Ted James wants answers, and now that he has captured an alien Skya’ja, he might get them. Bradley Caffee’s novel Captive opens in a near-future sci-fi Earth after the Cataclysm that destroyed our planet’s future and the clean energy system promised by the supposedly peace-loving space visitors. Captive is a briskly paced and teen-focused thriller, immersing readers in Ted’s fight to survive an alien-wrecked warzone. On his journey to manhood, Ted must fight prejudice and anger to solve a mysterious downtown Bubble and the Cataclysm itself.

Best for: Teen and adult fans of dystopian/apocalyptic near-future sci-fi.

Discern: Several briefly described fight scenes, verbal and physical abuse associated with racism against the aliens, a few chaste kisses.