Roswell High
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| Roswell High | |
 original artwork for book 5, The Intruder, featuring (L-R) Maria, Isabel, and Michael. |
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| Author | Melinda Metz |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy, young adults' book series |
| Publisher |  Pocket Books |
Roswell High is a young adults' book series written by Melinda Metz and published by Pocket Books. The 10-book series chronicles the adventures of three teen aliens and their human friends, who attend the fictional Ulysses F. Olsen High in Roswell, New Mexico. The Roswell High books served as inspiration for the television series Roswell (1999-2002), also known as Roswell High in some countries, which in turn spawned a number of spin-off books of its own.
Contents |
[edit] Basic premise
Max Evans, his sister Isabel and their friend Michael are survivors of the 1947 UFO crash known as the Roswell Incident. They are from the planet Antar. Upon emerging from pods, they appear to be 7 year old orphaned humans. Max and Isabel were adopted by a loving pair of attorneys, the Evans. But Michael, who was not so lucky, entered the foster care system, bouncing from household to household with lots of families rejecting him.
The aliens have special powers, including the ability to:
- rearrange molecules (changing objects, healing injuries).
- "dreamwalk" (observe, participate in, and manipulate others' dreams).
- sense each others' emotions from afar.
- create psychic connections that allow one person to see into another's mind.
- perceive colorful halos or auras around humans which indicate emotional state.
Max, Isabel and Michael have successfully kept their true nature a secret for a decade. The series begins with the accidental shooting of Liz Ortecho, a human friend of Max's. He cannot bear to see her die and risks bringing attention to himself when he uses his powers to save her life. Liz is soon let in on the secret, as are her friends Maria DeLuca and Alex Manes. The six teens quickly bond and learn to trust one another and Max and Liz fall deeply in love. Together the group fends off the suspicions of law enforcement, particularly Sheriff Valenti, alien hunters, and Liz's jealous ex-boyfriend, Kyle Valenti, all the while seeking clues about the aliens.
[edit] Aura Colors
- Max - Emerald Green
- Isabel - Royal Purple
- Michael - Brick Red
- Liz - Amber
- Maria - Sky Blue
- Alex - Bright Orange
- Nikolas - Gold
- Adam - Sunny Yellow
- Cameron - Olive Green
- Ray - White
[edit] Authorship
Although Metz is credited as the series' author, she has frequently noted that it was a collaborative effort for which she was contracted. As she described in an online interview:
- "Pocket Books, the publisher, came up with the core idea. They wanted a series called "Roswell High." They turned it over to a book packager to develop. My friend (who has now been my writing partner for a bunch of years) Laura Burns, fleshed out the basic story arc for the first six books. Then several writers were asked to write the scene where Max heals Liz as a sample. (I was completely hooked by the concept of the series. I was dying for the job!) I added new things, like that Max would get those flashes of Liz's life from her and that silver handprint, and I was ultimately chosen as the author. Then Laura and I worked together to develop the series even further." [1]
[edit] Books
- The Outsider
- The Wild One
- The Seeker
- The Watcher
- The Intruder
- The Stowaway
- The Vanished
- The Rebel
- The Dark One
- The Salvation
[edit] Characters
[edit] Aliens
- Max Evans, a senior; tall, blond, blue-eyed; In love with Liz since he was just a boy. Nicknamed "Mister Responsibility" by Liz.
- Isabel Evans, a junior; cheerleader; tall, blonde, blue-eyed. Max's sister.
- Michael Guerin; black and spikey hair, gray eyes.
- Nikolas Branson, fourth alien; Isabel's boyfriend, considers humans to be insects (appears in book 2).
- Adam, fifth pod alien; raised in captivity of the Blank Slate compound, calls Sheriff Valenti "Daddy" (appears in books 5 through 9).
- Trevor, Michael's brother; came to Earth to assist Elsevan DuPris' resistance against the ruling powers of their homeworld, initially betraying Michael but later saving him and his friends from DuPris (appears in books 8 through 10).
- Elsevan DuPris, green hair, oily attitude; once thought of as the editor of "The Astral Projector" he is actually an evil alien.
- Ray Iburg, manager of the UFO Museum, secretly alien (appears in books 2 through 4).
[edit] Humans
- Liz Ortecho, a senior and Max's Biology class lab partner; of Spanish descent; long, dark hair.
- Maria DeLuca, Liz's best friend since childhood; curly blond hair.
- Alex Manes, Liz and Maria's best friend since a year; red-hair.
- Kyle Valenti, the sheriff's son whom Liz went out with on one date; human.
- Sheriff Valenti, alien hunter for the top secret Project Blank Slate.
- Cameron Whinger, runaway redhead hired by Valenti to obtain information from Michael (appears in books 5 and 6).
