Ambassador by William Alexander

Gabe Fuentes has a special talent as a peacemaker.  He handles his little twin brothers with amazing skill and manages to keep a lid on the silent war between his older sister and their mother. His diplomatic talent comes to the attention of "the Envoy" and he is recruited to be Earth's ambassador to the galaxy.  Soon after his first virtual trip to the embassy he discovers three important facts: there is a genocidal alien race approaching the earth, some  alien force is trying to assassinate him, and his undocumented parents are being deported. That is a lot for any twelve year old to handle, but handle them Gabe does, not with super powers, but with super people skills. This is a face paced and imaginative science fiction well suited to upper grade school age kids.  If the illegal immigration theme is a little heavy handed, Alexander makes up for it with a really likeable main character, an original premise, and a funny alien sidekick. The book had a fairly satisfying resolution, but Alexander clearly has sequels in the works.  Bring them on. (220 p)