This might be one of the strangest books I’ve ever read. 

 

Adina is born tiny, jaundiced, and presumably human. As she grows up, Adina realizes her differences from other humans and recognizes the inner callings of a distant planet. A trash-picked fax machine allows her to communicate with her alien relatives, opening the floodgates on what it’s like to bop around planet Earth. 

 

Adina’s life is shared in faxes, noting everything and nothing at the same time—wonder, joy, destruction, sadness, heartache, comfort. How does one make sense of what it means to be human? 

 

The novel is a look at human complexity, coming of age, otherness. It’s a fictitious but very real study of belonging, loneliness, and being different. I’d say it falls closer to literary fiction than sci-fi, so if you’re looking for an alien-related story this may not be for you.