Journey to the Hopewell Star

by Hannah D. State

Gold Medal Winner of the 2021 Readers' Favorite Awards for Young Adult - Sci-Fi
WINNER: Literary Titan Gold Award (December 2020)
A RED RIBBON WINNER - The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
A Must-Have New Brunswick Book of 2020 - Atlantic Books Today

Introverted twelve-year-old Sam Sanderson is comfortable living a simple life on her family's peaceful farm. That is, until a mysterious visitor arrives one night, thrusting her on a formidable and dangerous journey across galaxies.

With little direction and no training manual, her mission is to find the elusive Hopewell Star to save a dying planet. But with time running out, a destructive business mogul tracking her every move, and deadly disasters threatening her community, she'll have to rely on her wits, courage, and friends to make things right and restore peace to both worlds…all while surviving seventh grade.

From discovering the secret of the Hopewell Star to locating a lost civilization, this book has it all: exhilarating adventures, mystery and intrigue, and fascinating characters—you won’t be able to put it down!

Perfect for fans of The Golden Compass and Ender's Game.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 29, 2020

About the author

Hannah D. State is an award-winning Canadian author and science fiction/fantasy writer. She graduated from McGill University with a BA and earned her MPL from Queen's University. Hannah enjoys going on nature walks and pondering the mysteries of the universe. Journey to the Hopewell Star is her first novel.

Reviews

[Gina Rae Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journey to the Hopewell Star is a young adult novel that will please readers of all ages. I know I found the story gripping from the first page to the last.

Samantha lives a rather sheltered life on a farm with her grandfather as her parents are off on an important scientific mission for the government. During a very strange electrical snowstorm, she meets a being from another world bearing gifts from her parents.

This is just the beginning of the fantastic happenings in her life. She has adventure after adventure with new friends, incredible creatures, evil villains, and bullies, all while trying to save Earth from destruction at the hands of humans. I really don’t want to give away any more of the plot. This is a must-read for yourself kind of book.

The author puts her fabulous imagination to work in building worlds, creatures, plotlines, and characters, all while getting the message across about the damage we are doing to our planet.

It’s very easy to get swept up in the adventures of Samantha and her friends in the race to save us all. I think the idea that the youth will be our salvation is a well-thought-out concept in this book. I only need to look to the day’s news headlines to see this being carried out every day.

I don’t want to give the impression that this book is all about the message. It’s delivered in an engaging science-fiction tale that lets readers draw their own conclusions and takeaways from the tale. At the very least, it’s a thrilling story told in a beautiful style.

I highly recommend this book to all readers, regardless of their age or genre preferences. There is definitely something for everyone in this wonderful story.

[S.C. Eston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journey to the Hopewell Star is a young adult novel about a 12 year-old girl, Sam, who meets a stranger in her backyard and suddenly finds herself transported to another world. There, she learns that she is destined for grand things, as the fate of both worlds suddenly falls into her lap.

From the first scene, I was pulled into this charming and highly imaginative piece of fiction. There is a undeniable charm to Hopewell Star, something about the innocence and good nature of the main character or about the writing style of the author. Most likely both. Until now, I haven't been able to get into YA novels, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I think young readers will love it. The main character, Sam, is so likeable! The story is complex and explores an impressive range of ideas and subjects, including environmental issues, bullying and acceptance, space travel, prophecies, with a few neat gadgets thrown in. And somehow, everything blends together seamlessly and is easy to follow.

Hopewell Star is a lot of fun and an excellent debut novel!

