Roswell High: The Outsider (TV Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Melinda Metz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

He's not like other guys.

Liz has seen him around. It's hard to miss Max -- the tall, blond, blue-eyed senior stands out in her high-school crowd. So why is he such a loner?

Max is in love with Liz. He loves the way her eyes light up when she laughs. And the way her long, black hair moves when she turns her head. Most of all, he loves to imagine what it would be like to kiss her.

But Max knows he can't get too close. He can't let her discover the truth about who he is. Or really, "what" he is....

Because the truth could kill her.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Roswell High series gets off to a slow start with this rambling tale introducing a trio of teen aliens and several of their human pals. Long on extraneous dialogue and short on action, the story is set in Roswell, N.M., renowned for an alleged UFO landing in 1947. Hours after a military spokesperson had proclaimed that the flying disk had crashed in the desert, a second announcement insisted that the object was only a weather balloon. But Max, his sister Isabel and their friend Michael know better: they are the orphaned survivors of the spaceship crash, who eventually hatched from incubation pods that had protected them for years. Liz, the prettiest girl at Roswell High, has long admired handsome, quiet Max from a distance. But she gets a close-up look at just how special he is when his superhuman hands heal her from a gunshot wound to the stomach in the opening scene. Liz and two classmates are soon in on the aliens' secret identity, which the mean-spirited Sheriff Valenti, a key member of an alien-hunting organization (Project Clean Slate), suspects. Will he discover the truth about their background? Given this series' wishy-washy posture between mainstream and science fiction, many readers may not stick around long enough to find out. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Alien conspiracy fans will not be disappointed to learn that there really are aliens among us. Michael, Max, and Isabel were hidden on Earth in incubation pods after the famed spacecraft crash of 1947 and adopted by well-intentioned humans who didn't know their history. Now attending a high school in New Mexico, the teens are trying to remain unnoticed by Project Clean Slate, whose purpose is to capture aliens living in the United States. All would be fine except that Max has fallen in love with a human classmate, Liz, and is compelled to heal her with his alien ability when she is shot and sure to die without his intervention. This act has brought unnecessary attention in their direction and now they must protect their secret. Liz's best friends Maria and Alex join the group after they struggle with their own fears and concerns over what doing the right thing means. Readers who like a little romance in their science fiction might enjoy this novel, which introduces all of the characters and lays the groundwork for future struggles to keep their anonymity. Hard-core fans of the genre might find the plot unwieldy and difficult to believe as it offers glimpses of alien "magic" without any explanation.
Tracey Firestone, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport,
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671774662
• ISBN-13: 978-0671774660
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #529,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Melinda Metz grew up in San Jose, California. People sometimes ask if she knows the way there. She kinda does, but she has an off-kilter sense of direction, so to be confident of arriving, it's better to consult some kind of navigational device.

Her mother tried to teach her to read in kindergarten, but Melinda had no interest. She also had no interest in learning to write her name. (FYI, when Melinda was in kindergarten it was all about finger-painting, play time, and naps.) Eventually, she mastered both and even majored in English at San Jose State University.

After college, Melinda moved to Manhattan to seek her fortune, which involved learning to identify fruits and vegetables while working at a grocery store,
making $2.73 working backstage for an off-off Broadway play (her part of the box-office profits), and editing books.

Melinda and the lovely and talented Laura J. Burns pretty much became unofficial writing partners when they were editors at the same company. They teamed up to brainstorm story ideas, and at some point their brains fused in some key places. Later they worked on the Roswell High book series, Laura developing and editing the series, Melinda writing.

That series led to Melinda and Laura, now an official writing team, writing two TV pilots, moving to L.A. to work on the Roswell TV show, and briefly living in Toronto while on the writing staff of 1-800-Missing. They both continue to write books, together and separately.

Melinda has never regretted learning to read and write her name.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book Series Ever Created!, March 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Roswell High: The Outsider (TV Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. Once I picked it up and started to read, I couldn't put it down. I also love the TV show. When the show first came on, I didn't really watch it because I thought it wouldn't be that great. But once I read this first book in the series, I just had to watch the show and when I did, I was hooked. I am now hooked on both the TV show and books. I think all of them are great. I've read the first book and I'm now reading the second one. I like the romance between Liz and Max and how they are kind of like a modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet. (Max would be Romeo and Liz would be Juliet). Max Evans, Isabel Evans, and Michael Guerin are teenage aliens with special powers from another world. Liz Ortecho, Maria DeLuca, and Alex Manes are their friends who find out about their secret. All Max, Isabel, and Michael want is to find their way home and to find out who their parents were. Liz, Maria, and Alex try to help them and are sworn to keep it a secret, especially from Sherrif Valenti, who is working on a Roswell alien-catching project. The six of them become connected to each other and all become friends. I think this book series is really good and I reallyr recommend it to anyone! I also really recommend the show, too. P.S., the guy who plays Max on the TV show is really hot!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an awesome book, December 10, 1999

By 

Joanna Rheaume (U.S.A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The OUTSIDER: ROSWELL HIGH #1 (Paperback)

This book is the greatest. I can't wait to read all of the books, I finish the books in Two hours because they are so good. I am a walking advertisment for these books I already lent them to five people because I want them to experience the feelings I did for this book. I am in college and I still read them no one is too old to read these books they are wonderful. The way max and liz connect is absolutely wonderful. Now don't forget to read it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of this world book!, January 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Roswell High: The Outsider (TV Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are a fan of the Roswell tv series on the WB, then this book is perfect to get you by those boring nights when Roswell isn't on!

While the hour long pilot episode was simply the greatest thing I've ever watched, the book that inspired the series is 10 times better. Many changes from the series were included. For example, in the book, Liz finds out Max is an alien AT HIS HOUSE, IN HIS BEDROOM!

Ever wonder what it would be like if Valenti was on the trail of the aliens during Homecoming? If so, you have to read this book.

Buy it, sit down and bring a snack, 'cause you won't want to put this book down 'til Wednesday Night!