This book leans hard into the emotional grit. We’ve got Alex thrown into training with two alien boys—trouble magnets with egos and secrets. The dynamic is pure chaos, like throwing a golden retriever into a den of feral cats and saying, “Figure it out.” But that tension? Makes for some fantastic character growth. Then there’s the alien girl who literally tortures Alex and later asks for his help. Yeah, you read that right. And my “run the other direction” instincts were screaming. But Alex? This sweet, terrified, half-broken boy still wants to help. That’s his superpower—compassion, even when everything around him screams danger. And it’s that complicated, messy loyalty that hits hard.