Sci-Fi dystopian is back! And under the deft hand of Riley Redgate is thriving. Students who enjoyed the TV series The 100 will find a lot to like here. The stakes are high and the writing is perfect for the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this and was at the edge of my seat while reading it. Definitely will be something that is checked out often in the classroom.

This is described as Lord of the Flies in space. There’s no way I wasn’t requesting it from NetGalley.

The chaos begins almost immediately when volcanic eruption happens months ahead of schedule. High-tech prototype spaceship Lazarus isn’t quite ready, but there are no other options if the human race is to survive. When it launches, it’s without a trained crew. A ship meant to support thousands is filled with only fifty-three frightened teenagers who won’t reach their final destination for over one thousand years.

A small group of the teens emerge as leaders, including First Daughter Leigh and the pilot’s daughter, Eli, who’s not exactly trained, but isn’t unfamiliar with the ship. She’s the best they’ve got and in their situation, it’s boots to the ground right away. It’s not long before these characters learn their situation is even worse – food is seriously limited, and they only a remote chance at finding more. That location is months away, so rationing is crucial. The teens are also face the harsh realization that their small group is responsible for restarting the population.

It’s not long before their already precarious situation breaks down even more with a clash of opinions and priorities, accusations against the council of teens running the show, violence, and struggles for power. Honestly, everyone’s opinion makes sense at different points in the story. It devolves into a demonstration of the ugliness of humans and their inability to learn from history – and it’s disheartening.

The cast of characters is long, and I found myself confusing some of them – they’re diverse, coming from all over the world, but not as distinct. I also wondered about some of the scientific aspects, but the focus of the story is primarily about the dynamics between the characters.

The concept of this story had me hook, line, and sinker, and although an engaging story, the novel isn’t exactly what I’d hoped it would be.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This novel is, ultimately, an up-to-date retelling of Lord of the Flies. In a near-future world, in which climate change is reaching its ultimate conclusion, the world has, somewhat, come together to create spaceships on which a select few can escape and colonize a new world - but before the program can be completed, before the ships can be fully crewed and stocked, a series of explosions rock the first ship completed, while an international group of teens are touring it - and off they go, untrained, unsupervised, with no idea what happened on the ground, hoping to reach the ship's planned destination and save their little remnant of humanity.

There are several themes woven throughout this novel, including coming of age, national pride, and survival, and overall, it was a decent novel; it's simply not very original. Teen survivors of a planet-wide catastrophe sent off in a spaceship to preserve humanity, mixed with teens abandoned by the adults who were supposed to be in charge of them, are both common stories in science fiction. There is a nice twist at the end, but other than that, I found this to be a rather predictable plot. Still, if you enjoy this type of novel, it's worth reading, and unlike many other premiere novels in this genre, it is a stand-alone book, rather than the first installment in a series. There could easily be other books written to follow this one, and if there are, I can only hope they'll be a little bit more original, as the general quality of the writing deserves.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

When Leigh Chen and other children of various globally important persons are blasted off into space following the disastrously accelerated timeline of Earth’s extinction, the teenagers must grapple with the implications of guilt and chance as they attempt to make habitable a spaceship that was never meant to launch so soon.

Empathetic and careful Leigh can see all the angles and is immediately faced with all kinds of ethical dilemmas: how should we act when we reach the limits of our knowledge, when there’s no best choice? When every day is future-defining, who do we want to be, here at the beginning of things?

As the haphazard crew attempts to organize themselves into a functioning body, they are faced with emergencies that draw out cries for martial law and reveal just how far certain actors would go to ensure their survival.

If I have any criticism it’s the extreme inflexibility of a character who becomes the antagonist. Necessity being the argument of tyrants and all that, but I wasn’t totally convinced by the slippery slope to villainy in this particular case.

I know the ending will spark debate, and while I would’ve liked a few more of my questions answered, I thought it was smart and unexpected!

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for an advanced copy of Alone Out Here to review! Sometimes it can be hard to find science fiction in the YA genre, but I feel like we've gotten more in the last few years and I am here for it. Space kind of freaks me out, but I still enjoy reading about it!

This book is essentially being pitched as Lord of the Flies in space, which is overall a pretty accurate description. Redgate accurately captures the pressure that's constantly put on younger generations to fix the errors of the past. Which is a strong theme throughout the book. Generally, the sense of foreboding and loss is well done, permeating throughout the majority of the story. Definitely here for the tone of the book overall!

However, there are a lot of characters in this. And while not all of them are important to the main plot of the story, it's kind of easy to get lost sometimes. Some of the more technical aspects of space travel also don't quite fit with reality, which is always hard with science fiction. Yes, this is a fictional story. However, if you're going to include more sciencey aspects, I kind of want them to feel more realist. 

A small thing of note, this book has been appearing on LGBTQ lists for 2022. While there is some queer rep in here, it's not at the forefront of the story. So if you're looking for gays in space, this aspect might be a bit of a disappointment for you.

