Red Star Rebels (Amie Kaufman, A&U Children’s)

Amie Kaufman is a well-known name in young adult speculative fiction, particularly for the bestselling Starbound and Illuminae Files series (co-authored with Megan Spooner and Jay Kristoff respectively). Red Star Rebels is a futuristic, action-packed adventure with the romance and sass that Kaufman fans know and love. Set on Mars in 2067, the novel alternates between the perspectives of Hunter – the wealthy heir to the megacorporation that founded Mars – and Cleo – a stowaway fleeing a life on the streets. When they’re stranded following an emergency evacuation of the base, Cleo comes out of hiding to save Hunter. The evacuation, however, is a cover-up for a mercenary coup, and the pair have less than eight hours to stop the base from being blown up without getting caught. Red Star Rebels is a true page-turner, driven by life-and-death stakes and a steadily ticking clock. The budding romance between Hunter and Cleo heightens the tension, complicated by Cleo’s secrets and the divides between their worlds. Kaufman’s worldbuilding is rich and convincing, depicting life on Mars while subtly exploring humanity’s trajectory under capitalism and the politics of interplanetary expansion. The novel’s structure, themes and tone echo Kaufman’s earlier collaborations, though it lacks some of their distinctiveness in character voices. Ultimately, Red Star Rebels meets the high expectations set by Kaufman’s preceding works. Readers aged 12 and up who love romance and space adventures will be delighted by it.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Jordi Kerr is a freelance reviewer and youth literature advocate, and a support worker for the LGBTIQA+ community. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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