Silver by Olivia Levez is a fresh take on the alien-in-human-body trope, giving readers a thoughtful, introspective journey through the eyes of an alien girl grappling with human feelings and connections she was told to avoid. As Silver navigates life on Earth under strict orders from her home ship, Charybdis, she's torn between her mission to gather information for her ship's survival and her growing feelings for Finch, a boy who shatters her deeply ingrained beliefs. While romance with Finch takes the foreground, Silver’s whole experience of being human is delicately portrayed, capturing her discovery of emotions, loyalty, and freedom.
The story is filled with thought-provoking questions about humanity, trust, and the powerful pull of emotions that defy all logic. Silver’s inner conflict between her duty and newfound emotions—particularly as she wrestles with her desire to protect Earth instead of exploit it—keeps readers invested in her journey and uncertain whom she’ll ultimately choose to side with.

While a quieter, more reflective read, Silver will likely resonate with fans of character-driven sci-fi and romance. Its premise might remind readers of The Host by Stephenie Meyer, with a subtle but engaging examination of love, loyalty, and the unknown world of human connection. Meanwhile the movie Arrival makes a thoughtful companion, exploring an alien’s attempts to bridge the gap between worlds and the power of human connection.

I don't think I can do this book justice with any review I write. It is absolutely outstanding. There are subtle things Levez does throughout that elevate Silver in a way that many may overlook, but that set her apart as an extremely talented writer.
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Silver has been trained since birth to become the First Pioneer and collect data about the human race in preparation for her mothership, Charybdis, to colonise. The only rules are that she must feed back the data she collects to the ship, and at all times follow the mantra, remembering that "To touch is agony. To feel is pain." As Silver settles into the body she has inhabited and the family she has infiltrated, she begins to learn that the Charybdian mantra may not be true after all.
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Levez begins her story with Silver touching down to Earth on a hill outside a small rural town. It is in these opening chapters that Levez's writing shines with the way Silver tentatively explores and finds the words to describe her new surroundings; "Two pips, then a trilling. Its perch is pinned with fire berries. I spark at it and it hops. I find the word: tree. Treehopper. Bird." The imagery is so strong but so quiet at the same time. This is also how Levez makes you care so deeply about Silver as a character; she is like Bambi learning to walk on ice, delicate and innocent, even though her quest is anything but. Levez also includes well timed flashbacks that give us an idea of Silver's upbringing on Charybdis, where we learn that her and her fellow infants were taught not to require touch or reassurance, which makes you want to nurture Silver yourself. The supporting characters in Silver's story are also strongly rendered and it is clear that Levez is an observer of people because she deftly creates distinct personalities for them through all the small things they do and say. As a fellow ex-English teacher, I would wager that Levez was an expert at teaching her students 'show don't tell' for their Language Paper 1B, because she does a cracking job of it herself.
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The story itself is engaging throughout. The budding relationships that Silver forms with her new family are easy to invest in, and each character learns things about themselves as they grow with Silver. There is nothing I didn't like about this book, only that I can never read it for the first time again. I've seen it compared to ET a lot, but although there is a literal nod to that classic, it reminded me more of a kind of reverse of the Xenogenesis series by Octavia E. Butler. Sci-Fi is nowhere near the top of my go-to list of genres, but Silver is definitely on my list of 2024 favourites and I am so excited to use it for my booktalks in schools.
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Thanks to Netgalley UK, Bonnier and Hotkey for the digital ARC, and to Levez for writing it.

Silver is on Earth to send data about humans to see if it is viable for her homeship, Charybdis, to colonize. She must always remember 'To touch is agony. To feel is pain'. She inhabits the body of a young woman and must learn to pass as human. Silver is not prepared for how humans are and she is especially not prepared for Finch, the boy she starts to fall for. Who touches her and it doesn't hurt...

With the 1st person POV, we see the world through Silver's observant, studious, duty-bound, awestruck newcomer gaze. The weirdness of the situation is depicted very well. There is a quality of preciseness, a matter-of-fact demeanor to the descriptions, including little details that are befitting to the character. Ever so often there are sentences that are lyrical gems. I enjoyed the philosophical vibe.

