Some of My Best Friends Are Human by Liz J. Andersen

SPSFC 2022

In an underground orphan center on an overpopulated planet, Tajen Jesmuhr dreams of freedom in a distant wilderness under an open sky. So when offered an interplanetary ecology class with offworld field trips, Taje leaps at the chance. But Taje isn't the only misfit here, where everyone has a tragic past and hidden wounds, and she soon clashes with her teacher and her classmates, including:A boy with a frightening secret who lost his family to a terrorist plague. A crafty female human-alien chimera whose parents disappeared in a paraspace accident. And a boy with a hidden past and a dead father he still hates.All may have promising careers ahead of them, but only if they can learn to trust themselves and one another enough to survive an uncaring system and a deadly final exam.Andre Norton believed in this story, and anyone--young and old--who loves science fiction with interesting characters, alien animals, and interplanetary adventures without war will enjoy it too.About the AuthorLiz J. Andersen grew up in Silicon Valley (Palo Alto, California), and wrote the first draft of this novel when she was about the same age as her main characters. Liz has red hair like Taje, but Liz is not Taje. The author just became tired of too many red-haired villains, and a scarcity of red-haired heroes.In real life, a serious lack of mentors undoubtedly led to this book, and a solution aimed at the author and other kids floundering on their own. However, once done, Liz realized she needed more science for an accurate SF novel.So she set her novel aside to earn a B.S. in Animal Physiology with Highest Honors at U.C. Davis, which required physics, chemistry, and calculus, as well as numerous physiology classes. It also allowed broad electives such as ecology, astronomy, and art. She proceeded from there immediately into veterinary school, and also earned her D.V.M. degree at U.C. Davis.During summer breaks Liz backpacked, primarily in the Sierra Nevada with her friend Carla Salido, where they enjoyed their own adventures. Liz has also defied death at least four times to bring you this novel, so it must be important.She now lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her husband, Brian, and has published several short stories about Dr. Tajen Jesmuhr in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine. Find her at her website LizJAndersen.com, and her husband's music at labbwerk.bandcamp.com.

Young Adult • Science Fiction/First Contact • Science Fiction/Alien Invasion