Imagine the life of an everyday suburban teenager… Now flip it upside down and throw in some aliens and you can get an accurate representation of the novel The Shifter’s Trail. Adam Alexander’s book follows the life of Andromeda Brown, a teenager whose every day life of attending the Newton Math and Science Academy and being one of the best Ban-Jaxi  players at the Academy, as she is plunged into a world filled with aliens, spaceships and mystery.

The story begins on board a mysterious spaceship, run by people with odd names. The ship is forced to make a crash landing, and from there the tension only builds.  Set in Chicago, the novel felt relatable since the protagonist was a teenager attending a high school in the Chicago area, just like all of us.

The novel has many interesting dynamics, such as the common usage of math, especially algebraic equations, which the protagonist, Andromeda Brown, uses to solve problems. Along with this, the book features Ban-Jaxi, an interactive card game that is a battle between two people.

Along with Andromeda Brown, the book also focuses on DeMarcus Reeves, Andromeda’s main Ban-Jaxi competitor and a girl known as Mhari.

The book takes an interesting stand on the usual sci-fi story trio of protagonists. Deviating from the typical trio of two males and one female, with one of the males being the leader, such as in Star Wars or Eragon, the book has two females and one male as lead characters, with Andromeda Brown being the leader of the trio.

The book also felt very relatable since it was about people of a similar age in a similar location to us. Overall, the book was a good read, very unique, and unlike most other sci-fi novels in its approach.

For more information on the book and its author, visit http://www.outskirtspress.com/theshifterstrail/ or www.adam-alexander.net.

By Jake Gallucci