The Starlight Rebel

LoveReading4Kids Says

Eleven-year-old Astrifer stands out in a (future) world where that is very bad indeed. She’s marked by a scattering of freckles across her face that not even the highest tech in an ultra-high-tech society can erase. She’s also neurodivergent, even more difficult when conformity has been made a badge of honour.

When her best friend Rainbow, the president’s daughter, becomes one of the famous Highlighter Kids she feels even more isolated, only the Tree Museum, pretty well abandoned by everyone else, offering refuge. A final humiliation comes at the Work Path Allocation Ceremony, when she is sent to work in a sock factory, even as her high-achieving twin brother is picked out as an athlete.

It takes the arrival of an extra-terrestrial convinced that Astrifer is a hero to make her believe that what makes her different makes her special. Her new sock factory friends – the place is so not what she was expecting – are also there to help her avert the disaster threatening their world; their skills and abilities, scorned by others, proving to be just what’s needed.

This exciting sci-fi adventure is as unique as its central character and sparkles with ideas of justice, the power of the natural world and of creativity. It also makes a wonderfully positive argument for respecting and valuing everyone equally.

Reviewed by Andrea Reece
Andrea Reece has spent almost her entire working life in children’s books, first as publisher, latterly as consultant, project manager and critic.
More reviews by Andrea Reece

About The Starlight Rebel

With its ambitious sci-fi concept, this fast-paced adventure is perfect for distractable (or "reluctant") young readers. It has the nonstop, sci-fi action found in Christopher Edge's books as well as the heart and bigger lessons that readers love in Ross Welford's novels.

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