Sia (Artemesia) Martinez's mother was deported to Mexico three years ago and disappeared while trying to make the desert crossing back to the United States; she's now presumed dead. Despite her dad's love, the support of her best friend, Jamaican American Rose, the reassuring presence of her late abuela's spirit and comfort of her traditional stories, Sia remains mired in grief, and fury: Her mom was reported to ICE by their town sheriff. When Sia is paired with new student Noah, who is white, for a science project about the moon, their attraction is immediate, but Rose is sure she saw Noah being friendly with the sheriff. Noah denies it, and as Sia's relationship with him intensifies, Rose seems to pull away. Sia discovers Noah's lie just before the shocking reappearance of her mom. A prisoner of the U.S. government and subject to experimentation involving alien (extraterrestrial) species, her mom has escaped, but the government, including an extraterrestrial agent, is in pursuit. Sia's mom has striking new abilities, but both she and Sia are at risk and soon on the run, joined by Sia's dad, Rose, Noah, and friend and conspiracy theorist Omar. Sci-fi plot elements underscore and amplify themes of immigration and racism in this deeply thoughtful, gorgeously written novel that also explores family and friendship, has multiple satisfying romances, and terrific moments of humor. It's all grounded by achingly honest characters navigating relationships and challenges that are all too real. (Age 12 and older)

“In a world where we are so often dividing ourselves into us and them, this book feels like a kind of magic, celebrating all beliefs, ethnicities, and unknowns.” —The New York Times Book Review

Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe meets Roswell by way of Laurie Halse Anderson in this astonishing, genre-bending novel about a Mexican American teen who discovers profound connections between immigration, folklore, and alien life.

It’s been three years since ICE raids and phone calls from Mexico and an ill-fated walk across the Sonoran. Three years since Sia Martinez’s mom disappeared. Sia wants to move on, but it’s hard in her tiny Arizona town where people refer to her mom’s deportation as “an unfortunate incident.”

Sia knows that her mom must be dead, but every new moon Sia drives into the desert and lights San Anthony and la Guadalupe candles to guide her mom home.

Then one night, under a million stars, Sia’s life and the world as we know it cracks wide open. Because a blue-lit spacecraft crashes in front of Sia’s car…and it’s carrying her mom, who’s very much alive.

As Sia races to save her mom from armed-quite-possibly-alien soldiers, she uncovers secrets as profound as they are dangerous in this stunning and inventive exploration of first love, family, immigration, and our vast, limitless universe.