The sc-fi story was interesting, but the exposition took too long to develop. The idea is great, but moved slowly.

Star Splitter is a gripping blend of sci-fi, mystery, and psychological thriller that keeps you questioning everything. Jessica’s journey from a routine teleportation to a nightmare on a desolate planet is both eerie and compelling. The suspense builds steadily, with eerie visuals like bloody handprints and mysterious graves adding to the tension.

Kirby’s writing is immersive, and the slow unraveling of what really happened keeps the pages turning. Some plot twists are easy to see coming, but the execution is strong enough to keep the tension high. The blend of hard sci-fi concepts with an emotional core makes this a standout for fans of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe or The Martian.

If you love atmospheric, thought-provoking sci-fi with a side of existential dread, Star Splitter is worth the read.

Star Splitter took a couple chapters to really hook me, but I love the unconventional past/future layout of the narrative. It’s a science fiction title without much jargon, which makes it accessible to those who don’t usually read the genre. Male and female readers will appreciate the thriller/adventure style narrative.

This was a phenomenal sci-fi mystery that took me deep into pace and made me stop and think often.

I love a book that makes you ponder the really meaningful questions in life without feeling cliche or preachy. This was an exciting story, full of mystery, with a dual timeline following the same character.

What does it mean to be human? Have you ever thought about quantum physics? What does it mean to lose your body and be reprinted as a means of teleportation? This book is just wow!

I don't want to say too much because you really need to experience everything without any spoilers to really get the full impact. I highly recommend this book

Thank you PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook and Penguin Teen for the gifted copy!!

Ohhhhh was this flipping good!!! I don't know where to start and I'm kinda hesitant to say much because I feel little details can be giveaways. Jessica has just finished teleporting to Carver 1061c. A desolate planet her parents have dragged her to for scientific study. Yet something isn't right and there are a lot of dead people.

Kirby absolutely killed it with the atmosphere. I read the first half and listened to the second half and I can firmly say I recommend both formats. The slow building mystery, the tension of secrets and frustration of the characters is almost suffocatingly palpable, and I mean that with high praise. Told in alternating POVs with a before and after timeline.

The audio is narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya and Cory Myler. The emotional cadence fed the storyline as Jessica handles each revelation. There was so much to digest and it flows really well.

As a horror buff I was expecting more of a lean towards that side of the scifi genre but even though it doesnt tip the mark on horror, its still utterly engrossing and almost nail biting at times. There are a few minor plot holes that left me curious and wondering if there was potential for a sequel. Honestly though, the way this ends is too fitting. You just can't help but appreciate the way it comes together.

This is survival instincts and lost in space with a touch of emotional breakdown. The family aspects are raw and the decisions make you question what you would do in Jessica's situation. I'm definitely keeping my eye out for more from this author. If you're a scifi lover, go grab this one! True rating 4.5/5.

I really enjoyed this title. The suspense and pacing hit the right notes, and it wasn't too predictable even though it dropped enough hints to figure out where things were going. I also thought it did a great job of portraying and dealing with trauma, which not enough YA books do today.

The twists and turns of this novel had me on the edge the entire time, Figuring out the world building and scientific systems took some time but eventually figured it out. The main characters were not my favorite (and that’s a complicated statement given who the main characters are). I wanted a little more clarity about how some of the situations came to be but with sci fi you kind of just accept the science and move on. The dual plot lines and narrators was a little hard to follow at first but overall I enjoyed it.

*Thank you Penguin Randomhouse for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Jessica's parents have been out in space doing research since she was 8 years old. Now six years later, they've requested her to teleport out to the space hub they're transferring to so they can finally live together and Jessica is angry about being ripped from her life, her crush, and her grandparents to go be a free research assistant.

The story turns quickly into a thriller mystery of Jessica figuring out why she woke up on a crashed space ship by herself on the planet instead of up in orbit. Someone had to have printed her. And what caused the crash?

Matthew J Kirby built tension slowly but consistently throughout this book. He knows how to turn a story and give details to only make you question more. This was fun, thrilling, creepy, and dare I say cute all at once.

This is outside of my normal genre area but the blurb and cover drew me in. This is a sci-fi YA novel that’s really true to its genre. The thrill and the suspense kept me drawn in to make this a super quick read, the imagination and story were awesome! For sure looking forward to picking up another book by Matthew

Very interesting sci-fi story of a teen who is forced to teleport into space to be with her parents who left 6 years prior. She is resentful and unhappy about it all but learns and grows as her own person through the journey.

In this form of teleportation, the original body is "deleted" while they are reprinted at the new location. Their memories and soul are kept as data in the system so that they are who they were before in every way that matters. But if their new body is broken (the die), and need to be re-printed, they don't have the new memories between their last scan and dying saved anywhere, so they pretty much start over like nothing happened.

Jessica goes to space and is waiting for her parents to be printed so they can go survey a new planet. Something goes wrong with her father's data and he gets sick and violent. Their ship crash lands on the planet and new Jessica wakes up and meets two week older self. The two of them have to figure out that they are the same, but they are also very different people who now are on different paths with different thoughts and memories.

The ending still has me questioning a lot of unanswered things. But I guess it's just something I get to make up in my own alternate reality.

Growing up is hard. Jessica had a shit hand and gets to start anew in her own way.

I'm not sure if I'll be coming back to edit this later, but I'm not really sure I can fully articulate or know how I feel about this book just yet. It was definitely a solid sci-fi novel; the world building was great, the scary sequences were scary, the sci-fi-ish parts were well though out, but I don't think it was really incredible. I think it is the best YA sci-fi book I've read this year, but it isn't like, world-changing.

