Stellar

by Chris Bradford

Stella, captivated by the cosmos, finds her brother Ryan, already bored with space. Just days into their family holiday at the Space Hotel, Ryan complains of nothing to do. Their parents propose a visit to the International Space Station Museum. Mid-spacewalk, catastrophe a colossal solar flare unleashes a lethal electromagnetic wave towards Earth. In the rush to return to the Space Hotel, Ryan's jet-pack fails, and Stella must save him before he drifts into the void. With mere minutes before the solar flare hits, they're compelled to shelter inside the ISS. The solar flare fries its systems, sending the ISS off course. With all communication lost, Stella must use her stellar knowledge and a dash of luck to return safely to Earth.

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2024

About the author

Chris Bradford is the bestselling author of the Young Samurai, Bodyguard and Soul Series.

Chris is renowned for his inspiring author events and ‘method writing’ style. For his award-winning Young Samurai series, he trained in samurai swordmanship, karate, ninjutsu and earned his black belt in Zen Kyu Shin Taijutsu.

For his BODYGUARD series, Chris embarked on an intensive close protection course to become a qualified professional bodyguard.

And for the Soul Prophecy trilogy, Chris travelled extensively to experience first-hand the cultures featured in the story – from living with the Shona people in Zimbabwe, to trekking the Inca trail, to meditating in a Buddhist temple amid the mountains of Japan.

His books have been published in more than 25 languages and been nominated for 30+ book awards, winning among others the Northern Ireland Book Award 2011, the Hampshire Book Award 2014 and the Brilliant Book Award 2014. Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior was deemed one of Puffin’s 70 Best Ever Books, alongside Treasure Island and Robin Hood.

To discover more about Chris or book an author visit: www.chrisbradford.co.uk

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another brilliant Barrington Stoke story! This time gaming meets Space. When siblings Stella and Ryan end up floating into a disaster in space, they have to learn to work together to save each other from certain death (multiple times!). Loved the illustrations too!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Stella and her brother Ryan are vacationing with their parents at the Galaxy Space Hotel. While Stella is super excited about everything she sees and experiences, Ryan would rather lose himself in a video game. There are some adjustments to be made in space, like dealing with space motion sickness, which is caused when the lack of gravity results in fluid pooling in the head, but the family feels well enough to go to the space museum on the International Space Station. Stella is expecially excited, since the ISS is due to be deorbited the following year. When there is a solar flare, and the group needs to head back to the shuttle to avoid a proton storm, Ryan has to be found. He's stuck, but then manages to spin away into space! Stella goes after him, and the two end up very far away from the ISS. The two eventually get back in the craft, only to find that it is falling out of orbit. Ryan uses his gaming skills to try to figure out how to operate the ISS, which is a challenge since many of the buttons are labeled in Russian. Heading toward Earth with less coolant than is optimal, will the two be able to survive?
Strengths: The combination of Bradford, who is a seasoned writer who devotes himself to fast-paced, exciting stories like the Bodyguard series, and Barrington Stokes publishers, who actually think about what tweens want to read because they ask them, is brilliant. Stella's story is short, but definitely engaging. There are some fun things that will speak to young readers, like Ryan's addiction to video games, and his reluctance to follow his sister's instructions. There is a lot of science information included in a casual way that was very instructional. Charlotte Grange's occasional illustrations heighten the appeal for the graphic novel set. In the E ARC, the page background color was a soft yellow. I haven't seen a print version, but the print version of Bradford's GAMER does have this dyslexia friendly paper.
Weaknesses: I found it hard to believe that the children would manage to survive, but young readers will not have this same objection.
What I really think: There are not as many easy to read space adventures like Landers' Blastaway or Levy's Seventh Grade vs. The Galaxy, but perhaps there should be. I will definitely be buying a copy.

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

STELLAR is about a brother and sister braving space when a solar storm leads to their separation from their tour group.

I liked that this book addressed the very real dangers of space flight. Space is not simple and kind - it can kill you in so many ways and these siblings face many of them. While these dangers are the backdrop to their adventure, which is designed to be entertaining for children, the danger is never trivialised.

This provides the book with plenty of chances to slip in facts about space flight, from how re-entry works to what causes aurorae. It is also set around the International Space Station (now a tourist site), which was a really nice way to introduce and explore it, given we can't just go up there for a holiday like the characters! Plus it gives these siblings with opposite interests the necessity to work together to survive, thus bonding.

Charlotte Grange illustrates this one too, and in the same almost comic-book like style. It's very dynamic and helps being the story to life, visualising scales and the technology.