The Exo Project
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
This fast-paced, sharply written multiple-perspective YA science-fiction debut opens on a future Earth ravaged by solar radiation. Desperate for money to save his sick mother, seventeen-year-old Matthew agrees to participate in the Exo Project, a government plan to save the human race by flying across the galaxy in search of a habitable planet for resettlement. He thinks he's been given a death sentence: 100 years in cryostasis, followed by a quick death on some barren world. But then he lands on Gle'ah, discovering the strange, beautiful creatures who live there, including Kiva, the captivating teenage girl who leads her planet's matriarchal society. Kiva views Matthew as a threat and for good reason—if he tells Earth that he's found a suitable planet, it will mean the end of her people's way of life. But then Kiva and Matthew discover an emotional connection they never expected—and as they begin to delve into the secrets of Matthew's mission and the dark truth behind the seeming paradise of Gle'ah, the choices they make will have consequences for both of their worlds.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In DeYoung's debut novel, climate change is ravaging Earth, and the Exo Project is sending crews on one-way voyages to find planets that might sustain life. Having volunteered for the project, 17-year-old Matthew Tilson and his shipmates on the Corvus awaken in orbit around an Earthlike planet and proceed to explore its surface. They're the canaries in the coal mine: if they don't die, they'll contact Earth and colonists will be sent. The planet is radioactive, but, oddly, this doesn't affect them. It's also inhabited by a matriarchal society of telepathic aliens who are human in everything but color, causing immediate problems with Matthew's xenophobic crewmember, Sam. Shifting attention among multiple characters, the third-person narrative concentrates on the growing love between Matthew and the native ruler, Kiva, and on the mystery of the aliens' still-active Ancestors. Some odd plot maneuvers (including how easily the Corvus is retrofitted for a needed return trip) can feel like a letdown this is perhaps a better pick for readers looking for extraterrestrial romance than for diehard SF fans. Ages 12 up.