All in all, if you enjoy space thrillers and don't mind keeping track of a lot of characters, you might want to pick this one up!

I found myself agreeing with all the reviews that compare this to Lord of the Flies. I think it'll be a hit with kids as space fiction seems to be the new trend, especially since The Last Cuentista won the Newbery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy and advance listener copy.


Description from NetGalley:
The year is 2072. Soon a volcanic eruption will trigger catastrophic devastation, and the only way out is up.
While the world’s leaders, scientists, and engineers oversee the frantic production of a space fleet meant to save humankind, their children are brought in for a weekend of touring the Lazarus, a high-tech prototype spaceship. But when the apocalypse arrives months ahead of schedule, First Daughter Leigh Chen and a handful of teens from the tour are the only ones to escape the planet. This is the new world: a starship loaded with a catalog of human artifacts, a frozen menagerie of animal DNA, and fifty-three terrified survivors. From the panic arises a coalition of leaders, spearheaded by the pilot’s enigmatic daughter, Eli, who takes the wheel in their hunt for a habitable planet. But as isolation presses in, their uneasy peace begins to fracture. The struggle for control will mean the difference between survival and oblivion, and Leigh must decide whether to stand on the side of the mission or of her own humanity.
How do kids make the hard decisions? I know so many adults that couldn’t have made the decisions that these kids faced in order to survive after their emergency take off. The story is interesting, and the moral choices are compelling. However, if you are in it for the science, this is not for you. Definitely more for the social approach to how a bunch of kids survive than science, which makes sense considering these are kids.
Overall: 3/5

Wow! What a literal trip! This book is perfect for fans of Interstellar and Lord of the Flies. Or even if you just like space travel and sci fi books, this one’s for you.

The world aboard the ship reminded me a bit of the ship from Wall-E, but all those aboard are young kids and teens, who have to figure out how to rebuild the human race in order to survive. The sense of urgency is real, as they have limited food and the ship hadn’t been finished being stocked, so they’re faced with the choice of going back to find some sort of other food, or heading to a world which may or may not be able to sustain them.

My heart raced multiple times and it reminded me that I’m glad I live here on earth and don’t plan to (and hope I don’t have to) leave here any time soon.

DNF @ 40%

Unfortunately, I’m having trouble getting into this one. There are so many characters to keep track of, and as a result of this, I’m finding that none of them feel very developed or memorable. The pacing is also slower than I was expecting. That being said, I loved Riley Redgate’s other books, so I might try and pick this one up again in the future.

Alone Out Here is a sci-fi mystery/thriller that sees a cohort of teens surviving on a space ark after a cataclysmic event portends doom on Earth. The teens are various world leaders’ kids and are ostensibly “touring” the ark together when they are suddenly compelled to launch the ship with only the captain’s daughter aboard (no adults). What ensues is very Lord of the Flies-like, albeit in space and with semi-advanced technology (such as wearable translators that allow them to communicate verbally without any issues, as long as the batteries are charged).

Right away our untrained teen crew grapples with the core spaceship issues: “Where are we going to get our extra food supply?”, “What about drinking water?”, “What about washing our clothes?”, “Where should we aim our ship?” They seem to (conveniently?) resolve these issues despite their complete lack of training and quickly adjust to life aboard their new home. Then, mysterious attacks start happening and factions form as mutiny ensues.

I found several elements of the story to be morally and ethically compelling– how would we manage such a crisis? What preparations are necessary/appropriate? How would a cohort of space-farer-citizens assemble/govern themselves? But ultimately, I found that the sci-fi subheading was used more for setting convenience as opposed to exploring proper sci-fi topics. I’ve read several memoirs of actual ISS astronauts and there were many issues with Alone Out Here’s treatment of the daily living routine aboard the ship. Novels like the Martian and Project Hail Mary are accessible and readable for teen audiences, they offer a much more satisfying science fiction approach to terraforming and space exploration. This novel, by contrast, uses space and technology for setting and plot convenience. Nonetheless, readers who are more interested in the sociological/political elements of a doomsday crisis, will find themselves intrigued by Alone Out Here. There are some good conversation starters that will likely lead readers further along the SFF shelves for deeper reading.

Tagged as Lord of the Flies in space, Alone Out Here follows Leigh, the president's daughter no less and a handful of other teens as they escape a volcanic eruption before the after-effects make Earth uninhabitable. Once in space, things start to go really wrong as the kids struggle to survive.

