I don't normally read a lot of science fiction, but the premise of Light Years From Home intrigued me enough to check it out. Now I think that this is a perfect novel crossover for anyone who loves a good family drama.

At its core, and noted in the author's acknowledgments, the book is about what happens when a family faces a traumatic supernatural event. Who chooses whose reality to believe? What's the fallout for those left behind? How do you move forward from the unexplainable?

Yes, there are aliens, but we don't meet them as fully fledged characters because the book isn't about aliens. The aliens are just a device, but one that devastates a multicultural family who now has to navigate where they place their blame, what they choose to hold on to, and whether or not they can let go of old habits.

For die hard sci-fi fans, there's some peripheral world building and plenty of fascinating science into the study of alien life and technology. Such advanced tools make for some entertaining scenes. What I most resonated with, though, was the Shao family and how each of them, in their own way, lived with blinders on to the other members of their family. They refused to see one another fully until it became paramount they had to. And that made for a climactic ending worth finishing.

A solid read, surprising and enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jakob disappeared while on a family camping trip 15 years ago. Suddenly, he's back. Was Jakob abducted by aliens, as his younger sister (and father) always believed? Or did he simply disappear to wander the world and his current demeanor signify a psychiatric break, as his twin believes? Something of a science fiction tale, but mostly a story of a family knitting itself back together after trauma. A very quick read, and thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you, NetGalley and MIRA!

Light Years from Home by Mike Chen is a family drama with a space opera running in the background. What happens when a teenage boy disappears? How do siblings and parents react? And what happens when he comes back? This story, told mainly from the perspectives of the siblings, was engrossing. There were elements of a number of different genres - thriller, scifi and domestic fiction. The pacing was varied, in the best way possible. Fast-paced action coupled with thoughtful character introspection. This title will be highly recommended to domestic fiction fans who want to try something new.

This is good. I didn't like it as much as others by Chen, who has a good rep, and knows how to write. I'm confident many Chen fans and others will enjoy this one.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I really love this fact that this story is objectively about aliens, but not at all about aliens. It took me forever to review, because I couldn't get into the book - which was completely where my headspace was, nothing to do with the book itself.

The characters are really well written and the author has a really wonderful way of writing emotion. It does move a bit slower, and I think part of my feelings are I thought it would be more sci-fi in nature, but it was more emotional than anything.

Jakob disappeared more than a decade ago and his sister just KNOWS it was aliens. Will he ever come back?
This story is about aliens but its more about families and the relationships between adult siblings. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to fans of Ernest Cline and Andy Weir.

While there is a science fiction/alien abduction element to Mike Chen's "Light Years From Home", the underlying story is that of familial hurts held close and siblings learning how to interact with each other again. Told in three voices, readers are privvy to each sibling's interpretation of their past, and how the 15-year absence of one of them impacted their whole family. Well drawn characters carry the story, and there is a bit of adventure that will capture reader's interest as well.

Good story. This wasn't the most action packed story, but the drama between the characters holds interest, which I think the story is more about that than one the scifi aspect.

I quite enjoyed this book. It's much more a story about an estranged family than a sci-fi epic. But I think there are enough sci-fi elements to still appeal to lovers of that genre, while still having a story that could be an accessible entry point for someone wanting to try out sci-fi. It's a very grounded story, without including too much techno-babble. The story is told from the viewpoints of all the siblings, and I found the perspectives of the sisters more understandable. Jacob is very focused on his mission and didn't show as much vulnerability as Evie and Kass. But on the whole it was a very satisfying and emotional story.

A teen boy and his dad disappear from a camping trip where only the dad returns raving about aliens.
Years pass and the wound hasn't healed especially since their dad died searching for the missing Jakob and mom has dementia needing constant care. Suddenly Jakob is back home on a mission to save his space fleet from obliteration but only his little sister believes him. This is more of a family/sibling drama than science fiction as very little time is devoted to the space war or his life off Earth. I could imagine the pain from losing their dad and the older sister's sense of being the only adult in the room trying to take care of their mom on her own but I really never felt any warmth towards Jakob. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

A family is torn apart when father and son go missing on a camping trip and only the father reappears, claiming alien abduction. Fifteen years later, the remaining family members are reunited and must resolve their differences in the face of an outside threat.

This was an interesting mix of family drama and X-Files style sci fi. There are a few scenes on a spaceship involved in an intergalactic war, but most of the action is earthbound. I found the conflict between the two sisters - one of whom thought their brother ran away and the other who became a UFO enthusiast - to be the most effective part of the story. The mother's struggle with dementia also rang true, with a poignant turn at the end.

I had a harder time with the brother's character. He was so obsessed with his goal that I never got a handle on his feelings about what his family had gone through. Someone called him "selfless" but that is not the suffix I would choose. But the resolution was satisfying for all involved in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Light Years from Home.

I've enjoyed the author's previous books before so I was pleased when my request was approved.

I had different expectations for Light Years from Home when I read the premise, which is great.

Fifteen years ago, Jakob Shao disappeared from a camping trip with his father. When he drops back into the lives of his fractured family after so many years away, he has a fantastic story to tell and a mission to complete.

But, the Shaos must make amends with their personal unresolved family issues before Jakob can save the world from an intergalactic war.

The narrative is told from 3 POVs; Evie, Kassie, and Jakob, and through their perspectives readers see how their lives have changed since Jakob disappeared; how they each personally dealt with the loss of their father and brother, and how his reappearance has once again altered their family dynamics.

The story isn't exciting; this isn't a sci-fi adventure, no blasters shooting at aliens or monsters, no time jumping or fancy Star Wars action scenes.

This is a story about family; loss and love, belonging and identity, communication and understanding.

Evie, Kassie and Jakob are relatable characters, though I'm not sure I fully understand Jakob's willingness to leave his family behind. He says it's because he felt he finally belonged on an alien warcraft as opposed to how he never really fit in with his family. I get that, I really do.

But, to never let them know he was okay? To never drop a line? Sometimes my family annoys me to no end I wonder if I'm adopted, but I would never not tell my sister where I am. Kassie is his twin! How could he treat her like that? He doesn't even have to call. Text!

I may not call my parents but I would reach out to my sister, even if we didn't get along well.

It's great Jakob has finally found where he belongs, what he's good at and is doing something worthwhile, but he's still a dick for leaving his family hanging. He's still the same selfish and lazy brat he was 15 years ago.

I wished there were more sci-fi action, being chased by the alien bad guys, a scene or two of Jakob interacting with his alien rebel alliance. There's some alien world-building, enough to know that Jakob's mission is an important one, who he's working with, who the bad guys are, but no exposition as to how long this war has been going on, why the bad guys act this way, stuff like that.

This is not about an alien war. It's about the Shaos and how a family heals after so many years of not speaking, not listening to one another, and how reaching out, just a little, can make a huge difference in so many lives.

I loved this book!
I'm a big Mike Chen fan, and Light Years from Home did not disappoint. It's got everything: sci fi, adventure, and the raw tenderness of people who have been hurt (often by each other) coming together to make things right. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it in advance of its publication date. I will be enthusiastically recommending it.