Signal Book

Would you help a total stranger who says they are from another planet? Well in Signal by Cynthia C. DeFelice the main character Owen helps a girl named Campion build a signal to go back home.

The story starts out with a young boy who is about 13 who has just moved to New York in what's know as the finger lakes area. Owens mom died about 2 years ago and his dad is a workaholic and never spends time with Owen. He just moved in the summer so he had no friends up in his new neighborhood. Owen was going to make sure he made the soccer team so he went running with his dog and best friend named Josie.

Everyday while running he would see these people called the Dog people because they like 20 dogs and really wanted a child but never wanted to adopt one. One day when running he saw a tee shirt piece all ripped up and in a bush on the path. He followed the ripped up pieces back to an old abandoned farm house. He went inside to find a girl with stone cold face and just stared at a wall he got her attention and she said she was an alien named Campion. She said her planet was called Home. Owen then went home to bring her some clothes and food.

Owen came back the next day with clothes and tootsie rolls. Cam told Owen how she stayed with a girl named Bobbie and her boyfriend named Ray when she came to earth. She said that Ray was out to hurt her and that Owen can't tell anyone about her being there. Cam said that they couldn't make the signal until the full moon was out so they took time to get to know each other and Owen visited her everyday.

Later that week they build the signal in the field the day of the full moon so then airplanes wouldn't get suspicious earlier and catch them. They went to bed to wait for the spaceship to arrive and if it did come Owen was going to go with them. They woke up in the middle of the night to a truck pulling in the drive... it was Ray.

Ray came out to the field and grabbed Cam and started to take her back but Owen started to hit Ray and ray started to beat on him and WHACK! Ray went down and Cam was standing there with a 2X4. Suddenly cop cars and a few other cars pulled in and cuffed Ray and heard their stories. Owen then learned that Cams mom was actually Bonnie and she was very nice but her new boyfriend was a jerk and hit Cam so she ran away and Ray looked for her so she didn't tell anyone.

Cam was relocated to a new home with the Dog people which lived right down the road from Owen and they turned out to be best friends and Owens dad stopped working so much and talked and hung out with Owen.