Red Star Rebels

by Amie Kaufman

From the NYT bestselling co-author of Illuminae and Aurora Rising comes a high-stakes, high-chemistry sci-fi romp filled with witty banter and clever high jinks about a stowaway girl and the richest boy in the galaxy, racing the clock to outwit a gang of mercenaries.

Eight hours to stop an explosion ...
Eight hours to fall in love.

It's 2067, and the Graves family has transformed Mars from a lifeless rock into a chaotic patchwork of settlements. You can buy a one-way ticket to a new life - if you're rich.

Enter Hunter handsome, ambitious, and with spectacularly bad timing. He shows up unannounced at the United Nations base just as an emergency evacuation sends everyone scurrying for safety. And he's left behind. Uh-oh.

Also Cleo, a sharp-tongued stowaway with no intention of dying today, and even less patience for overconfident trust fund boys. But the enemy of your enemy is the jerk who might just help you survive, so here we are.

Now, Hunter and Cleo have one shot to stop the explosion, escape alive, and deal with the inconvenient fact that they're falling for each other.

The clock is ticking.

A high-octane, high-chemistry, sci-fi adventure from the New York Times bestselling co-author of Illuminae and Aurora Rising.

Perfect for YA readers who
- Witty banter and explosive action
- Fast-paced plots with unexpected twists and turns
- An opposites attract odd couple who need each other to survive
- The Illuminae Files or the Aurora Cycle

Praise for Amie
- 'A master storyteller.' Lynette Noni

Praise for Red Star Rebels:
- 'A true page-turner, driven by life-and-death stakes and a steadily ticking clock.' Books + Publishing

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Audiobook, Space, Fiction, Adventure

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 3, 2026

About the author

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of young adult fiction. Her multi-award winning work is slated for publication in over 30 countries, and is in development for film and TV. Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law and conflict resolution. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and daughter, their rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library. She is the host of the podcasts Amie Kaufman on Writing, and Pub Dates.

You can sign up for her newsletter to see what she's working on, hear when she releases a new book, and be automatically entered for giveaways: https://amiekaufman.substack.com/

Reviews

[chantalsbookstuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

it’s like home alone but on mars and with corporate espionage and murder (?)

[Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The queen of YA Sci-Fi is back with a new thriller-like story that had me at the edge of my seat! ❤️

It’s been many years since I read These Broken Stars which I love, and this book reminded me a lot of that one in the best way. Amie Kaufman always writes a perfect mix of sci-fi and swoony romance that I really enjoy.

The pacing was perfect, alternating between action-packed scenes and more quiet parts where Hunter and Cleo get a chance to know each other and bond.
The tone also oscillates from lighthearted to deep, since in addition to the action and romance we learn about the sociopolitical background of the world where the story takes place.

I loved how crafty and smart our main characters are. Hunter is good with software and Cleo with hardware so they’re perfectly matched to problem-solve their way out of their situation.
Some of the traps they set for the mercenaries reminded me of Home Alone, and afterwards I read the author herself mentioning that movie as one of her references 🤣

I really enjoyed the way the romance evolved. There’s insta-attraction but we also see Cleo and Hunter slowly get to trust and know each other throughout the story.
A bit of suspension of disbelief is needed if we stop and think the book takes place in a span of a few hours, but I promise the author makes it work. It’s an intense few hours for our characters 😆

I had a great time reading this one. I'm not sure if this is a standalone but I wish we'll read more stories in this world!

Thanks to Hot Key Books via NetGalley for providing an eARC

[✨⚡ Kelcey (felinebooktrovert) ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happy Release Day!!

3.25 stars

A really cool concept that just did not grab me like I was hoping for.

Amie has written some very cool space themed stories, so I waws excited to see another one was coming, but this just did not have the same gravitas as previous books.

This just ended up being OK. The characters were well written, but I don't think there was enough development for either of them. Plus, everything seemed kind of predictable. I was calling twists well before they were happening.

So overall I enjoyed it, but wasn't the best I've read from Amie.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let it be known that I LOVED “These Broken Stars” by Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (2013). It’s a fantastic story, and the creepy factor combined with science fiction was just…*chef’s kiss*

The sequel to that was decent, but not as good. Kaufman’s “Illuminae” with Jay Kristoff was enjoyable, once I got past the off-putting format. Then I read “Unearthed” (another Kaufman/Spooner collaboration), and I quickly became bored—I even said so in my review of it.

The author is super talented, no doubts there. However, all of her works that I’ve read are rehashing the same plot, and it’s not hitting like it used to. I think her best (and first) work is “These Broken Stars”, and thus far, none of the other reworked plots have been as good.

“Red Star Rebels” is again Teen Who Is Rich/Not A Criminal meets Teen Who Is Poor/Perhaps Is A “Criminal”, a crisis happens in space or on a different planet where boy and girl are forced to work together, many sappy & cringy thoughts happen as the hours pass, and overarching question is: WILL THEY FALL IN LOVE??

Hunter is rich. Really, really rich. Cleo is not and understandably resents someone who has had everything handed to him. She’s barely getting by while hiding and stealing food at the United Nations space base.

Unfortunately for both, a surprise complete evacuation of the base results in them being stranded there. It quickly dawns on them that there are actually no toxins in the air, and they are outnumbered by mercenaries who will blow up the base in just eight hours. Remember that they have no way of leaving the base, and no one is going to realize anything’s amiss for weeks. Time to get creative.

In a high stakes situation like this, you would think that you wouldn’t have time for romance—but not these two! Commence the sappy thoughts and falling in love.

But Cleo is a stowaway! And Hunter hates stowaways! WHAT WILL HE DO ONCE HE FINDS OUT??!


So, yeah. There you have it. Same plot, with a change of names, setting, and manufactured crisis. And I’m tired of that sameness.

Kaufman is capable of great stories. And I get it—if this format has been wildly successful before, why change it up? However, she *really* needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with something entirely new. As it stands, I don’t think I’ll be jumping at the chance to read her next book, and that makes me sad.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for an eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Elliot A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are we actually back in space?? I loved that era when YA was set in space. I miss it so much. And if this book is actually set in space and has just an ounce of the vibes Kaufman’s other space opera books as, then I am truly a happy gal!!!

[Shadowbooker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amie Kaufman is back with a space book and cementing why she’s the queen of Sci-Fi!!! I devoured this book in one sitting because how was I supposed to continue functioning when there was a countdown for our heroes lives!? This book is action packed, hilarious, and with the most likable and thirsty little shits as main characters (in the most endearing way possible). And the audiobook? Well Amie is also the queen of audios because it’s EPIC! It brought me back to the illuminae file days which I’ve always said are the best audiobooks in existence, and Red Star Rebels has now joined them at the top.

If you like scifi, high stakes, funny interactions, and flawed but lovable idiots, you must read this book. I read someone describing it as the Martian meets home alone and you know what? I see the vision.

[hailee · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was fun but not my favorite. that being said, i’d read any sci-fi book amie kaufman writes

[zara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 stars

amie kaufman please never stop writing sci-fi with hannanik as your blueprint, thank you 🫶🏽

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set on Mars over 8 hours, Red Star Rebels offers an action packed, fast paced race against time to escape the settlement. Illuminae is one of my favourite action packed scifi books, and this definitely scratches the itch.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Hunter Graves, estranged rich boy and Cleo, a stowaway who needs to desperately escape. There's lots of witty banter and swoonworthy moments of connection as they share unexpected life experiences in the urgency of disaster.

The book offers a plausible explanation into the settlements on Mars, but the slice of life nature of it doesn't overcomplicate things. It's action packed as the unlikely duo find themselves facing a mysterious enemy on the settlement. There's lots of twists and turns as well as Hunter finds his past catching up to him.