We experience Silver's homeship and upbringing with the Before parts which were so interesting. The harshness of their expectations. The narrative shines with the antithesis of growing up with touching or intimacy being forbidden and then being flooded with the touchy-feely behavior of the humans. She is confused and awkward, very much in her head. We travel in her inner thoughts. The humor is inevitable. The warm and fuzzies too. Though so are the heart-wrenching, drama-induced, 'what to do now' parts.

Loneliness and the need for connection color the story. It is about discovering hope and joy and keeping them alive inside. About belonging.

The buildup of the story is gradual, maybe a little slow in parts. I wish that some of the scenes that have to do with the threat are less confusing and could have been brought about a little differently. As we get close to the finale there are instances where the storyline seems to stumble and I wish the author had gone a different way. The best part of the book was Silver learning how to be human. The final truth that is revealed makes so much sense and you know it couldn't have ended any other way.

An unexpected more than likely doomed romance that that teaches a spy from the stars the power of love with the world at stake.

This story was a sad story about an alien species trying to explore Earth and find out about human life. If they could live there. The scout that is sent takes some time to understand what human emotions mean but doesn’t expect to fall in love and want to stay with him. She has to take over each person and read all their thoughts and experiences in life to report back to her mother ship that hovers over the hillside.
I found this story a great read and would love to think ther could be a sequel to this.
Many thanks to Bonnie Books Uk for the opportunity to read this arc copy for review consideration via Netgalley.
#Netgalley, #BonnierBooksUk, #OliviaLevezAuthor.

Silver is a sweet and thought-provoking science fiction YA book.

Silver is also the name of our main character, a young alien come to Earth to spy on humans and see if their world is ripe for takeover. Her job is to 'inhabit' the first human she meets and learn what she can - without getting too close to anyone. The founders, who lead the people on her spaceship, say that even a touch from a human will cause incredible pain.

Of course the story cannot be so simple as that. Silver is too scared to inhabit the first human she sees, and instead makes do with the second, a dog-sitter/home-help who conveniently is brand new to the family she's staying with, and comes from another country (so it is sort of hand-wavey okay if she doesn't know the local lingo).

What follows is quite a cute story (cute sounds dismissive, but it isn't) about discovering what it means to be human, making mistakes and getting over it, and falling in love for the first time. I will say the romance felt more like a sub-plot to me (the cover makes it sounds like it's the biggest love story ever) and definitely quite young YA, but that's okay - we need some of them! The SF is interesting but may not hold together if you think about it too much (how did Silver land unaware of so many human concepts after all her training?). I enjoyed the UK setting - it felt like home.

I'd happily recommend this to any younger people wanting something with a dash of romance and a big splash of SF.

Silver is a clever and compelling YA science fiction romance, in which a narrator who has been trained to hate humans has her view changed when she is sent to Earth to prepare for a colonisation of the planet by her shape-shifting alien species.

Silver has grown up on her home ship of Charybdis where everyone is taught to regard empathy as a weakness and touch as a threat. After winning a gruelling contest, she is sent to Earth to gather data on humans by 'inhabiting' their bodies. After taking over the body of Polish dog-sister Sylwia (who has conveniently just arrived in the UK), she soon becomes part of the household of harassed single mum Stella, her teenage son Finch and younger daughter Doodles. Initially her lack of understanding of human behaviour causes a number of amusing misunderstandings, but gradually she grows closer to the family, particularly Finch. But the Charybdians are not happy that Silver is defying their orders.

This is an engaging read with some clever twists which offers thoughtful and witty insights into human nature whilst celebrating our perceived weaknesses and imperfections. It is likely to prove a popular book with readers aged 13 and upwards.

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"𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆-𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔. 𝑨 𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕...𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓."

Silver is sent to Earth as the First Pioneer, tasked by the Founders to determine if the planet is suitable for colonisation by her home-ship, Charybdis.

Carefully selected through rigorous tests, she must inhabit a human, gather data, and adhere to the ship's Mantra, all while avoiding human manipulation.
Upon arrival, she takes over the body of a young woman and is welcomed by a local family. As she struggles to fit in, doubts about Charybdis' Mantra creep in. Her growing feelings for Finch, a young man she meets, complicate her mission.
Faced with the reality of her experiences, Silver must choose between her loyalty to her home ship and her burgeoning emotions, leading to a decision that could alter the fate of humanity.

𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓 by Olivia Levez is such a captivating novel. I am not usually drawn to books that centre around romance but the science-fiction aspects of this book piqued my curiosity.

Witnessing Silver figure out how to be human can be cringe-worthy at times but I felt this made her character more authentic, endearing and, in some ways, relatable.

The family and other characters that she meets throughout the story are all imperfect with their own unique stories and Silver’s lack of “humanity” removes any social stigmas from her perspective and reinforces her likeable qualities through her acceptance of others.

Her life on Earth is interesting and uplifting, but there is always the lingering threat of the Founders which threads dark undertones into the plot and creates enough suspense to carry you towards the ending, which I found fulfilling yet heartbreaking.

This is a perfect, heart-warming novel to enjoy over the colder months.

Release date: 7th November 2024

DNF at 30%. I loved the concept so much and 14 year old me would’ve been obsessed with this story. However for 25 year old me now, I didn’t realise it would be young YA. This is probably my fault but I didn’t think the synopsis made this that clear. As a a result it was much more juvenile than I thought and I’m not entirely sure what age this book was marketed for. If it’s young YA, it seems surprising that an F bomb was dropped in the first few pages? I don’t know, maybe it’s just personal differences?

Headlines:
Humanity
Compassion, touch and skin
Being a pioneer

This story was part invasion of the body snatchers, part Roswell and much of its own unique conception. It was firmly placed in the YA genre, so that age and immaturity that comes with it was present in the pages. It was about the exploration of humanity through the eyes of Silver, an interesting alien character trying to sketch what it meant to be human.

The story was told in past and present, both were equally engaging. Present being Silver's life in a family in the UK and past being her cadet training on board an alien ship, preparing to be the first pioneer on Earth. Not everything was as it first appeared and there were some good reveals along the way.

The family that Silver found herself in was chaotic but real and how she found her feet there kept me reading in the early stages. The situation with the founders on board the ship, the need to 'shield' and then the second pioneer had me stress reading.

The plot was super exciting in the final quarter and the ending felt right for all that had gone before.

Thank you to Hot Key Books for the review copy.

An excellent new addition to the science fiction genre. this story is told from the point of view of an alien entity who has been sent to earth to find out more about the way humans think and behave all of this prior to an intended invasion of the planet. However Silver, as the alien becomes known, finds themselves becoming fascinated by the family they move in with and particularly the son. They also begin to wonder about their own leaders and the attitudes towards humans, in which the latter are deemed expendable. what a very thought provoking story and one that really says something about recognizing differences and accepting others for who they are.

This is an enjoyable 'entry level' science fiction/romance. Like other reviewers, I thought of 'The Host' by Stephanie Meyer, but I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed 'The Host'.

Silver is sent to Earth to investigate whether it is viable for her people (on the ship Charybdis) to invade. Her mission involves 'inhabiting' a human and living amongst a human family, to discover their weaknesses. She does so, and at first fulfills the remit of her mission, reporting back regularly to Charybdis. As she learns more about humans, she starts to like them, and make friends, and become more human. This means she isn't reporting back to the ship, and she begins to realise that she has to protect the family she is living with, and by extension all humans.

I really like the character of Silver. Initially she makes some terrible mistakes, but learns very quickly. The family she lives with - Stella, Finch and Doodles - initially just think she is foreign, as the body she has inhabited is a Polish dogsitter, but they become accustomed to her as she becomes more human. There's a very touching romance between her and Finch, the son of the family. Of course it doesn;t work out, as Charybdis sends another alien to retrieve her. Silver kills them, but realises she can't stay. She tells Finch, and the last we see of her is when, after she has returned to her non-corporeal form, she settles briefly over his skin.

That's a very simplified version of the plot. It's a very quick read. I would definitely recommend it to a younger reader who wanted to get into science fiction.

