Red Handed by Gena Showalter

Phoenix has a bit of a problem... She was a former addict to the drug called Onadyn, a substance that was brought to Earth when the aliens came. It basically takes away oxygen from humans, causing them to go high and "fly" for hours, depending on their dosage.

After going to rehab, Phoenix wants to stay away from this drug. It's done nothing but cause problems between her and her mother - the only person she has left.

When she goes to a party, though, Phoenix almost becomes tempted to try again. That is, until a group of Sybilins attack the party. Phoenix has no idea what they are, but is informed by a very attractive and older guy, Ryan, that they are aliens who suck the water out of humans.

Even though Phoenix has no idea what to do, she stays to help Ryan and his sister, Allison, fight off the Sybilins. While fighting, she realized that she was doing something good in the world and she stayed away from her addiction.

However, she was made to pass out and was taken home to her mother with the story that she was found passed out on the side of the road.

After that, her mother gave up on Phoenix and decided that she was going to drug boot camp where she can get fixed and her mother wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.

Except, that "drug camp"? Not a drug camp, but a training center for teenagers who show potential to fight aliens in the Alien Investigation and Removal (AIR).

Now, Phoenix is trained every day, every hour about the different alien races, their strengths and weaknesses, hand-to-hand combat, weaponry, everything one needs to know about how to fight all aliens harmful to humans.

A bit of a problem? Phoenix's hand-to-hand combat trainer is the very attractive Ryan... who she's not allowed to date since he's an agent and she's only a recruit.

When the training field is breached by a group of Sybilins, Phoenix will have to remember all of her training. Will the group be able to defeat the alien race, or will they be outnumbered? Read Red Handed by Gena Showalter to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Gena Showalter is a great author and has written a lot of adult novels, so this YA book was very well written and sucked me into the storyline right away.

It's set in the future, when aliens invaded Earth. After 60 years, humans and aliens co-exist on Earth and while aliens are supposed to be "human friendly" there are some who go against the rules and try to kill humans, which is why the AIR was formed.

I absolutely love Phoenix. She may have been a drug addict, but she has a survival instinct and finds out that she doesn't want to do drugs anymore. She wants to fight and save everyone, including her mother.

She gets the determination to actually study in classes and to do well in all of her fighting classes in order to stay in the program for the whole year.

I also like the world that Showalter created. She described the aliens in detail and was able to create a futuristic world if aliens every existed and wanted to take over Earth.

The chemistry between Phoenix and Ryan was flying off the page the first time they met and it only got more intense as the book went on. It didn't help that it was forbidden for them to be together, either!

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a story about aliens, a futuristic world, or a book about a girl who wants to kick butt and save the world.

There is a second book in this Teen Alien Huntress series, Blacklisted, which I'll be reviewing next.