Ambassador

A shape-shifting creature called "the Envoy" informs eleven-year-old Gabe that it has appointed him Earth's ambassador to "everyone else." Gabe travels across space (while he's asleep) to the Embassy. When he wakes up back home, he discovers his father is to be deported to Mexico the next day--and one of the other ambassadors is trying to kill Gabe. A meaty and entertaining novel.

Alexander combines a warmly realistic family tale with an intriguing science-fiction adventure. Eleven-year-old Gabriel Sandro Fuentes is the quiet middle child in a lively family; his parents are immigrants from Guadalajara, Mexico. Gabe's calm and perceptive--but also adventurous--nature becomes invaluable when a shape-shifting creature called "the Envoy" appears in his room and informs him that it has appointed him Earth's ambassador to "everyone else." The Envoy uses the washing machine and other items from the basement to construct a device that enables Gabe to travel across space when he's asleep. At the Embassy--which appears to be a playground--Gabe and the other ambassadors (who resemble human children until he squints) play games and discuss things like making airplanes out of leaves and hiding out on the moon. When Gabe wakes up back home, he discovers that his father is to be deported to Mexico the next day--and that one of the other ambassadors is trying to kill him. Alexander creates in Gabe a character who remains tremendously likable while exhibiting courage, diplomacy, and invention in trying to take care of his family, himself, and his planet all at once. It's a meaty and entertaining novel with an open-ended conclusion offering lots of room for discussion. susan dove lempke