[Billy Buttons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A WISHING SHELF BOOK REVIEW
22nd September 2020

TITLE: Journey to the Hopewell Star
AUTHOR: Hannah D. State

Star Rating: 4

‘A wonderfully engaging fantasy adventure for YA. Cleverly plotted and totally unique, I’d highly recommend it.’ A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review

REVIEW
This is a gem of a YA novel. Set in a world where space travel is possible, this is a complex adventure in which Sam (the protagonist) attempts to find the Hopewell Star and, by doing so, saving the planet Kryg from dying. There’s a long list of things I love with this book, but it’s uniqueness is top of the list. It’s very difficult to find a YA novel that’s different. But this is! And in a good way too.
So, let’s talk writing style. The author, Hannah D. State, is very talented. There’s a good flow to the writing, interspersed with a well-balanced mix of speech and descriptive prose. The author seems to understand that a book of this sort (sci-fi adventure) for this readership (YA) needs a lot of pace. Things need to happen! And lots of ‘things’ do.
The author also works hard to root the story in a world teenagers will understand. This book is not all high-tech gadgets and wormhole jumping; it also looks at ‘real’ teenager problems: moving to a new town, changing school. There’s also a sprinkling of humor – the author has good comic timing – and a complexity to the characters perfectly matching the complexity of the plot.
So, who’s this book for? In terms of age, I’d tend to go for older YA, say 14 – 17 year olds. In terms of interests, well, sci-fi/fantasy readers will love this story. Basically, if you enjoyed Ender’s Game, this book is for you!
Enjoy.

A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk



This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Journey to the Hopewell Star
Author: Hannah D. State

Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 20
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 8/10
Cover: 7/10
Of the 20 readers:
16 would read another book by this author.
15 thought the cover was good or excellent.
20 felt it was easy to follow.
18 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 8 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
11 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
16 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.

Readers’ Comments
“This is a very enjoyable fantasy/sci-fi adventure story for teenagers. I enjoyed the plot – trying to find Hopewell Star – and I also thought Sam was a good hero for the book. I did think the descriptions were a bit long but, other than that, it’s an exciting read.” Male reader, aged 15
“I liked this journey/quest story. It’s excellent how the author showed the protagonist is not alone and has pals to help her. The writing was good and often very exciting. I did think the cover pic was a bit young for the story, but it still looks good.” Female reader, aged 16
“I liked the characters in this story. They were often a little strange but always interesting and fun to get to know. I also liked that it wasn’t all sci-fi and looked at Sam’s everyday life too. I think 13-16 year olds will like this book a lot.” Female reader, aged 15
“A little slow to get going, but by the half way mark, I was hooked. I would read a sequel. Sci-fi rocks!!!” Boy, aged 14

To Sum It Up:
‘Packed full of amazing characters – and imagination! A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

[Jim Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

From a YA perspective, this is a five-star read. Lots of plot twists as a 12 year old Earth girl has been chosen to save not only Earth, but a planet called Kryg.

[Jorja Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the plot of this book. It is all centered around the human population and the problems that we humans have caused for our planet. My favorite characters are Boj and Kobe. It was a very entertaining novel which also highlights the problems that we are experiencing today globally. I give this book a 5/5 and I can’t wait to start reading the sequel, Journey to the Dark Galaxy.

[K. Counihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fantastic Journey to the Hopewell Star

This was quite the adventure for this 12 year old girl. A complete stranger wants her to fly galaxies away to save people on a planet in the elusive Hopewell Star System.
If the reader believes this premise then you are in for a wild ride. I really liked this book.

[Cassidy Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had fun listening to this book by a local author, an impressive debut! I’d like to give a paper copy to my daughter. I’d classify this as middle grade level, so it feels wrong giving it anything thing but 5 stars as it wasn’t written for me. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it! I see this author has great talent.

[Ariela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very tricky book for me to write a review on… I want to say first and foremost that I did enjoy reading this book. In this review, I wanted to analyse it as both a writer and a reader. I want to provide suggestions on ways to improve my own writing, as well as help others. I like the story that this book tells, and I’m very glad that I get to read books like these.