Red Star Rebels is a fun, fast paced read with lots of witty banter and space based action that I really enjoyed.

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Jasper Le Comte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really went into this book wanting to like a fun little easy action-romance read, but I just can't bring myself to give this book more than two stars. I don't think it's absolutely awful, but there are just too many problems for me to justify any higher of a rating.

The plot I thought was a bit weak, but I've seen worse, I suppose. It suffers a bit from loads of sci-fi handwaving and "hack into the mainframe"-type stuff, but my main issue with it was that I didn't find it massively engaging. It could definitely have been worse, but I'm just sort of struggling to find what I'm supposed be excited by in the plot. Someone in my book club's group chat mentioned the plot reminded them of Home Alone and I really can't unsee it now. Ultimately, I felt like the plot often tied itself in knots to provide close bodily contact and dramatic scenes to favour the romance plot.

Said romance, I sadly found to be quite underwhelming. Aside from the logical impossibility of falling madly in love in the span of something like five hours, I just wasn't sold on their romance at all. Sure, infatuation and attraction can happen really quickly, but Kaufman couldn't convince me that these characters experienced anything more than that. Honestly, I think no-one can, because it's simply not how humans work. That's not to say that passionate, short time frame infatuation can't be compelling, but it needs to be written as what it is. Also, because Kaufman chose a timeline so short (which would work for a passionate infatuation story), but resolutely wanted 'real' romance, she's failed at delivering either, as the parts early on that are supposed to show their early infatuation are quite ham-fisted too. As someone else in else in my book club's group chat mentioned, a lot of those passages boil down to "Oh no, we're going to die, but damn, he's hot", which just comes off as silly instead of arousing. The romance, then, Kaufman tries to make work through a sort of trauma bonding thing by having both characters realise they're perfect for each other because of their own past trauma's, but I was simply not convinced at all.

The writing style could have maybe helped with that convincing a bit, but it sadly achieved quite the opposite effect. Both characters have this annoying tendency to start spouting exposition about their tragic past in their internal narration, often without any prompting or plot relevance. This not only grinds the pace of the plot to a halt, but is also completely unnecessary: if this sad backstory is relevant to the emotional arc this character is about to have with the other character, it will have to come up in actual conversation between both characters. Consequently, if it is relevant, I as a reader am bored because I've already read it and because it eliminates any chance I had of being shocked by a revelation along with the character who's learning about that backstory. Add onto that some annoying quippy writing at times and a really melodramatic style in dramatic passages and I found myself rushing through the ending a bit, just wanting it to be over.

Ultimately, I find this book disappointing because I think its foundation and premise are decent, but the execution is just so shoddy. I think Red Star Rebels could have been a much better book with another 100-150 pages added on, a good bit of repetition cut out and a slower burn (both in plot and romance) added in. Instead, I'm left feeling like this book was rushed out to meet a deadline. Shame.

[Nao · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pop sugar challenge #5 Książka o kobiecie astronautce

Książka jest young adult scifi i może nie było to tak odczuwalne gdyby autorka nie wymyśliła
trochę kosmicznych (tak żart) treści w jej środku
np : główny bohater w wieku 14 lat przejął władze nad rodzinną firmom i decydował o wszystkim xd
w tekście nie wygląda jakby grzeszył on inteligencją ale może to tylko moje odczucia

Fabuła była ciekawa do czasu, bohaterowie płascy i nie wyróżniający się a po 8 godzinach
byli w sobie obłędnie zakochoani jakby znali się nie wiadomo jak długo xd
w ogóle nie mogłam uwierzyć w te relacje i ich uczucia do siebie.

Końcówka wydawała się zakończona na szybko byleby skończyć książkę
a szkoda bo koncept naprawdę wydawał się fajny.

[Kate Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've heard people describe this as Die Hard meet Home Alone and being a massive Die Hard fan, it is definitely that, without the yipee ki-aye.

