Tag: #Aliens

Star Quest Academy: Above and Beyond by Adrian Lynch

On By @f33lthesunIn Upper KS2+Leave a comment

Blurb

For centuries, trillions of life forms throughout space have allowed humanity to believe we’re alone in the Universe. Any alien who dared to befriend us has met an unfortunate end: eaten, squashed, sent to a zoo, or even planted in a garden pot. But our advances in space exploration now threaten every civilisation across the Cosmos.

Amelia, a savvy, street-smart orphan, is one of four exceptional children selected from around the globe to represent humanity in the Human Inclusion Programme at the intergalactic Star Quest Academy. Here, they’ll unravel the Universe’s wonders, explore strange new worlds, and encounter magical creatures. Earth’s safety from invasion hinges on their success as cadets, but if any of them fail, Earth will be invaded by ruthless warlords.

When a series of sinister incidents jeopardise their mission, it becomes clear that someone – or something – wants them to fail. To save their world, the cadets must overcome their differences and combine their unique skills.

Review

I am always happy to see more sci-fi for 9+ being written and published and Star Quest Academy doesn’t disappoint.

It is a fast paced adventure that starts off on Earth and ends up in space, with Earth being threatened with alien invasion because to all other species, humans are seen destructive. This is a #NotAllHumans moment.

Although the tempo and adventure are fast moving, we still get to know Amelia and her fellow human candidates well and their strengths, when pooled together, enable the team to meet their foes head on.

The themes of solitude, lost family, friendship, human behaviours and interconnectedness are handled well. There are also some gross moments (looking at you, vomit bubbles) that manage to temporarily take your mind off the tension that builds throughout the story.

The ending hints that this is the first of a series and I hope the next one is just as exciting.

About the Book

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Category: Middle-Grade 

Number of Pages: 280 Pages

Publication Date: February 13, 2025

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223726420-star-quest-academy 

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/79fe4e6c-7911-4343-b8ed-c0290ed1cf8d 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/6jjdGea (Canada) https://a.co/d/fZhLPiZ (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/fQelUs8 (UK) 

Or purchase from your local independent bookshop.

Space Oddity by Christopher Edge

On By @f33lthesunIn Children KS2Leave a comment

Do you want Cosmic capers? UFOs? Alien Abductions? Killer Robots? Smelly aliens? Embarrassing dads? Zorbs?

Then this is the book for you.

It also has numerous references to Star Wars, Doctor Who and a certain David Bowie Song…”and there is nothing I can do”.

Space Oddity is a fast paced adventure. Jake thinks his dad is embarrassing (is that not the role of parents though?) and when asked at a dad and son space adventure weekend if he would rather have a boring dad or an out of this world dad, he really wants to say the first option. But then, when his dad is abducted, he will do anything to get him back.

This is a story about relationships, perception of others and how you feel others see you. It is also about songs and music but I won’t spoil that part.

There are, in my opinion, not enough sci-fi novels for children. This is an excellent entry to that category for 8+ to read on their own or, even better, to enjoy as a bedtime shared read.

Christopher Edge has also created an out of this world book soundtrack to go along with the book. You can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gcbXz0uHZePqLDMermKyJ