Bridget Tyler

Excellent YA sci-fi, about a family who's been training to run an exploratory vessel to pioneer a settlement on Tau Ceti. Really cool thought experiments about what near-future space colonization might look like, with a sophisticated political situation and a thoughtful consideration about first contact with intelligent alien species. Be warned, Bridget Tyler is not messing about when she wants it to be realistic -- characters die. There's an awful lot of 3D printing as a mechanism for building, and that is fascinating. Altogether excellent, and I didn't want to put it down. There's a certain amount of awkward YA romance that keeps this book very firmly in YA, and a wee bit of Deus Ex Machina/ magical healing that can sometimes be confusing, but the characters are good, the adventure is out of this world, and the whole narrative is fresh. Very, very interesting. Can't wait to see more from this author.

Oh, and reminds me a little bit of Sheri Tepper's Grass, and from me that's high praise indeed.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.… (more)

Not my first choice of book but a challenge to read something other than our usual amongst the librarians at work inspired this as my book to read.

17-year-old Lucy Gosling's dream comes true when she finds herself drumming in Crush, a rock band formed by five London schoolgirls that is competing in a UK semi-final of an international talent contest. The girls find Hollywood different to what they expected. Lead singer Harper is intent on winning back her bad-news ex-boyfriend Rafe. Meanwhile the other girls face trouble of their own.

Started slow, but improved. Still very teenage girly so not something I would want to read again. Would be interesting for a teenage girl wanting to play in a band.… (more)