This book is like a mix of Keeper of the Lost Cities book series by Shannon Messenger, and James Cameron’s blue people Avatar. And I mean that incredibly literally. Let me get this out of the way by saying, I love when a new Atlantic Canadian sci-fi book comes along. I love when authors write a book that lets them reimagine the places that they call home. Setting alien bases in Atlantic Canada, and being able to read about alien events that take place where I live is kinda cool.

Now, I had high expectations for this book and I was quite disappointed. When you put your five star rating, the blurbs from other authors, and the award that you won right on the book cover, yeah I’m going to go into the book thinking it’s this really good sci-fi. But honestly, I feel like this book has a good premise but bad execution. It really baffles me how this book has won awards, especially since it won an award for something in the wrong category. All of the blurbs seem to think it’s a young adult (for 13-17yrs) novel too, when I can 100% guarantee you this is NOT a YA novel. It’s won all the awards in the YA category, and the praise for this book calls it YA, but it’s not YA. It’s middle grade (8-12 yrs). I usually gage this by the age of the protagonist, and the mc of this book (Sam) is 12 years old. Plus the maturity rating for this book isn’t too high at all, it’s not gory or dark enough to be higher on the maturity scale.

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this book. It was a fun story that it told. I really wish I could pass it off in the “not for me” category, but this is usually the kind of story I really love. it’s just not done as well as I would have liked it to be done. I understand that this is a debut novel, and that it was a short story before, so I can get behind that. Personally, I think it should gone through a few more rounds of edits. There were a lot of things that could have been fixed, writing wise, pacing wise, and plot wise. So let’s discuss the many aspects of the book that is Journey to the Hopewell Star.

The Writing
In Chapter 3 I noticed that this book was interestingly paced. I think both the writing and the pacing go hand in hand; the writing makes the pacing feel weird. There are also just some sentences that could be revised, like this one: “Titus could feel his anger erupting like a volcano ready to explode.” (Page 226) I want you to sit on that sentence for a minute and figure out what’s wrong with it. It says “like” a volcano ready to explode, meaning nothing has exploded yet. But before that, it says his anger had already erupted. This one sentence goes from future tense and then back to past tense. Things like this could be caught in editing, and I really think this book needed more editing before being published.

Pacing wise, I felt that the first few chapters weren’t done as well as they could have been. We’re introduced to Sam, and from what we get through the thoughts of her grandfather, he says that she’s level headed and smart. She’s practical, she likes their quiet life on the farm. We get this in 5 pages through pure exposition. We’re just given fact after fact about these people. On the second page we find out that her parents left Earth to go on some space mission and that they haven’t returned yet. Now, I understand the need to exposit information to the reader, you need to set up your world and your characters. I get that.

But it’s also weird when you put your information in the wrong place? It just really didn’t feel natural to me. I thought the opening scene was missing some beats as well, I think it could have been slower paced, especially at the part when she gets to the barn. After that we have the sequence where she goes into the barn and finds a blue alien kid. This happens on the 8th page. All we really know about this girl is
a) her name (Sam Sanderson)
b) that her parents left to go on space adventures
c) she lives with her Grandpa on a farm and that he homeschooled her
d) apparently she’s also sensible but the scene where that’s supposed to be “shown” to us isn’t very good. She said two lines and didn’t react much.

I would recommend that if you’re not going to properly let us get to know your character before the inciting incident happens, I would prefer that you just opened up on the action, rather than have attempts to introduce your character. Because we’re supposed to already know Sam, already care about her when the inciting incident happens. But that is not what happens in this book. By the time that she’s set to go on her big adventure, I feel like we haven’t been properly introduced to this character. All we know is information about her, and 1 trait about her. We know that she’s smart but we’ve only been told that she’s smart. I also have no idea what’s at stake for her right now, or even her alien friend. It’s alluded that the higher ups in charge are going to be mad at the alien kid for letting himself be seen by a human, nonetheless bringing one to his own planet? But no, he tells her that she can stay for days instead of just sending her home so that he wouldn’t get into further trouble. But if she went home right away, we would have no story. This is what gets me with books, when the reason for things happening relies heavily on the characters lacking critical thinking skills.

As I mentioned above, the writing is also quite tell-y. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but especially when you’re introducing a new world it’s best to show it. You can’t just tell your reader about it, that’s too much information going into their brain in a short amount of time. I believe in chapter 3 or 4 it just starts info dumping a lot about Kryg (the alien planet), and frankly, I don’t remember what any of that info dumping said. Some of it was critical to the plot, some of it was just “cool alien world stuff”. Something that probably attributed to the fact that I remember next to nothing about Kryg is that we simply don’t spend a lot of time there. I’ll get to this part later in the “plot” section of my review.

I’m not sure if the writing being very
tell
tell
tell
is a stylistic choice, but what does get me is how it is written. It’s told in 3rd person POV, (and by the way, this book deicides to switch POVs whenever it’s convenient, it never really sticks to 2 set POVs, or 3 set POVs that we cut to continuously in the book. We’re mainly in Sam’s POV, but it jumps around to her grandfather’s Onnisa’s, Kato’s, Aruna’s, and even Titus’ POV, simply whenever it feels convenient to jump.) there are a lot of things that could have been changed with editing. It’s very “and then” “and then” sounding. There’s one sentence that says “She ran her fingers along the edge of the silver blanket. She let out a gasp.” Why doesn’t it just say something like “Running her fingers along the edge of the silver blanket, she let out a gasp.” or something like that? I counted how many times the word “she” appears in half of a page, are you ready? 12 times.

The Characters
What’s going on up in Sam’s head makes her feel like a very static character. She’s actually a pretty passive character for the entirety of the book. Yes, the entirely of the book. I don’t think I can recall a single decision that she truly and fully made herself. Preferably, you want your characters to drive the plot. Not have the plot drive your characters. Sam being a static character truly makes the pacing feel so strange, Her grandfather explodes the food printer, not her. Grandfather tells her to go outside, not her. The dog runs away to the barn, she follows. She doesn’t make the decision to go to another planet, her alien friend tells her she needs to go to another planet. Having a passive character for your opening? The hook of the story?

As for the other characters, I found them rather underdeveloped. The same can be said for Kryg as well. The other characters are quite surface level characters that only exist to uplift our main character. I didn’t find that they had any sort of motivations or really even their own lives aside from being around Sam.

The Plot
There are a lot of subplots in this book. Many different things were crammed into this story. I wonder about what this story is truly trying to do. It has a subplot about saving the world, it has environmental undertones, that’s the Hopewell Star plotline. But then a big part of this book is technology, how it corrupts people and plagues the Earth. Then there also a supernatural aspect of this book, that’s introduced through “mind travelling”. Mind travelling is explained really strangely, I didn’t understand it fully. When the words “mind travelling” come to mind, I think of something like lucid dreaming, or even shifting, but in this book it makes mind travelling out to be like your physical body moves through different dimensions as well as your mind. Sam thinks a lot of times that she needs to “mind travel out” or “mind travel away” and that doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’m aware that it was probably better explained, but those reasons didn’t quite stick with me for the entire book. Also telepathy exists… in this world, and I don’t fully understand how Sam gained telepathy powers either.

Look, about the whole mind travelling and telepathy thing… I understand what the author was trying to do, but I think there could have been a better way to do it. Then this book decides that it wants to play mind games with telepathy and mind travelling. It’s an interesting choice, I guess. It’s introduced very late, especially if this is going to be a major plot point later on. This is like 130 pages in . That’s almost half of the book. I would have liked it a lot better if this was set up earlier.

As for the first part of the plot, Sam becomes the queen based on the Hopewell Star prophecy. This prophecy is just short of being a step by step guide of how Sam is going to save the world, but I digress. What also bugs me is that the prophecy says Sam is just going to be the new queen of Kryg… effective immediately, I guess. I found it strange, imagine if we just elected our world leaders because it was in a prophecy. Imagine if the world leaders knew nothing about the society they’ve been chosen to lead, and lastly, imagine if they were 12 year old children. I can’t see anything that makes Sam out to be a competent leader.

