In a lot of children’s books, the good guys are perfect and the bad guys are just plain evil with no reasoning behind it. This book, however, is a seriously good exception.

The Empyrean is a starship en route to New Earth in an undisclosed year in the future. The storyline focuses on the fortunes of the children born on the ship during their journey. Waverley is fifteen years old and doesn’t know anything aside from the stars and has never seen old Earth. Her own parents barely remember boarding the starship with their parents when they were children. Although only fifteen, Waverley is in line to be married to the captain-to-be, Kieran who is the golden child of the current captain. When their sister-ship New Horizons suddenly appears on their radar their suspicions are raised and they need all of their smarts and courage to withstand the shock of what happens next.

Waverley and Kieran are like any teenagers, full of self doubt, strange logic and courage at unlikely moments. Both make serious mistakes at times when it is life or death. This really is Battlestar Galactica in book format. Space fights, hidden agendas, secrets and unlikely allies are all a part of this engaging and scarily realistic story. There’s a book two to come, so the adventure is not over yet and I look forward to see how Waverley and Kieran cope.

Kate Rockstrom is from Readings Carlton