Beautyland

 By: Marie-Helene Bertino  

Location: FIC BER

Genre: SCI FI

Tender, captivating, and beautifully written. I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up and have to say it was a very pleasant surprise. Made me see humanity in a brand new way. Sydney

Meet Adina: a gentle, unforgettable alien for our times, a companion to anyone who has ever felt homesick at home

Born at the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space, Adina is a baby of unusual perception. Tiny and jaundiced, she reaches for warmth and light. As a child, she recognises she is different, not least because of her strange knowledge of a faraway planet. When a fax machine arrives at home, her suspicions are confirmed: it allows her to communicate with her extraterrestrial relatives, who have sent her to report on the oddities of Earthlings.

As Adina makes a life for herself among humans, she dispatches transmissions on the terrors and delights of their existence. Then, at a precarious moment, a beloved friend urges her to share her observations with the world. Is there a chance there are others like her out there?

Beautyland is a shyly joyful novel about real life on our planet, the challenge of knowing ourselves and the miracle of finding our people in this vast universe.