Can 2 scenarios happen at once? This book makes you think!
“Star Splitter” by Matthew J Kirby ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: YA SciFi. Location: Planet Carver1061c in Deep Space. Time: 2199.
Jessica Mathers lives with her grandparents while her researcher parents are in deep space. When she’s 17, her parents send for her to join them on a post-extinction-event planet 14 light-years from earth. The trip involves teleportation and printing a new body. She’s not thrilled.
Scenario 1: Jess wakes up in the body printer pod on spaceship Theseus orbiting Carver1061c. Her parents’ body printings will finish 2 days after hers. Captain’s son Duncan encourages her to use that time to learn about the new planet. But something is very, very wrong on the spacecraft.
Scenario 2: Jess wakes up in the body printer pod, but not on the orbiting space ship. Instead, she’s in a ship’s lander that crashed onto the planet. The lander’s inside is covered with bloody hand prints; machines are silent and dark. Outside are fresh graves marked with names she doesn’t recognize. And she’s not alone. Something has gone very wrong.
This is not a “Choose your scenario” book. This is a “2 scenarios at once” book. Which scenario is true? Can there be 2 scenarios in the same situation? Author Kirby raises questions about what a person is, what a body is, in a world where cloning is normal. He uses dual timelines to tell the stories of Before (on the orbiting space ship) and After (on the planet).
Kirby uses tension and a sense of dread as the story (stories?) move along. It’s a coming of age story full of space disasters, scary aliens, typical teen arguments, and it leaves you with deep questions about life. I’ve never read anything quite like it, and it’s 5 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼♀️ I earned this book by writing reviews on BookishFirst. Thank you BookishFirst, Dutton Books for Young Readers, and Matthew J Kirby!
Jessica Mathers lives with her grandparents while her researcher parents are in deep space. When she’s 17, her parents send for her to join them on a post-extinction-event planet 14 light-years from earth. The trip involves teleportation and printing a new body. She’s not thrilled.
Scenario 1: Jess wakes up in the body printer pod on spaceship Theseus orbiting Carver1061c. Her parents’ body printings will finish 2 days after hers. Captain’s son Duncan encourages her to use that time to learn about the new planet. But something is very, very wrong on the spacecraft.
Scenario 2: Jess wakes up in the body printer pod, but not on the orbiting space ship. Instead, she’s in a ship’s lander that crashed onto the planet. The lander’s inside is covered with bloody hand prints; machines are silent and dark. Outside are fresh graves marked with names she doesn’t recognize. And she’s not alone. Something has gone very wrong.
This is not a “Choose your scenario” book. This is a “2 scenarios at once” book. Which scenario is true? Can there be 2 scenarios in the same situation? Author Kirby raises questions about what a person is, what a body is, in a world where cloning is normal. He uses dual timelines to tell the stories of Before (on the orbiting space ship) and After (on the planet).
Kirby uses tension and a sense of dread as the story (stories?) move along. It’s a coming of age story full of space disasters, scary aliens, typical teen arguments, and it leaves you with deep questions about life. I’ve never read anything quite like it, and it’s 5 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼♀️ I earned this book by writing reviews on BookishFirst. Thank you BookishFirst, Dutton Books for Young Readers, and Matthew J Kirby!