A fast-paced origin story that tackles community involvement & care, racism & xenophobia, and the indoctrination of young men into white supremacist ideology

Jaime is happy to live his life as an ordinary teenager in El Paso, helping out at his dad’s auto shop and gazing up at the stars every night. But when his friends notice one of their classmates is starting to buy into racist and xenophobic rhetoric, and tensions around immigration rise as the border is shut down once again, he can’t stay silent.

Especially because El Paso has an ACTUAL alien threat: An entity called the Reach is heading towards Earth, and they’ve selected Jaime as their representative. They claim their contact will be all about peace, but Jaime isn’t so sure, especially since he’s got some pretty violent new powers.

Jaime learns the importance of speaking up, building bridges, and becoming an active part of his community. He’s got great parents and a supportive friend duo, too, which is always lovely to read in YA. 

This was a quick read and a great way to make the Blue Beetle story even more relevant for young readers.

CW: racism, hate crime, guns, fire, xenophobia, classism

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)