I think Riley Redgate had a great premise. Who doesn't love a space adventure where things go horribly wrong? Unfortunately, something was lost in the execution. Most of the story had me dragging through it. I found the characters boring, and the conflict reminiscent of a family drama. I didn't much care for Leigh and I thought the other characters weren't very fleshed out. The character I liked best, and the one who had so much promise was Fatima. The ending (which I won't spoil here) was such a disappointment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. Unfortunately, this was not for me.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I was hooked from chapter one, and didn't want to put it down. I loved the tech solutions to language barriers. I also liked that the tech is present but doesn’t solve all their problems for them, in fact some of the tech creates tension and issues within the group. The way the author set up the stakes of the book is so well done, in chapter one I felt worried for the characters and their future and how they were going to proceed. I enjoyed the mix of flashbacks and current to show the entire arc of the main character’s journey and to show the lead up of apocalyptic events. The discussion of genocide/ethnic cleansing around the apocalypse is not one I thought I would see in the book, but I’m glad too. It shows realism and brings up obvious tension between characters from different nations. I like the exploration of the cast of characters and how each of them gets brought up, even just briefly, because that’s natural to happen in a group only 50 in size. The discussion around grief and apocalyptic narratives is heavy, but a necessary with the plot. The way the author crafts longing and desire for home and what used to be is incredibly well done. Loved the realistic and neutral depictions of acne, which is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in books (YA or adult) before. The conflict slowly built and then slaps you in face when it starts to kick off. The author left little breadcrumbs up to conflict, which was nice, so it all felt tied in. The end of the story did feel a bit rushed in the wrap-up and we lose a bit of fragments of time at points. There are moments where the characters are discussing something and then it seems to suddenly jump to something else (this is not part of breaks to the next day), it could just be the way the e-ARC was formatted.
Thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: graphic depictions of death, blood, discussion of genocide/ethnic genocide, suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, heavy discussion of grief, vomit, graphic violence

I read about one-quarter of this and couldn't finish. I did peek at the end and it was what I had expected. There were a lot of aspects of the teens' life aboard the spacecraft that didn't make sense--why were they running if they had no food? All of the characters were flat and I found it hard to empathize with them. Some teens may enjoy this, but I'd prefer to give them something like The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.

This just doesn’t work. Lord of the flies in space would work if the main character was not a Mary Sue with a photographic memory. There needs time more to it. Kids In space would totally be my jam. Just not this jam. Wanted to love it. The cover is exceptionally well done.

Overall I think I’d rate this a 3.5. For most of the book I thought it was a solid 3 but the ending almost convinced me to bring it up to a 4 (had a bit of side eye trying to understand how the book would be able to wrap up in the amount of pages left thinking I’d been tricked into what would become a series).

This was an enjoyable read, though I have to say I really did not know where the story was going. There was a good mix of characters and I enjoyed the interactions and relationships but didn’t find anyone particularly likeable. It was a quick read for being a fairly long book, the first 100 pages were a little slow but after that the pacing was well done and held my interest. When the action picks up later in the story it was hard to put down.

Lord of the flies in space is a broad description but I would say if you’re reading the book with that in mind, you won’t be disappointed.


Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Took me a few days to get to the 100-page mark just because sci-fi always brings out the dumb b*itch energy with me and it takes a sec for me to get acclimated to the world and characters... BUT once I hit that 100 pages I FLEW through the rest! If you love a slow burn like me I highly suggest this book.

Sci-fi is always a hit or miss for me but this book definitely hits the right balance of space exploration/science stuff and characters. These characters were awesome, even the secondary ones had actual personalities which is so refreshing! Lately, it feels that most YA standalones only flesh out their main 2-3 characters and leave the rest to basic tropes.

Anyways, this was such a fun read!

Goodreads Review:
“I can’t turn back the clock and ask all the world’s political leaders to stick to the plan. I can’t stop anyone from remembering the past year, or the decades before that, or hundreds of years of history. All we have to hold us together is the present, and right now that seems thin and breakable.”

Riley Redgate is a queen of description, using adjectives and comparisons like it’s the sole thing she was born to do. The premise of this book does not disappoint. It’s exactly what you would expect- a story that considers the ultimate question:

If you had the power to end the cycle of everything horrible about our world, every horrible human mistake that we have made- would you do it? Or would you start fresh from the beginning and make them all over again without even noticing?

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Conclusion: 3.5/5
Did it do what it was trying to do? Yes.
3.8 stars, rounded up to 4, from me.

When catastrophe hits Earth, fifty-four teenagers are left alone on the Lazurus, a spacecraft meant for thousands, on a mission out to save humanity. But soon, the teens realize they are on a path for mutual destruction as hunger, fear, mutant and ship malfunctions take its toll.

I found this novel to have quite a few plot holes that were left un-filled. The interaction between the groups on the ship was well written but there was much to be desired as far as character development for everyone else but Leigh.

How would you feel if you had to go from being a kid to being part of the command of a space ship that has no food. Would you be able to lead? Would you want to?

This book hooked me in right from the beginning. The first few chapters are fast paced and really interesting. The book reminds me of a futuristic space version of Life as We Knew It mixed with Lord of the Flies.

It was a stressful and interesting read....and that ending!! Gah!!

From a ease of read perspective, I did have some trouble seeing the words on the first page of each chapter with the dark grey background. A little more contrast would have helped.