These Broken Stars (Starbound Series #1)

by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner

Overview

"One of the most intense, thrilling, and achingly beautiful stories I've ever read."—Marie Lu, New York Times best-selling author of the Legend trilogy

The first in the New York Times bestselling author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen are the only survivors. 

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other's arms.

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won't be the same people who landed on it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423171218
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/25/2014
Series:	Starbound Series , #1
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	226,793
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	880L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are longtime friends and sometime flatmates who have traveled the world (but not yet the galaxy), covering every continent between them. They are sure outer space is only a matter of time. Meagan, who is also the author of the Skylark trilogy, currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina. Amie, who is the coauthor of the Illuminae Files, lives in Melbourne, Australia. Although they currently live apart, they are united by their love of space opera, road trips, and second breakfasts. You can find them on Twitter @AmieKaufman and @MeaganSpooner.

Editorial Reviews

"Absolutely brilliant. This is the sci fi I've been waiting for! Action, romance, twists and turns—this book has it all!" —Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author of Across the Universe

"With rich, complex characters and a dynamic—and dangerous—new world, These Broken Stars completely transported me."—Jodi Meadows, author of the Incarnate series

"One of the most intense, thrilling, and achingly beautiful stories I've ever read. Kaufman and Spooner will break your heart with skilled aplomb, and you'll thank them for it. Absolutely incredible! If I have to, I will come to your house and shove this book into your hands!"
 —Marie Lu, New York Times Bestselling Author of the Legend Trilogy

*"Lilac and Tarver are characters of depth, complexity, and strength, young people who alternately elicit the reader's admiration, frustration, and sympathy ... a testament to love, loyalty, courage, and the power of good over dystopian greed and perversity."—Booklist, starred review

"The authors begin with star-crossed lovers and a crash-landing survival story but add excitingly original material to these tropes to create a wonderful tale that should appeal to both teen and adult readers."—School Library Journal

"Kaufman and Spooner's debut collaboration is a stunning, gorgeously imagined romance with epic sweep, brimming with lush detail of setting and intricate character study. It's the kind of read to savor, but the survivalist plotting still rushes the reader to keep turning pages."
 —Ingram Library Group


"With well-developed characters and an excellent narration style, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have crafted an insightful, shrewd and genuinely moving exploration of life, humanity and the moral obligations neglected in the name of progress. These Broken Stars is a romantic and heartbreaking tale that is complete in its own right while still leaving readers excited for future installments. Intense, emotional and compelling, it will appeal to readers (aged 12 and up) who like their sci-fi thoughtful and challenging—and just a little bit sexy."—Books+Publishing

From the Publisher

12/02/2013
On the surface, this trilogy opener is a fairly standard opposites-attract romantic adventure, when a spoiled socialite and a seasoned soldier are stranded on a mysterious planet after their luxury spaceliner malfunctions and crashes. Major Tarver Merendsen tries to protect Lilac LaRoux, "the richest girl in the galaxy," as they journey across an inhospitable wilderness in search of rescue. Though their personalities clash and their social status separates them, they develop feelings for one another. But the further they travel, the more questions they find regarding their new home. Strange visions and apparitions give the story a chilling edge, and a late revelation elevates these developments into entirely new territory. In a collaboration that, at times, evokes Lost, Titanic, and Romancing the Stone, Spooner (Skylark) and newcomer Kaufman do an excellent job of keeping their story from falling into clichéd romantic territory. Although the constant arguing between Tarver and Lilac and their internal angst can be tiring, the external conflicts and underlying mysteries will keep readers guessing (and turning the pages). Ages 12–up. Agent: Adams Literary. (Dec)

Publishers Weekly

12/01/2013
Gr 7 Up—First-time author Kaufman and coauthor Spooner begin their science-fiction romance in familiar territory and then chart a course that goes to new heights. Eighteen-year-old Major Tarver Merendsen is a decorated hero traveling on the luxury starliner Icarus. Sixteen-year-old Lilac LaRoux is the daughter of the galaxy's richest man, owner of the Icarus, and terraformer of numerous planets. Everything comes crashing down when an unknown force ejects the starliner from hyperspace and sends them into the gravity well of a planet. Tarver is able to get them aboard an escape pod but it is, surprisingly, Lilac who is able to hotwire the pod's malfunctioning electronics to allow it to blast free of the falling ship. They survive the descent but each feels obligated to treat the other harshly—Lilac to shield Tarver from the potential wrath of her father and Tarver to urge the pampered princess to safety. As they come to rely upon one another during their journey across the unfamiliar planet, they can no longer deny their feelings for one another. When Lilac begins hearing whispers and seeing visions, she comes to believe that there is other sentient life on the planet. The authors begin with star-crossed lovers and a crash-landing survival story but add excitingly original material to these tropes to create a wonderful tale that should appeal to both teen and adult readers.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids

School Library Journal

2013-10-01
Overdone characterizations threaten to overwhelm an exciting outer-space adventure. When the richest girl in the galaxy and a burned-out war hero from lowly beginnings are the only survivors of a spaceship crash that kills 50,000 people, they grudgingly cooperate to survive. Their escape pod lands far from the ship, so Lilac and Tarver trek through cold and rain to reach the main crash site. This unknown planet has been terraformed, but frighteningly, there are no colonists--or anyone else. When they reach it, the ship's a hazardous tomb of rotting bodies. The jam-packed plot incorporates telepathy, energy-matter conversion, an unknown life form, an explosion, two cave-ins and a temporary death. Lilac and Tarver alternate first-person narration; ratcheting up the suspense are single-page chapters in which an unknown authority interrogates Tarver. Less successful is the seemingly endless (and textually forced) clashing between the protagonists. He's bitter and occasionally rough (in the throes of a fever, he hits her); she's an entitled heiress whose pale, white skin warrants mention no matter who's narrating. It's a thin, annoying line between love and hate (guess which wins) that makes the adventure elements vie for attention. Tipping between science fiction and fantasy, this series opener will catch readers who enjoy melodramatic sparring and those who can look past it; for outer-space thrills with moral complexity, see Beth Revis' Across the Universe series. (Science fiction. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews