Genre: Science Fiction (Historical??? to say that makes me feel old!)

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino was a mindbender for me - in a good way. Adina who was born in 1977 becomes “activated” through a family trauma at age 4. From that point on, she believes she is an alien whose job it is to report on humans back to her home planet. She uses a fax machine to issue her reports.

Adina struggles to fit in with the humans surrounding her. She is somewhat isolated because of her social and economic standing. She is being raised by a single mother, and they struggle. She is a scholarship student at her high school and feels set apart because of that. She often misinterprets what others say. She tends toward the literal - people seldom cooperate. I was absolutely fascinated by her perspective of the people around her. She is painfully objective and is able to cut through to the foibles of the human race quite effectively. The people who surround Adina are flawed mostly, loving sometimes, and painfully real. Her young life is the 80s, and, of course, so was mine. Bertino captures the spirit of the times well - the good and the not so good. The actual Beautyland from the novel reminds me well of the Jamesway and Kmart of my youth. The satisfaction that Adina and her mother can find there evokes memories of time spent searching for the perfect 45 record on a Friday night - quite a treat.

In many respects I felt like I didn’t fully understand this book. I am typically not science fiction or fantasy oriented. I tended to think that Adina was neurodivergent. The internet would have me believe she was, in fact, an alien. Kudos to Bertino for crafting a novel so carefully that I can be comfortable in the uncertainty. And. I appreciate the incisive look at society and the people in it through Adina’s eyes either way. I recommend Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino - you will be more thoughtful for the read.