The first in Henderson's books about 'The People', aliens who crashlanded a spaceship on earth and had to fit in although they have psychic abilities such as telepathy etc. It is really a set of short stories given a connective frame - a depressed young woman, Lea, is saved from committing suicide by Karen, one of the People, and taken to their main settlement where every night community members share memories in preparation for some (unspecified till the last such sharing) event. Interesting in parts, but a bit repetitive in the sense that a lot of the tales centre around teachers in small isolated towns - wasn't suprised when I googled the author, to find that she was an elementary school teacher.

***** Re-read *****
My impression on the re-read is much the same. The best story is the one where a human woman called Dita (a teacher of course) is staying in a boarding house and gradually kindles a romance with a man who turns out to be one of the People who lost his parents when young and doesn't know how to find the settlement where most of them live. Dita herself is a misfit because she is a rare human who was born with psychic powers, although these differ from those of the People. That story was quite nicely prickly and natural in the development of the relationship and in the interaction with the curmudgeonly landlady of the boarding house.

The last story is confusing because it deals with People coming to Earth from another planet where they settled, to take away anyone who wants to go back with them - the framing structure is lost at that point because it seems the viewpoint character is departing on a spaceship at the end as if that has already happened rather than being impending. So the story of Lea is lost at that point. I think on balance the 'OK' 2 star rating stands. ( )

The People are aliens who fled their home planet and crash landed in various spots on Earth. They're living amongst humans, trying to blend in and also to find each other, all while feeling like outsiders and missing their home. The book is set out as a series of short stories about various members of The People, and it's very Escape to Witch Mountain both in story and in style. Except that I kind of love Escape to Witch Mountain, but I really couldn't get into this one at all. Partly I think it's the dated scifi style, partly it's that I always have trouble with the short-story collection format, and partly because the writing just didn't click for me. ( )

This is a SF novel that breaks your heart. Stranded on Earth, due to the crash of their interstellar spacecraft, a race of aliens attempts to survive on an alien world and among an alien people who can't begin to understand who, or what, they are. It is a book that tells very well what it means to be far from home with no possible way of rescue. ( )

I read this as a teen, long ago from the library, and for years hunted to get my own copy. I remember being so enthralled with the idea that there might be aliens -right here!- living among us as regular people, albeit a bit different. I wanted to be a bit different myself. ( )

Love this series of stories. William Shatner made one of them into a television movie. ( )