The Antrian Messenger by G. Clifton Wisler

The Antrian Messenger Reviews

• 
  Julie Decker

  Scott's always been a pretty ordinary kid--so he thinks--but when certain odd occurrences keep happening to him, he is left with tons of questions. Why is he having premonitions, and what will he sacrifice if he dedicates himself to stopping the disasters he's dreaming? Before long he uncovers the truth of his origin: he is not human, but Antrian, and an older and wiser companion named Tiaf is ready and waiting to teach him about his heritage (and his prophetic abilities, among other things). But he soon realizes he can't both fulfill his destiny and live a normal life with his family, so he has to make the hardest choice of his life--and once he chooses, he can't go back.
  
  Now, as far as science fictions stories go, this is pretty canned, right? Kid finds out he's an alien, kid finds out he has superpowers, random mentor conveniently appears to guide him and spoon-feed him his destiny, kid has to leave behind everything he knows to serve some higher purpose. Boiled down like that, it's sort of an abbreviated, simplified Hero's Journey. But what's special about this is how connected the narration is to Scott as he wrestles with these problems--how heartbreaking it is to discover, deny, and embrace his heritage, how realistic it seems when he's of two minds about so much of what's happening to him, and how devastated he is when he realizes it's inevitable that he has to sacrifice.
• 
  Swankivy

  Mr. Wisler was primarily a western author, but he tried his hand at kids' science fiction once, and I appreciated his effort in these books. They were about a normal kid named Scott finding out he was not of this world, and after several strange occurrences were attributed to his alien abilities, he had to leave his family and go with his companion Tiaf, to move from town to town trying to make a difference. It was kind of an emotional roller coaster when I was a kid, to watch him trying to belong but always having to leave in the end, it kind of hit close to home. I believe the books are out of print.
• 
  Jeff

  This book was the first to truly grip me. I was in fourth grade and it sparked a lifetime of reading that will leave me forever in Mr. Wisler's debt.
• 
  Jerry-Mac

  I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
  
  http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13306162