Lindsay Ellis Libri

"The human race is at a crossroads; we know that we are not alone, but details about the alien presence on Earth are still being withheld from the public. As the political climate becomes more unstable, the world is forced to consider the ramifications of granting human rights to non-human persons. How do you define 'person' in the first place? Cora Sabino not only serves as the full time communication intermediary between the alien entity Ampersand and his government chaperones, but also shares a mysterious bond with him that is both painful and intimate in a way that neither of them could have anticipated. Despite this, Ampersand is still keen on keeping secrets, even from her, which backfires on both of them when investigative journalist Kaveh Mazandarani, a close colleague of Cora's estranged whistleblower father, witnesses far more of Ampersand's machinations than anyone was meant to see. Since Cora has no choice but to trust Kaveh, the two must work together to prove to a fearful world that intelligent, conscious beings should be considered persons, no matter how monstrous-looking, powerful, or malicious they may seem. Making this case is hard enough when the public doesn't know what it's dealing with, and it will only become harder when a mysterious flash illuminates the sky, marking the arrival of an agent of chaos that will light an already unstable world on fire."--

2007. A leak revealing that the U.S. government might have engaged in first contact has sent the country into turmoil, and it is all Cora Sabino can do to avoid the mess. The whistleblower is her estranged father, and his celebrity has caught the attention of the internet, the paparazzi, and the government - and redirected it to her. Cora wants nothing to do with the matter - until she learns just how deeply entrenched her family is in the cover-up, and that an extraterrestrial presence has been on Earth for decades. To save her own life, she offers her services as an interpreter to a monster. But in becoming an interpreter, she begins to realise that she has become the voice for a being she cannot ever truly know or understand, and starts to question who she's speaking for - and what future she's setting up for all of humanity.

In this alternate history first contact narrative, humanity faces a dire threat from the Superorganism, an alien civilization intent on eradicating humans before they become a danger. As nations militarize in response, Ampersand, an alien, and his human interpreter, Cora Sabino, grow disillusioned with humanity's prospects for survival. Their attempts to communicate reveal the profound differences between them, leading Cora to question her unwavering loyalty. However, a new danger emerges in the form of hostile aliens who have been lurking on Earth, driven by desperation and revenge against Ampersand's kind. As Cora and Ampersand prepare to escape, these adversaries launch an attack, seizing what is most precious to them. The real threat, however, comes not from the Superorganism but from a fearful and violent human civilization that has just become aware of the aliens' existence. Faced with the challenge of reclaiming what was taken and preventing mass extermination, Cora and Ampersand find themselves resorting to extreme measures. In their struggle, they confront the unsettling possibility that their actions may mirror the very civilizations they seek to distance themselves from.