Saga of Tom Red-Clay Series by Rebecca Ore

16-year old boy finds an alien crash-landed on a farm and ends up being recruited to join the Federation of Sapients - and adventuring out among the stars.First book of a trilogy, although ends in a way that does not require continuation to the other books. Sequels are "Being Human" and "Human to Human". Finalist for the 1989 Philip K. Dick Award. Nominated for the John W. Campbell Award. Nominated for the 1988 Locus Awards.

All the different ways of being a smart calculating creature doesn’t mean that those creatures don’t do dumb things from time to time, borrow each others’ vices, and can’t have hangnails and broken feathers.

Third book in trilogy (Becoming Human and Being Human are the first two).