YA science fiction
Bethany Thompson's Beyond The Starlit Skies is a lucky find I never would have chosen on my own. It was an Upward Bound internship read, a book I'd be helping lead a discussion of. My gut reaction was, "Oh, crap! Outer space." I have a strong bias toward my fiction being set solidly on Earth.
So imagine my surprise when a few chapters in I found myself really engaged in and enjoying the narrative. Thompson's suspenseful plot and believable characters accomplished a minor miracle.
The setting is a future in which Earth is basically dying, people live in space stations and bio domes, and there's a desperate race to find Earth like inhabitable planets.
Zadie lives in a space station. When we meet her she's graduating high school. She and her peers are getting their first adult work assignments. Much to her surprise she's offered one involving space exploration. Yes, it's for five years. Yes, she'll be heading into unknown, potentially dangerous territory.
"Even with the risks involved, this option makes me feel more alive than I've ever felt before. This is the position that makes me the most excited. If I don't put this position as my first choice, I know I will always wonder...would I have gotten it? How might my life be different?"
Despite the excitement of the work and the great friends, one of whom may have the potential to be more than a friend, Zadie's position is not all she'd hoped for. Her immediate supervisor seems hostile. And the highest in command may not be following ethical guidelines or acting in the best interests of the crew. The biggest danger may lie not in the uncharted parts of the universe, but inside the vessel being used to explore it.
I'd highly recommend Beyond The Starlit Skies to YA readers, especially those nearing high school graduation. Next step decisions often involve options that speak to the heart vs those that seem safer and/or appeal to parents. It also has great potential for teen/parent book clubs.
But it also is a good read for the many adult adults who have discovered that much of today's best literature is categorized as YA. Next step decisions don't always stop after high school or even college. The paragraph I quoted above really spoke to me because it evoked memories of when I was deciding whether to apply for the highly competitive grad school program of my dreams or settle for a boring job in fast food or retail in my sixties. And people at any stage of life can have to decide what to do when discovering corruption, malfeasance, or just poor decision making on the part of supervisors, managers, or entire corporate leaderships.
On a purrrsonal note, the night Bethany visited Upward Bound she gave a fascinating talk. I was so proud of our UB students who were highly engaged and asked lots of really superb questions. Then we split up into watch groups for discussions as she went from group to group answering questions and signing books. I know this was one of the most special nights of my internship. In fact it was the night I discovered...
...you'll have to read my next review to discover my epiphany.
A great big shout out goes out to Bethany a night to remember for both students and summer staff.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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