Summer of the Flying Saucer
Murray Suid
language
(Monday Morning Books, Nov. 24, 2013)
Dan Green is a 14-year-old, fantasy-addicted kid living in a run-down rural village in Northern California. When three extraordinarily handsome strangers arrive carrying nothing but a bag of gold, Dan comes to believe that they are an extraterrestrial family: a mom, a dad, and Lenaāa girl Dan's age.Dan befriends Lena who, after much prodding, claims that her family arrived in a flying saucer that crashed in the woods. She describes life on her home planet and tells fabulous stories of the family's travels through the universe. Lena appears to be able to effortlessly acquire amazing skills, ranging from playing classical music to learning languages.When Dan relates Lena's stories to his skeptical grandfatherāa retired science teacher who believes only in what he can see and touchāthe grandfather laughs at Dan for being gullible. He insists that Dan bring him tangible proof that the visitors are actually from outer space.After Lena's father performs an astonishing feat, most of the villagersābut not Dan's grandfather--rally around the strange family, ultimately protecting them from a group of aggressive UFO scientists. The presence of the strangers begins to have a positive affect on the community. Even Dan's father and uncle, who hadn't talked in 20 years, become friends.Dan, who has long dreamed of running away from the boonies, gets the idea of persuading the strangers to take him along after they repair their ship and resume their intergalactic odyssey.But things aren't exactly what they seem, and Dan discovers that his true mission is closer to home, while his grandfather learns that there is more to life than cold hard facts.*****Murray Suid is the author of more than 20 nonfiction books including How to Be President of the U.S.A., Words of a Feather, and Demonic Mnemonics. Summer of the Flying Saucer is his first novel. A former teacher at the middle school, high school, and college levels, he is also a screenwriter. A film version of Summer of the Flying Saucer was produced in Ireland in 2006. Murray lives in Northern California, an hour north of San Francisco, in a place much like the one described in the novel.