The Alien in the Garden by Gillian Bradshaw

The reason I'm not giving five stars is because the writing isn't quite the standard I would expect of this great author. There is a second book about Alex called Aliens On Holiday. Younger readers may find some elements confusing but could skip a bit and just enjoy the adventure, which becomes very exciting. The plot is complex enough and involves enough races and mentions of physics to make it suitable for young teens, though Alex is aged twelve. Alex's dad is involved in making antimatter at a new international lab across town. He thinks some crooks from a different planet are here to steal weaponry Earth is classed as a planet not sufficiently advanced to be contacted. Nicknamed Shakespeare, this visitor recovering from injuries can't talk well at first but improves and reassures the boy that he is harmless and a kind of interplanetary policeman. His family gets involved in caring for the swan, but by night it reveals itself to be a shapechanging person from space. A large white swan lands in the back garden looking exhausted, and Alex finds that it wants to eat sweet stuff like cake.

A boy called Alex is at home in England - his family has moved and he's got a new school where he hasn't made friends yet, which is a common device to keep the numbers of children involved low. I haven't read any works for younger readers by her before, and this came across as a Diana Wynne Jones type of book. As a fan of Gillian Bradshaw I was keen to read this book.

The Alien in the Garden by Gillian Bradshaw