This book is also set in a world that’s slightly more advanced that our current Earth, in the first bit of the book we’re told that they’re using a sort of 3D printer to “print” their meals, and that every house has one nowadays. That’s supposed to be out indicator of how advanced tech is. Later in the book it’s mentioned that their school has a robot, and that robots are sort of on the rise as well. Her parents are also off transcending galaxies and carrying out space missions, so they are fairly advanced. I guess, at that point my question is… why would you then assume that the blue guy in your barn in a strange suit bleeding blue blood… is wearing a costume? You’re aware that aliens exist and that space travel is advanced enough for transporting people across galaxies. There’s a space ship that crashed into your barn for goodness sake. This girl is supposed to be sensible and rational, but I don’t see that from her.

On Earth, Sam doesn’t do a whole lot. And this is what doesn’t make sense to me, she’s the queen of Kryg, she’s the chosen one. She’s supposed to be helping them by finding the giant star. I don’t understand why 70% of this book made the queen of an alien planet live on Earth. Why is this book even be sci-fi if it’s going to have little to no sci-fi elements? I understand that a major plot point of this book is because of Earth, but honestly I would have re-written that.

Final Thoughts
I didn’t want to read a sci-fi and have most of it be Sam living on Earth and going to school and hanging out with her friends. I do understand that this book was a former short story, but it really wasn’t ready to be sent out into the world and be published, in my own humble opinion. Despite this book’s shortcomings, I’m having fun with it. I had fun drawing Boj and Sam as you can see on my Instagram under @youth_draw_the_word. It’s been a fun time analyzing this book from the perspective of both a writer and a reader, and I feel like this book helps me improve my own writing. This book also sparks my own creativity, because where there are gaps in the worldbuilding of Kryg, and characters that are slightly underdeveloped, it gives me an outlet to exercise my own creativity. Also, it has that sort of nostalgia effect for me. This is exactly the kind of story that I wanted to write when I was 12 years old, and I mean exactly. I was 12 and I would wake up early in the morning and type out my book idea on my computer, human going to an alien planet, meeting an alien friend, meeting a mentor, becoming queen… so in a way, I can appreciate that this book did something that I didn’t have the courage to do when I wanted to write a similar story.

They were also kind enough to send me books 1 and 2 in Mexico, so I’ll be reviewing Journey to the Dark Galaxy soon.
I know this review is really long and kind of all over the place, I took a lot of notes as I was reading, so I had a tricky time organizing this into a cohesive review, but nonetheless, if you stuck around I really appreciate that :]

I also think that this book is worth being given a try despite it’s shortcomings. It’s clearly won a lot of awards because people do enjoy it. :]

[Kimberlie Matteau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great fast paced read. It left me waiting for the next book.

[Don Bourque · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a debut novel, my expectations were not that high. Hannah D State proved otherwise. This was a delightful read. Now that I've finished it, I need to buy another copy for my granddaughter (my copy is signed, and I won't be parting with it).
The setting (on Earth, anyway) was most relatable to me, here in New Brunswick. I'll leave the other planets for you to discover. I highly encourage you to buy this book, but be prepared to get extra copies for gifts later, as I now find myself doing.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done YA tale

A girl lives with her grandfather on a farm. She has been homeschooled, she loves where they live and what she can learn. During a snowstorm, her dog.wants to go out but heads for the narnnwhere she fonds a wounded alien with a crashed spaceship in the barn. He has brought her birthday gifts from.her parents, who are rarely home and whom she very rarely sees. He brings a small item called a kluge that creates a safe wormhole to anywhere. She patches up his wound from his crash landing, and on hearing that time passes such that several days can pass there is only a dew minutes on Earth, consents to use thenklug to take them to his home planet of Kyrg. He ends up apologizing because he could have, in fact, used his own klug to get hime. It just so happens she fulfills a prophecy that means she has the power to save both planets. She has to find the Hopewell Star.
The book details her move to a small town, where she will attend a normal school.l, the friends she makes on both planets, the enemies she makes all unwittimgly, and as she discovers her own inner strength.

[BooksCoffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debut author State masterfully brings to life the story of 12-year-old Sam Sanderson, who must find the elusive Hopewell Star in order to save both Earth and a planet called Kryg.

On the eve of her 12th birthday, Sam Sanderson, the daughter of two scientists who often travel for their jobs, is hoping to see her parents returning from their months-long mission. But she finds herself traveling to a far-away planet Kryg to help an alien boy. A prophecy reveals Sam is the only one who could locate the mysterious Hopewell Star and save Kryg and Earth from ultimate destruction. Will Sam be able to achieve her mission?

Sam, with her level-headedness, intellect, and humanity, makes a perfect protagonist who is more than human, almost perfect and yet struggling. The complexity of the plot and serious treatment of the book's young protagonists make it appealing to early YA readers.

State beautifully conveys Sam’s inner struggles between the average 12-year-old she wants to be and the heavy responsibility of saving two planets from ultimate destruction she’s forced to take. Her apprehension about starting seventh grade, her fears and her struggles as she tries to adjust in an entirely new situation make it as much a coming of age story as it is space opera tale.

State’s immaculate prose, measured pacing, and deeply realized characterization make this a page-turner.

With its intriguing premise and expert execution of the plot, the novel is perfect to introduce middle graders to SF genre.

[Christopher Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative, unique middle grade / YA sci-fi adventure with some pretty darn cool ideas. Highly recommended for young readers.

[John Eric Pollabauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read and forms the basis of a script for an animated full feature movie

The author, Hannah D. State, has an amazing gift of writing an upbeat and positive story full of intrigue and interesting characters all the while weaving a classic tale of good forces battling their evil arch enemies for their survival and employing the right sequence of events throughout the book in order to maintain the reader's attention and enthuse their imagination.

[Jane Tims · Rating 5 out of 5]

the fantastic journey of a young protagonist who must achieve her goal

A fantasy for young adults, including a story to love and characters to remember. The characters are diverse and believable, even the one with a long, long, long name! The story takes us from the familiar to the fantastic and the settings are interesting and well-designed. Sam is a likeable protagonist with a loyal group of friends, from Earth and from elsewhere, who will help her in her journey.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting, coming of age story, of a young female lead finding her voice. When Sam is suddenly thrust into a new world and given tremendous power and responsibility, she needs to quickly learn new talents and test her inner strength. Being asked to make monumental decisions, Sam uses lessons from her family and the love of her friends to guide her. Her bravery and sense of adventure makes for a fun story while inspiring the reader to believe in the power of their own abilities.

[Lynn D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining read. Good blend of sci-fi and earthly adventures as a young girl faces challenges and adapts to changes in her home life. Addresses age appropriate issues such as bullying, teen uncertainties, loyalties and expanding knowledge through exposure to new concepts.

[D.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

See the whole review here:

https://www.dcmallory.com/book-review...

[LitPick Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam really misses her parents. They are usually away on top-secret missions, leaving her at home with her grandpa. Sam loves staying with her grandpa on his farm, but it's a little boring... until the day before her birthday when she finds a creature in their barn, delivering a birthday present from her parents. The creature turns out to be Boj, a friendly Krygian from the planet Kryg. Upon traveling to Kryg, Sam learns that she is the new queen of Kryg and is tasked with finding the Hopewell Star, the only resource strong enough to save the dwindling lives of both Kryg and the Earth! Not only that, but Sam will also be moving out of the farm and going to public school for the first time! Can she save the earth (and survive public school!)?

