Alien Secrets

Alien Secrets, a children's science fiction novel by Annette Curtis Klause, debuted in 1993. WorldCat reports the book is available in more than 1,400 libraries. The story centers on Puck, a 13-year-old human girl who is headstrong and opinionated.

After being expelled from a boarding school on Earth, she travels to the alien planet Aurora, where her parents—xenoanthropologists studying the native Shoowa—are waiting. On the spacecraft Cat's Cradle, Puck befriends an alien named Hush, who is searching for a stolen sacred artifact important to his people. Together, they become involved in a mystery involving lost objects, ghosts, and murder. Kirkus Reviews called the novel "great fun," praising Klause's writing and her handling of the plot.

Publishers Weekly gave a mixed review, commending the depiction of Hush's culture but noting that the plot takes too long to build suspense and then rushes through key moments. AudioFile reviewed the audiobook, narrated by Christina Moore, noting that her reading adds excitement and urgency to the interstellar crime story. The book won the 1994 Maine Student Book Award and the 1995 Texas Bluebonnet Award.