Publisher’s Description of Aurora Rising

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger-management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem–that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

NOBODY PANIC.

Rebecca’s Thoughts

I loved Illuminae, also written by this dynamic author duo, as well as LIFEL1K3, which Jay Kristoff wrote on his own, and Unearthed, which Amie Kaufman wrote with Meagan Spooner. So when I saw Aurora Rising, I was interested…more so when I read the book description. After reading the book, I’d say Aurora Rising is my favorite of the bunch.

The story starts with Ty running out of oxygen as he endeavors to save a girl suspended for 200 years in a cryogenic chamber on a lost spaceship during a space storm. And the action never lets up. 

It has a bit of a Star Trek feel, with 6 characters (both human and alien), who make up Ty’s newly-formed squad undertaking intergalactic humanitarian missions. A stowaway lends an unexpected element to their team. The story is told from all 7 of their points of view. 

What I loved: the skilled-yet-outcast adventurers struggling to come together as a team,  the mystery behind the spaceship lost for 2 centuries, fast pacing, plenty of action, and humor sprinkled throughout the story. The plot has high stakes and enough twists to keep fans of young adult spec fiction on their toes. And if you like heists, you just might find one of those in the pages of Aurora Rising as well.

This book is a must-have for fans on Illuminae, the rebooted Star Trek movies, and YA fiction lovers more broadly. Highly recommended.

I received an advanced reader copy of Aurora Rising in exchange for an honest review.

Aurora Rising will be released on May 6th. You can check it out on Goodreads, or pre-order via Indiebound, Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

If Aurora Rising sounds like a book you’d like, you might be interested in other young adult spec fic books we’ve reviewed recently on the Winged Pen:

The 2018 CYBILS Book Award Short List – a Wrap Up
Enchantée by Gita Trelease
The Guilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton
Salt by Hannah Moscowitz
Trail of Lightening by Rebecca Roanhorse