Publishers Weekly
03/07/2016
Landers (the Alienated series) begins an SF series with a fast-paced story featuring palpable chemistry between its two leads. In the far future, Solara Brooks hopes to indenture herself for passage off Earth in order to escape the stigma of the felony convictions tattooed on her knuckles. Unfortunately, she has to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, a former classmate and heir to a powerful fuel corporation. Doran can't stand Solara, and when he finds out about her convictions and threatens to have her kicked off the ship, Solara has to make a choice. One stun gun and a kidnapping later, Solara and Doran find themselves on the Banshee, a ragtag ship with an equally ragtag crew that includes a kleptomaniac and a captain with a marsupial living in his pocket. As the Banshee dodges police, pirates, and assassins, the crew discovers a conspiracy with galactic ramifications. Solara and Doran have distinct voices, highlighted in alternating chapters, while the other characters switch between being badasses and lovable goofs. Equal parts action and comedy, Landers's story should leave many readers awaiting the sequel. Ages 12–up. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"Teens will be bracing themselves during the swashbuckling space pirate action scenes... A great choice for fans of raw sci-fi action, reminiscent of the lawlessness presented in the television series Firefly."
—School Library Journal
"This is a lively tale of romance, space pirates, conspiracy, and made (as opposed to genetic) families. Over the course of the book, all the characters round out nicely, as does the romance... Landers has a firm hand on the plot, which includes a rousing fight scene or two, as well as a nifty twist at the end."
—Booklist
PRAISE FOR ALIENATED
"A perfect blend of sizzling romance, action, and suspense."—#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout
PRAISE FOR INVADED
"Filled with intrigue and suspense, this book will appeal to both sci-fi and contemporary YA fiction fans."—
VOYA
PRAISE FOR ALIENATED
"A thought-provoking take on a familiar story of integration. Fans... who like their star-crossed lovers served up with a side of sci-fi, will find this satisfying and relish the possibility of sequels."—
BCCB
PRAISE FOR INVADED
"Readers will love the seamless blend of suspense, humor, and romance set against an interstellar landscape. Dual narratives and a tightly plotted mystery keep the suspense running high, and the chemistry between Aelyx and Cara smolders. This is a fun, genre-blending series that is sure to appeal to a wide audience and will only gain traction as it continues."—
Booklist
School Library Journal
12/01/2015
Gr 7 Up—Her knuckles inked as a convicted felon, Solara is eager to make her way to the Fringe, the outer edge of the solar system, where society is rough and she can start over, hoping to use the mechanic skills she developed in the orphanage. In order to afford transport, however, she finds herself indentured to Doran, the snotty son of a fuel mogul who tormented her throughout high school. Solara quickly turns the tables by electronically stunning him and switching master and owner identification bracelets. After a series of mishaps, the two of them end up on board a run-down smuggling ship, the Banshee, where the lines between passenger and crew soon blur. Meanwhile, it turns out that the galaxy patrol is looking not for Solara but Doran—wanted on felony charges himself. As the two open up to each other, hate wanes and romantic sparks fly. Teens will be bracing themselves during the swashbuckling space pirate action scenes and an over-the-top climax as Doran's childhood history is revealed. VERDICT A great choice for fans of raw sci-fi action, reminiscent of the lawlessness presented in the television series Firefly.—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL
Kirkus Reviews
2015-10-14
A penniless girl and a wealthy boy, enemies, are stuck together on an outer-space journey. Solara has no family, no connections, and knuckle tattoos advertising her criminal record. She wants to turn her mechanical skills into a vehicle for self-sufficient life in the outer realm, but that's far from Earth, so she needs someone to hire her for the trip and pay her passage. Enter Doran, her high school nemesis, "heir to the galaxy's largest fuel corporation [and] first-string varsity football star." Glaringly visible genre tropes include the gruff, motley spaceship crew that becomes family; the pirates and purposely brain-damaged torturers in pursuit; the alternating-between-protagonists third-person narration; and the enmity between Solara and Doran that will obviously turn to lust and love. Despite a far-future time frame and outer-space setting, Landers' worldbuilding leans on such earthly details as rubber bands, Popsicle sticks, milled cider, funnel cake, and a barn dance with fiddles (on a distant planet). There are no nonhumans or extraterrestrials, and there is little science or technology beyond the outer-space premise. The protagonists are white; their two brown-skinned shipmates (whose blond "dreadlocks" are mentioned again and again) are stereotypically angry. For multiple narrators, creativity, and suspense in outer space, see Beth Revis' Across the Universe series and Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's Starbound series instead. The less-imaginative end of outer-space adventure romance. (Science fiction/romance. 12-16)
