Ambassador is a 2015 science fiction book written by William Alexander. The book is followed by sequel text Nomad, written in 2015. Both were published by Simon & Schuster. These books fall alongside some of Alexander’s more well-known fantasy books for children, such as Goblin Secrets (2013), which won the National Book Award.
Plot
Gabe Fuentes, a remarkably ordinary 11-year old, has taken on an extraordinary adventure from Minneapolis, Minnesota to other worlds. The Envoy, a purple space blob, tasks Gabe with the role as Earth’s ambassador to the galaxy, which exposes him to a world of alien interaction and conflict. Meanwhile, back home Gabe’s Mexican-American family deals with alien problems of their own, as his parents confront the realities of deportation.
Characters
Characters in the book include: Gabe Fuentes: protagonist, 11-year-old boy; serves as Ambassador for the Earth Isabelle Fuentes: native of Guadalajara, Mexico; tutors academic subjects; mother of three Octavio Fuentes: native of Guadalajara, Mexico; chef at local restaurant; father of three Guadalupe (Lupe) Fuentes: high school student; oldest of Fuentes children Noemi Fuentes: three-year old toddler girl; twin sibling Andrés Fuentes: three-year old toddler boy; twin sibling Envoy: purple alien creature; comes to recruit Gabe as Earth’s Ambassador
Frankie: Gabe’s best friend; sent away for summer to his father’s home in California Zora: Gabe’s pet parrot Garuda: Gabe’s pet iguana Sir Toby: Gabe’s pet silver fox
Themes
In a 2016 interview with Luna Station Quarterly, William Alexander addressed the idea of being "alien" in his science fiction works. In describing his reasoning for exploring this concept, he notes, “I needed my protagonist to viscerally understand both the dangers and the advantages of belonging to more than one world at once. As a 2nd gen Caribbean immigrant it felt right, fitting, and obvious to make this an immigration story. I also couldn’t resist punning on the word ‘alien’”. In a 2019 interview with The Booking Biz, Alexander says, "my science-fiction books were inspired by two delightful words: 'ambassador' and 'neoteny.'" These conceptual frameworks shape the thematic elements of the book.
Neoteny
In biological terms, "neoteny" means "the retention of juvenile features in the adult animal." This definition applies to species, including humans. William Alexander notes that "empathy" and "curiosity" are among those neotenous traits.
In the text, the Envoy explains to Gabe why he was chosen as Ambassador, saying that "ambassadors should be young...or at least neotenous" (page 36). According to Alexander, unexpected animal friendships can be explained by this concept. In the book, the friendship between Gabe's pets, Zora, Garuda, and Sir Toby, display the atypical friendships of which he speaks.
William Alexander expressed his reasoning as to why he created Gabe's character as an ambassador, saying "Kids haven’t fixed the boundaries of their social world yet, so galactic ambassadors between different planets should always be kids."
Alien identity
The text addresses the notion of being "alien" in the context of Gabe's family's immigrant status. This theme is most explicitly addressed when Gabe discovers that his mother, father, and sister are undocumented immigrants. Gabe is informed by his mother that she and his father have been detained at the ICE detention center; Gabe's father fills in the details later, clarifying that they were detained after a police officer pulled him over for not making a complete stop at a stop sign. Gabe learns about his sister's immigration status when he presses her to explain why she went from being a straight-A student, to academically struggling. Although, Lupe resists telling Gabe the truth, she eventually discloses that her academic counselor, Mr. Arpaio, discourages her from pursuing higher education. Lupe says, "he's helping citizens get in by making sure aliens with perfect grades can't" (page 102) Later in their dialogue, she goes on to call herself "illegal". In the process of discovering his family's undocumented status, Gabe grapples with what it means to "talk to aliens thousands of light years away" (page 84), while processing his family's alien identity back home.