What a great cosy sci-fi romance! The cover originally drew me in but after a few chapters I was fully invested. Silver is such an interesting character and it really is a journey looking into what it is to be human. I liked the two timelines and the short chapters as it was super engaging, I think it definitely is more YA as some parts weren't for me but I would recommend it to younger readers than myself

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really tried to finish this book... but this main character... Sigh DNF. Only got a couple of chapters into the book, wasn't engaging enough to get me to continue

This is a beautiful YA story about what it is to be human.
I enjoyed following Silver & seeing her develop from a fairly robotic persona to a fully fledged non human.

The ending was so bittersweet & I hope the family never forget her. I also hope Doodles won 🏆

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

This was a really sweet, enjoyable read to which I'm giving a strong 4 stars! It's definitely geared more towards younger adult and perhaps middle grade, but I'm not saying this in a negative way - it was a lovely easy read that made me smile. I found the premise really original, I liked the idea of Charybdis and the world-building around it. The characters were all really loveable and the story touched on some really important themes of love, desire and self-advocacy. All in, I'd recommend this book to anyone and will be looking out for more work from this author!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC!

I want to preface this by saying I’m probably not the target audience. This book is YA, truly young YA. I do read YA and enjoy many of them, even the ones on the less mature side. However, this book felt a bit more middle grade, and I can easily imagine myself loving it when I was 12. However, the adult me, not so much.

The premise is amazing, reminding me a lot of Translation State by Ann Leckie in the design of the aliens and Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh in their manipulation by the governing entity. The flashbacks to Silver’s past as a cadet are the best part of the book, a true sci-fi of the best quality. The Earth part, though is the reason I couldn’t finish the book.

Once Silver ends up with the human family, she seems to forget all the supposed knowledge she acquired as a cadet. The scouts died trying to find out as much about human activity as possible, and on all the educational videos, there was no one walking the dog? She learned human language on the ship, but she’s capable only of quoting bad commercials? The logic starts to break a little. Don't even get me started on how the family let the original dog sitter have access to the house before meeting her first. Did they just leave a key under a doormat so that a foreign teenage girl could let herself in?
And then, when Silver wants to cook a cake, so instead of going shopping (payments don’t seem to be a problem for her technology), she goes to a neighbor? A neighbor who is clearly not okay and spends pages after pages on gibberish.

I really wish I loved it more. There is great potential, though, and if I was still a teenager, I would probably enjoy the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC.

I was immediately drawn in by the cover and the blurb sounded very cool. The initial premise of the story was interesting and the whole 'body-snarcher invasion' thing is definitely not new but a good book concept.

Unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations. The naivety of the character was expected to a certain degree but I honestly found the whole experience painful. The secondhand embarrassment in this book was strong.

I liked that she learnt to think for herself a bit more but some parts were so unrealistic in terms of 'humans' reactions that it was a struggle at times.

The overall plot is good but I feel like it could have been developed more.

The story of an alien from Charibdis Who is sent on a mission to earth to find out more about humans, and how to conquer them? Silver is able to possess the bodies of othe Humans in order to read their minds, discover their strengths and weaknesses, and tap them for data
Living with an ordinary human family, she creates emotional bonds with them and questions her mission.

Thanks to #NetGalley For the opportunity to read this, I had a publication and exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up for net galley
This was a really quick read for me, the first chapter or two took some getting used to with a naïve first person perspective- of a character that is learning and discovering everything for the first time. A few times you have to suspend disbelief on the things the character does and doesn’t understand. But for the most part it is really sweet. It shows how small gestures can really change people’s lives. And I enjoyed knowing the characters. This is a children’s book that is accessible and can be enjoyed by all ages. But the ending had a complete tone shift that kind of left me taken aback and confused, it felt like the author didn’t actually have a plan for the plot or maybe thought it would have a greater emotional impact. Because as a whole it was a really cool concept the way the aliens in this book existed and their powers and they could’ve delved deeper into that rather than the route they chose to go down. There was also one chapter that was third person which was a little strange because it only happened once towards the end of the book.
#ad I received this book as an arc but the opinions are entirely my own.

A wonderful story about identity and questioning authority. Silver has been trained from birth for the chance to infiltrate planet Earth, but when chosen she is not prepared for the experiences that taking over a human body gives her. Silver becomes attached to her human family, causing her to question everything she once believed.