Starlight Seized
China Dennington
YA SciFi
Two storytellers separated by decades
Could the story of the past be the key to saving the future?
Maris Hall’s name isn’t spoken. Her writings were burned. Her images erased because of the horrendous thing she did. As a third-generation inhabitant of the red desert planet Erimost, Tessa Hall ironically knows precious little about her own family history, despite being the city historian.
When she discovers the journal of her grandmother, the first historian, she slowly comes to realize that the secrets of the past might be the key to saving the present.
It speaks of aliens who feed on stories and devastating famines. Are the contents true or simply the ramblings of a madwoman?
Mysteriously cut off from communication with the home planet decades prior and with a limited supply of the medicine that helps them tolerate the harsh environment, the people of Erimost are in a precarious position. In a race to understand herself and the planet she’s always despised, what secrets will Tessa uncover?
Uncaged Review: As a new colonization on a new planet is threatened by conflict, it could be up to Tessa to discover the secrets that can help save her people and the planet. Being the historian, she begins to unravel the past that has been erased from the books. But is what she’s reading true?
When I read scifi, I have a pretty high bar, and with the science part, this book falls a bit short. But it almost makes up for the lack of scientific knowledge/inventions and details by the characters. The characters are well flushed out and is told through multi-generations of women. I would have liked to know more about the past, and this author has an almost poetic way of writing that is very captivating.
Reviewed by Cyrene
4 Stars
