The transport ship Orion is four months out of Earth when catastrophe strikes – leaving the ship and everyone on board stranded in deep space. Suddenly it’s up to thirteen-year-old Beth and her friends to navigate through treacherous and uncharted territory to reach safety. But a heavily-damaged ship, space pirates, a mysterious alien species, and an artificial intelligence that Beth doesn’t know if she can trust means that getting home has never been so difficult…

Paperback | 368 pages

Publisher: Nosy Crow Ltd (9th January, 2020)

Isn’t this exciting! Deep space. Human advancement. An adventure. But wait, thirteen-year-old Beth is in charge? What’s happened? I can’t wait to find out!

This book is from the 9-12 Children’s section, so reading it was very easy. The plot along with the characters make for a compelling read that draws you in.

Beth, Vihann, Arnold, Mikkel, Lauryn, & Lucille.

Beth – as the starring character, she had a lot of weight on her shoulders. As the driving force of the plot, Beth was the character that I understood the most. I got to see her at her highest and lowest moments and I found it heartening the way she acknowledged her mistakes, strived to be better, and became the person to keep things together.

Vihann – was a character I instantly disliked but I think he was intentionally written that way. I mellowed to him as the story continued and things were revealed. I think out of all the characters, Beth and Vihann had the biggest character development.

Arnold – I thought he was very sweet. He acted the bully and tough guy but underneath he was a passionate and sensitive person. I kept forgetting that these characters are all children and that made me respect and empathize with them more.

Mikkel – Strong and silent, this character tried to stay neutral throughout the book, which made him quite a lackluster character. However, he still had knowledge and involved himself in the narrative.

Lauryn – The most energetic of all the characters, the one with the most to offer and yet the youngest of all. She was a proper firecracker with so much intelligence and a need to fit in and succeed socially. I loved her character and loved the enthusiasm and kindness she brought to the table.

Lucille – She was as quiet as Mikkel really but she also managed to make herself known. She presented as more of a secondary character than a main and I didn’t really think I learnt that much about her.

This was easy to visualise. It was very detailed and there were only a few scenes to imagine.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book as it was an impulse buy. I was pleasantly surprised by how complex the plot was and by how strong the characters were. The book ends in a way that implies a sequel, so I’ll be keeping my eye out for it. As a debut novel. this was fantastic.

I thought this was fab and honestly, it pushed me out of a dark place and had me feeling almost neutral. I thought this story was very different and presented as a new scenario. As an impulse buy, I’m impressed with this buy and the discovery of a new author.