story is his first to feature an alien - quirky to us, and an outsider even on her own planet. The (only) native species on their planet (which has suffered many calamities in their distant past) place no value on emotion, personal relationships or imagination and are fascinated by humans, who they study in a type of zoo. They are fascinated by how much we enjoy reading and watching 'lies' (stories!!) The alien in this story is 'cursed' to feel emotions, and empathise with the humans kidnapped from Earth and in captivity.The story is told alternately from the aliens point of view, and that of a 12 year old boy, whose twin sister has been kidnapped. Oh, and it also features a boy who is on almost permanent exclusion from school, his pet chicken and a seriously courageous gran.If you like Frank Cotterell-Boyce's Sputnik, or Louis Sachar, then you'll love this. It's advertised as 10+, but content wise, as a year 5 teacher, I'd be more than happy to put on my book shelves for strong reader who can cope with a split narrative and some flash back chapters. Actually, I cant wait to lend it to some of my fans of Ross Welford pupils from last year so I can talk about it, and get copies for the school library.Very highly recommended!@gibbins_kim