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Summary: The secrets of Shayla and Kambia
Review: "When Kambia Elaine flew in from Neptune" is about a girl named Shayla Dubois who happens to run into her very strange new neighbor at the bus stop and ends up having a conversation with her. After meeting a second time Shayla and Kambia decided to walk to school together which makes them even closer. As they walk to school everyday together they become closer and closer each day and feel comfortable enough to tell each other what is troubling them. Shayla is living in a house full of angry women with her mom and her sister Tia is always at it and her grandmother butting in all the time doesn't help. But to top it all off, her father, who she hasn't seen in a really long time, is trying to make his way back into the family. All these problem add up and are making Shayla a bit stressed and the only one she can turn to for all this is Kambia. As for Kambia she is not so well off when it comes to her family as well. Her mother is a prostitute and she is being molested. Yet Kambia has a way of expressing her feelings without putting her self out there in the open to get hurt. She tells stories of wallpaper wolves and how they often hurt her. Both girls are living in unstable families and find a bond and sense of sisterhood with one another because they can trust each other and are always there for the other person through out their struggles.
This book is a very interesting because it is not just fiction it has a sense of reality to it because it does actually happen to people. I do recommend this book to others because truthfully I usually do not finish an entire book and actually did this time. It's really good and you should read it!
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Summary: Brilliant!
Review: "Kambia" is truly brilliant in both content and voice. The story is told with a great lyrical quality that pulls the reader into the world of the young characters without 'dumbing down' the serious issues covered. Balancing the metophoric with the real is difficult to do when you have artistic talent and Lori shines through with this great debut. Looking forward to more work from this talented writer.BJ.
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Summary: My children will be reading this...
Review: Actually I'm reading this book, and I only have twenty pages to go. So far, this book is one of the best books I've read in a while. This book reminds me of the books me and my friends read back when we were kids. Books that didn't talk down to us, or, pretend that we hadn't started to learn about the opposite sex. The relationship between Shayla and Kambia is one of the strongest points of the book. They both use their imaginations to deal with the world around them. While Shayla uses hers to explore and explain the world around her, Kambia uses hers to protect herself. An insulation from the hurt she can't avoid. An exciting twist involves Shayla's sister Tia and her boyfriend Doo-Witty. One that allows Shayla to see Doo-Witty in a new light, and better understand her sister's infatuation with him. The most refreshing thing about this book is, even though the book is set in contemporary times, the author didn't try to "young" the book down. She didn't use alot of slang, or pepper the book with the names of music groups that will barely be remembered a year from now. She focused on the characters and the story.
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Summary: The Worst Book Ever!!
Review: I am a very avid reader, so I've come across a lot of bad books. This one tops the list. From reading the jacket cover, this is definately not what you would have expected. It was not a pleasant surprise either. I hated this book and would not recommend it to anyone.
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Summary: Great Book!
Review: I found this book to be both entertaining and sensitive. I loved the characters and the prose. I highly recommend it!
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Summary: WOW!
Review: I loved this book. I like how the writer doesn't pretend that bad things don't happen. They do. And sometimes to young peole like Shayla. I wish everyone could read it. I don't see how anyone could rate this book any lower than 5 stars.
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Summary: When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune
Review: I LOVED this book. Lori was sensitive, imaginative and completely entertaining in her depiction of Shayla, Kambia and my favorite Mr. Anderson Fox. I have encouraged people to read it since I left the book sigining. It is a beautifully told story of family, friendship, inagination, life and heartache. Everyone should read it, the book contains elements for everyone. Well done Lori! I can't wait for the sequel!
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Summary: Hardley Freshman
Review: I was a freshman in high school when I read this book. I first heard about it in a review (Seventeen magazine) so when I saw it at the local library, I decided to check it out. I didn't really have any background information on the book - all I could remember was it's glossy and catchy cover. I picked it up and decided to give it a try. As soon as I began reading it, I was drawn into Shayla & Kambia's world. Williams' words are so well chosen and so real that you don't have a choice - you're automatically sucked in. This book is pretty easy reading and a great story so I strongly suggest you check it out!
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Summary: Too good to be missed.
Review: In WHEN KAMBIA ELAINE FLEW IN FROM NEPTUNE, first-time novelist Lori Aurelia Williams fashions a contemporary, coming-of-age tale as beautiful as it is difficult. Her narrator, 12-year-old Shayla Dubois, an aspiring writer with a gift for language, fills her blue notebooks with the observations and emotions ("Tia's nature is boiling out of her like a hot soup out of a pot") she isn't allowed to express --- as children should be seen and not heard.
In parallel plot-lines, Williams explores Shayla's sister Tia's blossoming sexuality and the tension it causes, as well as Shayla's budding friendship with Kambia --- a girl with a far-out imagination who moves in next door with her no-good mother. Hoping to prevent Tia from making the same mistake she did, Shayla's mama puts Tia out of the house when she discovers she is sexually involved with the town dumbbell, Doo-Witty.
Meanwhile, Kambia is filling Shayla's head with stories of Wallpaper Wolves that come to her in the night, Memory Beetles that store good memories in their chubby bodies, and Lizard People that turn into purple chewing gum. At first, Kambia's strange tales and antics annoy the usually word-loving Shayla, but when she accidentally sees Kambia's bruised and bloodied thighs, it dawns on her that something dangerous is lurking in her tortured tales. But when Kambia begs Shayla not to tell anyone about her injuries, Shayla learns, with the help of her wise and opinionated Grandmother Augustine, that sometimes you have to break a promise to protect a friend.
Williams's utterly original and metaphorical treatment of Kambia's sexual abuse, along with her tender handling of Tia's deepening relationship with herself and the seemingly dumb, yet gifted Doo-Witty, combine to create an engaging, original story too good to be missed.
(...)
Rating: 
Summary: Two thumbs up for Lori Williams
Review: It's hard to believe that this is Lori Williams's first novel. She wrote it with such poetic ease that it seems like the characters jump off the pages. She keeps you reading on because the plot is so vivid, you seem like you are there, living the actual events. There is such a message of family bond weaved into the book, it's hard to describe.
The character Kambia sends the message that, your imagination is beautiful thing. The stories that she told were so complex, but it was her way of calling for help. The friendship between Kambia and Shayla reminds all of us girls about our relationship with our best friend. About how we would keep their secrets until the very, very end.
This is a novel about friendship, love, family, sisterhood, and promises. It's suspenseful, and very engaging. Lori keeps you guessing until the very end. I give Lori BIG props for this being her first novel, and I assume the sequel is just as fantastic.
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