This short read was hilarious, witty and meaningful.

I thought it was a great concept; I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation waiting to see what would happen next.

I was worried about how Amie would pack it all into 272 pages, but the pacing was great, I felt the connection between the characters, and it didn't feel rushed or unnatural.

My only issue was it felt like it just ended and generally I don't need everything tied up in a bow, but I felt like I needed just a little bit more with an extra chapter or epilogue or something.

Maybe I was just having such a great time I was greedy for more? You will have to let me know your thoughts if you have read this one.

I still definitely highly recommend, it was such a great read, and it will be living rent free in my head for a while.

[Stacee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read anything Amie puts out, but especially when it's in space.

I loved Cleo and Hunter. She's street smart and badass. He's tech smart and charming. Together they have instant chemistry, banter for days, and need to not be alone any longer. I loved reading them slowly fall in to Like while trying to not get blown up.

Plot wise, it's starts off with a bang and doesn't let go. The alternating POVs really made it fun and I just couldn't get enough of these two together.

Overall, I definitely could have read another 100 pages and I can't wait to get my eyeballs on whatever Amie does next.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

[Tzeyi Koay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love everything by Amie Kaufman and I'm so excited to see we're returning to space!!!

[norah · Rating 4 out of 5]

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=4

summary: a girl and boy who snuck their ways secretly onto Mars (she’s lower class, illegally hitching a ride there, he’s a billionaire’s son but don’t worry of course he’s Not Like Other Billionaires and it’s tooootally fine) have to, like, survive a disaster and getting murdered/blown up and they only have 8 hours and ooh also they’re falling in love??

thoughts: fun! good! I kind of want a sequel just because I think that the eight hour timeframe makes it so that like even though we do get to know the characters and obviously their relationship is being tested in a very high stakes way, I think it’s hard to make something feel like a complete character arc after only having eight hours. there’s also just like some other kind of things that are complicated in the background going on that I would want to see explored. so yeah I will say like I did like it and it was a fun, fast-paced read, but I think it needs a sequel. it’s kind of cheesy, but like in a good way I enjoyed? cheesy isn’t a crime?? also I was surprisingly on board with the billionaire’s son even though I usually can’t stand redeemed billionaire characters, so that’s very impressive character work on Kaufman’s part! but like again, the eight hours of it all means like, do I really believe this guy is redeemed after so short a time?

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amie Kaufman writes some of my favorite sci fi books and I’m so glad I got to read her newest release early! I really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed Hunter and Cleo as characters. They have very different backgrounds so it was interesting to see what brought them to Mars and how both of them dealt with the situation.

The plot is counting down until eminent destruction so of course that added a sense of urgency to the story. The plot was very fast paced and also had some humorous moments as well (very reminiscent of The Illuminae Files, cowritten by this author). There were some interesting twists and turns to the plot; some I suspected and some I did not. Since this takes place over a single day (8 hours to be exact) the romance was quite instalovey and also attraction based (Cleo drooled over Hunter’s body constantly) but it made sense for the story and didn’t bother me.

Overall I’d definitely recommend this one. If you’ve read and enjoyed this author’s other sci fi books, you will likely enjoy this one as well.

[menna · Rating 3 out of 5]

alternative title: home alone (sci-fi version).

Just kidding! even though the first half is essentially the same but set in Mars.
I won't lie, this was fun and quick to read because it's set over the span of 8 hours. And... thats about it. i didn't feel any substance to the story, didn't get very attached to the characters, and the stakes never felt as high as it should've been. However the plot twist was pretty surprising so it gets an extra star.

[Mella aka Maron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was.... okay.

I liked the plot, for the most part and the characters, for the most part. The main issues I had were that 1. these two kids were so LUSTY the ENTIRE TIME. They're literally about to explode and they're all over one another at any given time. It's so.... ugghhhhh. I hated it. And 2. ultimately, for a book about a space station hijacking.... this wasn't that exciting and the ending was anti-climactic. It was just.... there.

