Blastaway by Melissa Landers
Publication Date: July 9, 2019
Summary from NetGalley:
Kyler Centaurus isn’t your typical runaway. All he wanted was a quick trip to the legendary Fasti Sun Festival. Who wouldn’t want to see new stars being born? Um, try Kyler’s entire family. They couldn’t care less about mind-blowing wonders of science.
When an accidental launch sequence ends with Kyler hurtling through space on the family cruiser, the thrill of freedom is cut short by two space pirates determined to steal his ship. Not happening!
Luckily, Kyler bumps into Fig, a savvy young Wanderer who makes a living by blowing up asteroids. She could really use a ride to Earth and Kyler could really use a hand with the pirates.
But when Kyler learns the truth about Fig’s mission, the two must put aside their differences long enough to stop the threat of astronomical proportions racing towards Earth?
ARC provided by Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley for an honest review.
Confession:
This was a fun romp through space. It was also a story about finding your place in the universe. It was action packed and certainly will keep young readers entertained and coming back for more.
Both Kyler and Fig were ver likable kids. Kyler feels left out of his family, because none of his siblings share his interest in science. His parents don’t seem to understand him either, and often interpret his wanting to spend time alone puzzling. Why can’t he just get along with his brothers. Fig on the other hand, doesn’t have any family. She yearns to be accepted and understood. When Kyler and Fig meet, they do connect. But as the story unfolds they have to mire through all of the lies and difficulties to become friends and trust each other.
Kyler’s family was somewhat one dimensional. His brothers are rather brutish, and their behavior sometimes borders on the abusive side, as only older brothers can be. Ky’s parents were also a bit puzzling to me. They just wanted everyone to get along and just didn’t seem to understand Ky at all.
The space pirates that Ky and Fig have to deal with were also one dimensional, but they were often used to add comedic moments to the narrative. But I liked them, as far as you can like pirates that are out to destroy the world.
The plot of the story is pretty straight forward. There were some pretty funny moments, like when the pirates try to steal Ky’s ship and they are thwarted by him in some pretty ingenious ways. Some of the science is a little bit far fetched, such as scientist being able to ‘create’ stars and tow them around the universe. But if you are willing to look past that, then you are in for a fun time.
There were a few times when the story got a little bit heavy on the commentary. For example, Ky’s father was obsessed with the villain of the story who wanted to run earth like a business. Also, the situation surrounding the treatment of Wanderers. They are a group of people whose ancestors left earth a long time ago, to live space. They are not allowed to come back and live on earth and are treated rather shabbily by all. These issues were all brought up throughout the story, but there wasn’t really any solutions. But these issues never overshadowed the main plot, which was good.
Overall this was a fun and engaging middle grade story with interesting characters and an exciting and fast moving plot.
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