I really enjoyed this middle grade book and I enjoyed the first book in this series, though it’s definitely able to be read as a stand-alone. I think kids would really enjoy the book, it’s comedy and light heartedness is really lovely to read about whilst also talking about hard hitting topics like bullying, which I think have been written in a really clever way.

It’s very relatable and well written and the switch between perspectives also adds value to the story.

The children adored this, even better than the previous book. I enjoyed how to be a human but this builds very well on the previous offering. It was added to our books of the year list (and that's very high praise as everyone from 5 - 15 plus must love it). Looking forward to more books from this talented author.

Having enjoyed the first book so much, I was thrilled to receive a copy courtesy of Little Tiger Press and NetGalley.
Stan Boyd aka Star Boy has been on Earth for eight hundred and fifty-three thousand and two hundred seconds or to put it more simply 10 days. The story continues with Star Boy hoping to stay on Earth but he discovers that part of him pangs for home and the strange pings and pangs coming from his body are making it hard for him to remain undetected. What follows is a wonderfully written story with three hearts. There are some brilliantly funny parts to the story such as the toaster exploding like a confetti canon but also bucketloads of heart warming events. Karen McCombie delivers in a way that the reader cannot but empathise with Wes, Kiki & of course Star Boy, cleverly switching between an alien perspective and a human perspective.
A book of acceptance and understanding

“I’m exceptionally ecstatic to be in your company again!”

When Star Boy crash landed into Wes and Kiki’s life in How To Be a Human, he quickly proved he was worthy of his three hearts. While he’s still very new to Earth, having arrived “eight hundred and fifty-three thousand and two hundred seconds ago”, Star Boy is doing his best to learn all of the rules about being human.

Meanwhile, Wes and Kiki are learning that hiding a “trainee human” isn’t easy. It doesn’t help that Star Boy has started glitching. Luckily they have Eddie, the owner of the Electrical Emporium and my favourite character, to help them.

When they’re not dealing with the fallout from the events of the first book, Wes and Kiki are trying their best to cope with difficult family situations.

Star Boy, Wes and Kiki may have vastly different backgrounds but they’re all struggling to find their place in the world. Together they’ll learn about empathy and how powerful acts of kindness can be.

This book is a timely reminder that there are still good people in the world who are willing to go out of their way to help others. Both books made me want to see the world as Star Boy does, full of wonders waiting for me to discover them.

While you could read this book as a standalone, I’d recommend you read How To Be a Human first.

I adore this found family and hope I get the opportunity to spend more time with them. I really want to see Star Boy attending school with Wes and Kiki.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Stripes Publishing, an imprint of Little Tiger Group, for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 4.5 stars.

How To Hide An Alien by Karen McComby is the second book in the series but you can definitely read this as a standalone. Kiki and Wes has found an alien and they’ve named him stan. That was a great electrical storm and it knocked out the windows to the school and somehow put a big crater hole in the playground. But regardless how Stan got here the kids ‘ biggest problem is how to pass their alien friend off of a human so they can all go to the fair that’s coming up next week. At least that’s what they believe their biggest problem is Owen stands home planet they were getting ready for a search and rescue mission, but the more the alien stays on this planet the more he doesn’t want to leave. It started when he started feeling something he had never felt before and that was being watered. Can the kids help staying stay here and at the same time hide that he’s an alien from Kiki‘s dad? good stories will interest anyone reading them and although this was a middle grade chapter book I honestly enjoyed the story. I thought it was funny and the story moved along nicely. I let my daughter read it and she read it in two days which is a record for her and she loved it. She was the one who told me about the preview for book one in the back of the book and so now we are waiting on how to be human book one in the mail. This really is great reading for anyone from fourth through eighth grade but having said that I’m 49 years old and thought it was lovely. Highly entertaining and a definite page turner. Please forgive any errors as I am blind and dictate my review I receive a review copy from net Gally and the author Karen McCombie but I am happily leaving this review totally voluntarily.

I absolutely adored How to be a Human and so was delighted to see the latest offering by Karen McCombie was a sequel.

How to Hide an Alien is as heartwarming as its prequel. Following Kiki, Wes and Star Boy’s latest adventures, it offers a unique insight into life as a human and is a great way of exploring empathy and building understanding. The characters are beautifully created and the use of multiple narrators makes every chapter interesting to read as it offers a range of different perspectives. I would thoroughly recommend this series to readers in Year 5 and above. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.