Opinion:
I loved that this book partly takes place on another planet! It was nice that the author clearly explained the planet, so I wasn't confused about the setting. This book also talked about the environment and made a meaningful point about preserving the earth. I also found that this book was quite relatable, and I could understand a lot of the struggles Sam felt, both about school and Kryg. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that the ending didn't feel completely resolved. Overall, I do recommend this book to anyone who likes Science Fiction or the environment.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Journey to the Hopewell Star isn't generally the kind of story I enjoy. It was scifi to some degree, although I'd place it more in the paranormal category myself. There were some interesting concepts in this one, and while I don't think I'll continue with the series, it is tempting, because I'd like to see what they do with the dison sphere. (no, the author didn't call it that, but that's what it was more or less). I know they fixed the problem, but with something that significant, I'd be surprised if it doesn't show up againlater in the series.
But, at any rate, if you're a scifi fan, with a particular like for the paranormal, this book will fit smack into your wheelhouse. If not, then you might not enjoy this one quite as much as others who do.

[Chuck Bowie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My jam is mysteries, so I began this read with curiosity; would I enjoy science fiction? (It's been a while...) I loved it!
The book is written in an easy, accessible style alternating between small town Canada and various planets (and umm...spaces?) Sam is a tween who has an earthshaking responsibility conferred upon her, and she must carry this weight in secret as she tries to discover what and how her role is. With help from the inhabitants of Kryg, she musters courage, as well as a small band of supporters to find a star and retrieve it!
State writes a great tale, and within it, employs metaphor, massive imagination, and a delightful tale of two plus planets. The villain, to me, bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain spaceship manufacturer, lending a modernity to the story.
Suitable for smart young readers, as well as those of us who are of a certain age.

[Karen Barrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming-of-age sci-fi adventure, Journey to the Hopewell Star features Sam Sanderson, a typical 12-year-old Canadian whose transition from a rural lifestyle and home-schooling to regular schooling in a small town in New Brunswick is further complicated by a gift that confers powers beyond her comprehension and experience. In this story of time and space travel, Sam faces challenges that force her to recognize threats not only on a global and interplanetary level but right in her own backyard. A good book for middle-aged readers and up, it provides a lovely balance of adventure with themes of environmental awareness and our responsibility to humanity.

[Jay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, new, middle-grade

I would classify this book as a middle grade, not a YA, largely due to the young 12 year old protagonist. Sam is likeable and admirable, and the story goes in directions that are interesting and not typical of some fictions. I'd say that the chapters are a bit long and some descriptions were superfluous. Love the Canadian settings.

[Debbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Easy to follow complex plotting in a muddle grade YA book that's a joy for adults who love science fantasy as well.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Preachy, preachy, preachy and simplistic.

[Kim Farnsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an entertaining read the moves along. It has an interesting premise and bring up problems that have concerns in the world as we know it.

[Violet Perry (Just a Bookish Blog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5
~I’d like to thank the author for sending me a free copy in exchange for my honest review!~
This was a fun sci-fi middle-grade novel, and I enjoyed it.
This book was fast-paced and well written, but there were a couple of things that I disliked that lowered my rating.
The thing I disliked the most, was that the main plot and all just seemed way too stereotypical. At times it felt like I’d already read the book (or watched the movie), you know? Sometimes, this definitely works, as it feels like you’re returning to a familiar world without actually returning to it, and other times it just feels a bit repetitive. The fact that I don’t have an all-time favorite book with a similar plot is probably the reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have.
Another thing that lowered my rating, is that, at times, some of the characters/their actions seemed a bit cheesy or unrealistic. However, seeing as this is a middle-grade novel, since the protagonist is 12, it didn’t bother me a whole lot.
All in all, this was a great middle-grade sci-fi novel, and if that’s what you’re looking for, check it out!
~Full Review To Come~