SOLVED. 70s-80s novel about boy that goes to a space academy [s]

[Edward]

SOLVED: The name of the book is
Rebecca Ore's Becoming Alien, later released by Ben Bova


Random things I remember about the book:
1. The boy is abducted from earth to join a intergalactic space school or academy

2. I remember on scene, near the beginning where he saw a young girl and was mesmerized by her but was suddenly stopped by another student/cadet/teacher saying be careful, they eat their own

3. The girl later has some sort of breakdown and they are forced to wipe her memory and return her home.

4. the protagonist remarked how they operated on his tongue so he could speak the common language.

5. Another scene the aliens had removed the bacteria from under his arms saying that the smell bothered the other people and offered to return it.

6. The cover I think was vintage 70s-80s and had a drawing of the boy in a space suit with a few of the other students standing in a distance behind him.

I don't remember what the plot was. It may have just been how he was settling in to the new life.

[Lauren]

I've never read the book, but could it possibly be Ender's Game? It was written in 1985.

[Edward]

Hi Lauren but no, it's not Ender's Game, the humans there didn't know of aliens and he was abducted. There was no war that I remember.

[Edward]

bump

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Edward, normal bump period is 30 days.

[Tompopaageo]

Does this ring a bell although it was written late 1950s?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Definitely NOT the Heinlein, Tompopaageo. While the boy IS abducted, he doesn't go to a space academy. I don't think that any of Heinlein's books are what the OP is looking for, although a few are close.

[Edward]

@lobstergirl, Yep LOL I read that after I bumped it. Thanks!
Thanks for Heinlein but not it.
Thanks everyone

[Lauren]

Do you know if it was apart of a series?

[Edward]

@Lauren, not that I remember.

[SarahBeth]

Asked my brother and he didn't have any ideas, but wants to know what it is now also.

Charles Ingrid's Patterns of Chaos is a very long shot, I only have vague memories and the cover doesn't match.

[Edward]

@SaraBeth, it looks very interesting but I don't recognize the cover. That's not so say it's not it. I'll have to hunt it down and read more about it. :)

[Lauren]

http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/11...

This website shows some popular science fiction books. Some of them are written in the 1970-80s.

[SarahBeth]

Edward wrote: "@SaraBeth, it looks very interesting but I don't recognize the cover. That's not so say it's not it. I'll have to hunt it down and read more about it. :)"
I couldn't find a good review or description of it anywhere. I just remember an alien pilot training a teenage boy at an academy.

[Edward]

bump

[David]

Plot sounds like it might be the book (if there is one) that the movie The Last Starfighter was based on. Hope you can sort that out! I'll have a little look around.

[David]

The Last Starfighter is a novelization of the movie, by Alan Dean Foster.
Plot: Gifted trailer park teenager abducted by alien to be trained to fight in galactic war. He does some training in an academy in which many species are present, then has to fight in the last available ship, hence the title. I don't know if this is the book you're looking for, but the movie dates from 1984 and the novelization was published the same year.

[Edward]

I loved that film. I don't think it was it because I think the book came out much earlier and if it was based on the film the story I remember is different. I'll check it out to be sure.