A fresh, immersive and utterly gripping sci fi story that had me hooked. Thought-provoking too. Immediately passed this one to my kids so we can DISCUSS.

What a wonderful little book. This was beautifully written and is a tale about two girls and the friendship they develop.

The story is about love and loss and how adversity can be overcome in difficult times. It also explores feelings over being unwanted and out of place and how some friendships just last the test of time.

Ultimately this is a beautiful short story which everyone should read.

How gorgeous is the cover? This is such a thrilling novel and is a perfect introduction to science fiction for middle grade kids.

Anya lives with her scientist mother, and when she goes missing at sea one night, Anya feels compelled to go and look for her. She finds her mother’s boat empty and a strange white light in the sky glowing above her. When she returns home, all is not as she left it.

This debut novel gallops along at a thrilling pace and is perfect for luring in reluctant readers. For part of the novel, we feel that we are in the dark as much as Anya, until the sense of disquiet and unease ruptures with a series of gripping twists which keeps us captivated right until the end. Even the ending itself was unexpected!

I can see this novel being read in the classroom, as it has the possibility to generate so many discussions about the nature of scientific discoveries, experiments, and ethics. It’s also a timely reminder for adults that authoritarian figures may not always have our best interests at heart and can twist the truth to benefit themselves.

At times there are rather too many helpful co-incidences but I’m not sure that younger readers will mind this too much. A lull in the pace now and then would also have been appreciated, just to give a bit of ebb and flow to the writing. Nonetheless, this is a really enjoyable read, and I look forward to seeing what the author will write next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Andersen Press for the ARC.