I can't say I hated it, but I didn't really like it either. It was just.... there.

Also, fair warning, this audiobook has SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC and it is very annoying because there are times when I want to hear the words but the sound effects are so LOUD that I can't.

[Azra Aydın · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.5/10
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨

[quillnqueer]

we're finally dropping kristoff? let's GO

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 hours to stop an explosion and the clock is ticking.
💥
In 2067, Mars has been transformed into a chaotic, high-stakes frontier—and when an emergency evacuation leaves rich heir Hunter Graves stranded at a UN base, things quickly go from bad to worse. He’s not alone: Cleo, a sharp, resourceful stowaway, is also stuck—and far less impressed by Hunter than he’d like. When they realize the evacuation was a cover for mercenaries planning to destroy the base in eight hours, the unlikely pair must team up to outwit their enemies, survive the chaos, and maybe even trust each other long enough to make it out alive.
🪐
This one is fast-paced from start to finish, something is always happening, and there’s never a dull moment. It leans more lower YA, making it super accessible and easy to fly through. I also loved the slight “reverse Titanic” vibes: stranded, high stakes, ticking clock, and unexpected connections forming under pressure. Just a really fun, action-packed ride.

CW: xenophobia, death of a parent, classism, fire, injury, confinement, violence, trafficking

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content warnings: explosions, death, fire, xenophobia, death of a parent (in the past), classism

At her Melbourne launch, Kaufman described this book as Speed meets Home Alone set on Mars and, like, absolutely. Does what it says on the tin. It's action-packed, I really liked the two protagonists and the romance that develops between them, and the fact that the entire story plays out over eight hours was fantastic.

Personally, I would have liked it to be another 30-50 pages to a) build up the details around some of the traps they set (because at times they felt a tad blink-and-you'll-miss-it), and b) allow Hunter to really work through some of his classism and xenophobia around who's allowed to even think about setting foot on Mars.

I still think the Illuminae series will reign supreme at the top of my Kaufman ranking, but I'll definitely reread this in the future because it was a lot of fun.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. It was witty, fast, entertaining, and just so much fun to read.
I love Amie Kaufman, so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. The book follows Cleo and Hunter, two very different people, as they try to survive when they are left behind on a base that is being taken over by hostile forces...oh, and this base happens to be on Mars--awesome, right? The whole book takes place in less than a day, and the fast pace was exactly what I was looking for.
The characters were compelling and interesting, the plot was exciting and really sucked me in, the book was funny and had me cackling, and the romance was just ahhhh amazing. I loved every second of this, so if you are looking for an easy and entertaining read, this is definitely for you.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was... fun, but underwhelming. While a quick and entertaining enough read, it was a mite too predictable for my liking and lacked the emotional rollercoaster and edge-of-your-seat thrills of some of my favourite books by this author. Maybe it's just that this is a fairly short standalone, but I also felt the characters and their inevitable romance could have used more development.

[Ken Yuen · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was great, Kaufman's writings always feel like a movie in your mind. The countdown almost perfectly paces out the story to be in real time as the audio book. This action flick is also an opposites attract romance. Can a down on her luck rogue and a rich boy who hates immigrants find common ground?

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! No surprises there, Amie Kaufman + space = a fun ride. Kaufman describes this book as Die Hard meets Home Alone set on Mars, and that’s exactly what this is. A fast paced plot and excellent character work, I just wish this had been about 50 pages longer and slightly more fleshed out in parts.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cool and the full cast audio made it feel really immersive.

I personally liked how the real villains were the corporate billionaires, that's a good message to find in a YA book these days.


Thank you to libro.fm for the free audiobook.

[Amber Ransley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Lindy Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was solid! a super fun, exciting, fast-paced read on Mars with espionage and romance! the audio is FANTASTIC