Early Bird Book Review by Ms. Candise Montemayor

Early Bird Book Review

By Ms. Candise Montemayor

(Youth Services Staff Member)

Welcome readers, writers, and critics to an early look at These Broken Stars, a young adult science fiction novel co-authored by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.  I am thrilled to tell you about this book set to debut December 10, 2013.  

Do you ever find yourself devouring a book as though it’s a pile of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner? This novel is that kind of delicious. The story is a sweeping drama crossing several genres and interests. Young adult, science fiction, romance, dystopia, and fantasy are few categories it will easily fall under.

In the cold depths of space, the Icarus, a massive luxury spaceliner is a hub of warmth and leisure. Everyone aboard has absolute faith in the ship and man who built it – LaRoux of LaRoux Industries, who’s company insignia is stamped on every part of everyday life.  When the ship is suddenly ripped out of hyperspace and sent plummeting into the nearest planet, Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen seem to be the only survivors.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero. The two are worlds apart when it comes to their background and each has distaste for the other’s class distinction. However, their vehement dislike for each other is muddied by an undeniable attraction that they do their best to ignore.

With only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together to survive, trekking across a seemingly uninhabited planet -- a planet full of secrets.

Their goal is rescue with a quick and safe departure to the lives they once knew, but as they near the end of their journey it occurs to them that they may want something very different instead. A return to their own world would be a future without the hope of being together and they begin to wonder – would they be better off staying there forever?

It all changes when they uncover the truth behind the hair-raising whispers which have followed them across the alien terrain. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off the planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

This novel delivers repeated punches of intrigue with unpredictable twists. Each new discovery creates more questions and will have you turning the pages faster to solve them all.  

The characters are cleverly developed and the story is well paced. At its heart the book is a story of catastrophe, of survival, of discovering who you are and what it takes to ultimately become free.  You’ll be hungry for a second helping, so it’s a good thing that These Broken Stars is the first companion novel in a science fiction series called The Starbound Trilogy.

*The Fort Smith Public Library has already placed an order for These Broken Stars and it will be added to our Young Adult Book Collection and made available for check-out as soon as our edition arrives.

About the Authors

Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are longtime friends and sometime flatmates who have traveled the world (but not yet the galaxy), covering every continent between them. They are sure outer space is only a matter of time. Meagan, who is also the author of the SKYLARK trilogy, currently lives just outside D.C., while Amie lives in Melbourne, Australia. Although they currently live apart, they are united by their love of space opera, road trips, and second breakfasts. 

Ms. Candise will be our instructor for the R.L. Stine Writing Class that will be on Monday, October 14th and October 21st at 5:30 p.m.  Email us at fsplyouthservices@gmail.com, call us at 479-783-0229, or come to the Youth Services desk to signup!  Seating is limited, so be sure to sign up!