On a technical level, the book is really tight -- there are virtually no errors or things that were hard to understand, which I was kind of expecting once it was apparent that there was a clone of the main character. The main cast felt distinct, but a lot of the background characters felt a little too far in the background, which is fine usually, but with such a small cast I feel like it could've been done better. The only catch with that is that the book would have had to been much longer, which would've made it substantially worse. It's a catch-22. I don't really know how to feel about the book. Maybe once I sit on it for a while (I'm writing this literally seconds after I finished it), I'll be able to better consider it. I'm also gonna read what others have said about it to see if that helps my opinion of it become clearer.

EDIT NOTES/LATER THOUGHTS:

I think to get a better understanding of how I felt about it, I'm just going to list out my likes and dislikes literally.

I like that the two characters of the same age weren't in a romance.
I like that it had an LGBTQIA+ character that was just living their life (on another planet).
I like that some of it didn't make sense.
I like that the ending wasn't fully satisfying.
I liked the alien creatures and the alien planet in general.
I disliked the data corruption arc and feel like it went nowhere (including the climax of that story arc, trying really hard to not spoil anything, I thought the whole thing was not good).
I like the science aspects of it -- they weren't highly technical, but they also weren't highly unlikely. I like the disjointed narrative.

Cover Story: Ominous Wasteland

There’s a chasm between a small figure on the top of the canyon, and a small figure on the opposite end. You really get the loneliness of outer space in this shot. Though, Carver 1061c is supposedly lush, with purple frond plants and furry white mole-snake creatures, so I don’t know why they chose this barren landscape for the cover.

The Deal:

Jessica Mathers, 17, is about to say goodbye to Earth and get reestablished on the Theseus, a ship orbiting planet Carver 1061c. Jessica’s parents are scientists who are eager to see their daughter, whom they haven’t met with in six years, when she joins them on the research mission. However, when Jessica wakes up on the Theseus, having had her body printed and scanned biodata inserted into her new consciousness, she finds herself alone, and when she ventures out, she’s not orbiting Carver 1061c, she’s actually ON Carver 1061c.

It becomes apparent to Jessica that something very strange has happened in the nine days she was being printed in space, and then, to make matters worse, a familiar figure appears. Who is this other human? What are they doing there? Where are her parents and the rest of the Theseus crew?

BFF Charm: Destiny’s Child

Jessica, joined with her mysterious accomplice, has to venture out of the Theseus lander and try to find the habitat on this new planet, so she can contact the control center for rescue. On the way, she goes through many trials of the heart, and though she’s weary, she pushes on! What makes matters worse is that she doesn’t trust the familiar stranger she’s with. I admire her for continuing her journey, even after a few setbacks. As the liaison who sent her from Earth to the Theseus said, Jessica Mathers is the most prepared for space travel out of all the teens he’s met.

Swoonworthy Scale: 0

WOMP WOMP!!! There is no kissing in space. Jessica has a crush on her best friend Avery, whom she left back on Earth, so there’s some wistfulness involved, but there’s not even a flicker of lust or passion in this book. Thrills only!

Talky Talk: Whew!

Y’all, I had some chills reading this one. Kirby lays the story out as before/after the printing, so we see what happens on the Theseus before Jessica’s arrival, and after her landing. Each chapter made me want to read ahead.

Bonus Factor: Clones

Because a person can’t legally be in two places at once, when a person is scanned and then re-established elsewhere, the reference body is put into stasis and destroyed. Basically, how people travel light-years away is by cloning and downloading the digital data scanned from their reference body. It gives new thought to what makes a soul. Pretty existential!

Relationship Status: Thrilling

What went wrong on the Theseus?! This book gave me a mild creeping horror as the story unfolded. Nothing too egregious, but those with astrophobia may not want to read.

Great action and heart, with characters who remind you of the better version of yourself. Wish there were several more books and endless trilogies.

Star Splinter has taught me that I do not read enough science fiction! I loved everything about this novel like the space exploration, technology, and the crazy planet they visited. This was such a fun read and I am eager to read more!

I could not put this book down - definitely one of the best sci-fi novels I've read so far this year. The suspense created by switching points of view (and therefore jumping back-and-forth in time) each chapter became more and more effective as the story progressed. I couldn't predict the ending, and I didn't want to. Also, I'd very much like to read it again.

Star Splitter poses a lot of deep questions about what it means to be a human being, who gets to live the fullest lives, and who gets to keep their memories. In addition to, of course, the expected sci-fi trope of "we probably shouldn't use this tech but we're gonna! What consequences??!"

I really enjoyed it. Reaching the end made me wish there was more, and I like when books do that to me.

A sci-fi novel about a girl who is teleported to outer space to be with her parents to research another planet. When she gets there, she sees that something has gone terribly wrong and the only other person she finds is herself. I am not super into sci-fi but this book intrigued me and I wanted to go out of my comfort zone a little bit. I liked this story and the premise was interesting, such as the concept of what makes you who you are and who are you if there’s another you in the universe, but there were too many unanswered questions in the end for me.

4/5 stars - This book was so unexpectedly good! I loved the idea of teleportation involving body printers, and this crazy planet they go to?! The only fault I could find was wanting more. I want to know more about this planet’s history and it’s ginormous space-reaching volcano and the life, past and present. I want to know more about what happens/happened to Jess and Duncan and the Theseus and the AFTER!? I hope there’s a sequel or more tales from this sci-fi universe from this author, because so good.

I could write a longer review than this - but all that really needs to be said is if you like Andy Weir's books you are going to love this book. Sci-Fi with a touch of horror and a dash of philosophical questions, this is a winner!

I would love to write a review but I could not read the title as it has both vanished from the Shelf App as well as my eReader. I am not sure what happened, but I am sorry that I could not write a review. :(

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.