Samuel J Castellino

Into the Far Country Samuel J Castellino

At seventeen, Marine Sergeant Klarissa Morey is emotionally dead inside. Years of fighting at the front have taken their toll on her. But the war has ended, and her people have found a new world: Earth. They decide to send a scout, and select her. Into the Far Country is about Klarissa's journey to feel again-a journey that begins at home as she prepares to travel to earth under the guise of a foreign exchange student from Portugal. She studies American pop culture, and the music and films stir emotions and longing within her. Her journey accelerates when she arrives in America and meets Sophia, Emma, and Issy. She quickly bonds with them and feels the happiness that comes with having true friends. Shopping for clothes, talking about boys, learning about each other's interests as they progress through their senior year in school-she loves it all. And there is more happiness in store for her when she meets Ethan. He goes from rescuing her from a bully on her first day of school-not that she needed rescuing!-to becoming the love of her life, her "first time," the one she abandons herself to completely. Throughout it all, Klarissa has an ongoing sense of foreboding. She knows there is no stopping the coming invasion from her own people. Earthlings were doomed the first day they were discovered. There is nothing she can do. Or is there?