Translucent by Dan Rix

Even if this is meant to be a science fiction novel and aliens and dark matter are an important part of the book. This is a story about GUILT , the kind of consuming guilt that Leona and Megan feel because of a reckless mistake they had made and tried to cover up.

"You want to know what it feels like?It feels like I'm dead inside . Like I'm hollow. That's what it feels like for me, and that's how it's always going to feel."-Leona says.

At the beginning I liked Leona and Megan, but then they started annoying me, making me angry, infuriating me.I could not believe my eyes when I read what those two were getting away with. Both of them were incredibly selfish, insensitive and stupid at the same time; a stupidity that seemed to be contagious to other characters. I wanted them to confess, to pay for it .They were cowards who wanted to go on with their lives regardless of what they had done. They seemed to be suffering ,and they were to a certain extent, but nothing compared with the suffering they had caused .

But then Leona is finally ready and willing to face the music:

"I wanted this pain. I wanted to feel everything, suffer for everything, suffer like they had suffered. ...It was all my fault. Why hadn't I just come forward? Any punishment would have been easier than this soul-crushing anguish......I would have given them my whole life to have my conscience back".

The subplot about the aliens gets more complicated and plays a very relevant part in the way the novel finally unfolds, although there are times when it seemed irrelevant to me in comparison with the main plot. At the very end there is an unexpected paranormal turn that made my hair stand on end.

When I was reading I couldn't tell whether the book was well written or not, I was too irate to judge, I just had to keep on reading .After I finished , I realised that it was indeed a page-turner that will appeal to many YA readers who like sci-fi, paranormal phenomena and atonement.