Liam has always felt a bit like he's stuck between two worlds. This isprimarily because he's a twelve-year-old kid who looks like he's about thirty. Sometimes it's not so bad, like when his new principal mistakes him for a teacher on the first day of school or when he convinces a car dealer to let him take a Porsche out on a test drive. But mostly it's just frustrating, being a kid trapped in an adult world. And so he decides to flip things around.

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To save his father, a Coalition scientist protecting a precious resource, after their ship is attacked, Leo stows away on a strange ship of mercenary space pirates and must decide who to trust--human or alien--to stay alive. When scientists discover a rare and mysterious mineral buried in the Earth's crust, it's not long before aliens show up to our little corner of the galaxy offering a promise of protection, some fabulous new technology, and entry...