Silver

A science fiction novel that blends into the world we know today.  The main character, who is known as Silver, has grown up on board a spaceship called Charybdis, heading to Earth, looking for a new home planet for themselves.  The young on the space craft have been brought up with the aim of going ‘undercover’ on our planet in order to collect data about humans and our world.  The undercover part of this plan means taking over the body and thoughts of a human, the long-term result meaning the possible death of the host.  Silver takes on the form of a young au pair girl, looking after the youngest child, but increasingly becoming aware of the tenge son, Finch.  The longer that Silver lives among humans, the more she begins to question the purpose she has been given and finds herself having empathy and understanding with the people she is getting to know.  But how will she solve her dilemma and persuade those on the spacecraft that the Earth is not a suitable home and that humans are entitled to live their lives.

This is an extremely thought-provoking book, that goes beyond the usual science fiction action and actually considers the motivation that people have for their thoughts and deeds.  It is fascinating the way that Silver gradually discovers that she can feel emotions, both romantic and family like; this then leads her to question the way she was raised and the whole history of her people.  Could it be that everything she has been told is actually a lie and the leaders might be using those on the spaceship for their own survival.  There are some fascinating themes around belief, family, friendship and what it really means to be human.  It is one of those books that grows on you and even if you are not a science fiction afficionado, you are going to find the relationships and the action keep you turning the pages.