Also the author depicts the destruction of the International Space Station, which gets hit by an immense solar storm and plummets to the earth. As a space nerd I was honestly aghast at this development. And a little miffed at the author’s cavalier treatment of it. Jamie’s first-person narrative will draw readers into the story and surprise them with twists along the way as its space-age realism bends toward science fiction.”— Booklist Edge balances the eerie and the emotional to offer accessible science fiction even when the science itself is inexplicable.”— The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Whilst there is a steady growth of non-fiction books about women in STEM who have made an impact in society, fiction books with them are still few and far between. So I was very pleased that the professor in the story is a female astronomy expert. I was also glad that we touched the sacrifices one partner makes so that the bread-winner can fulfil his career ambitions. Along this vein, the children who tag along also lead transient lives of international kids.Jamie Drake is your average boy with one big exception, his dad is an astronaut on the international space station and he is part of a big mission to find life in outer space. Jamie is very proud of his dad but he misses him a lot, especially with his birthday coming up and his dad missing it. Jamie Drake’s dad is famous. He’s an astronaut, and he’s currently orbiting the earth on the International Space Station, about 400kms above the planet’s surface. Soon he will launch a series of tiny interstellar probes, which will search the galaxy for signs of alien life. What could possibly go wrong? That being said, this book was full of fun STEM-iness. We learn about the Jamie Drake Equation, we learn about the fibonacci sequence and more space science. But there is also the sci-fi element of the alien’s and Jamie’s interactions with them.

From the author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright comes another cutting-edge cosmic space adventure for anyone who’s ever looked up at the stars and wondered about the universe. This was great!! I liked how it had the science behind the book at the end (the infinite lives of Maisie day also had that, which is the other book I've read by edge)...it's a nice addition for actual kids reading this as well as a refresher for adults. Or maybe new stuff to adults, who knows. I was kind of surprised to recognize the Fibonacci sequence before the book told me 😂 look at my brain pulling random memories from the depths of my school days, lol.Edge has found the equation that solves the problem of how to write a fun, intellectually challenging novel with an emotional center.”— The Times (UK) Jamie’s dad is an astronaut.This is a good thing, because how cool is that? And a bad thing, because he’s orbiting Earth and Jamie misses him badly. Astronaut Drake launches “Light Swarm Probes” that can travel almost as fast as the light. The prototype for the Swarm probes is the Starshot project. It is currently just the idea to explore space using nano probes on laser beam sails . The project is open to the public and experts. We are all welcome to help solve the technical difficulties and make the technology real! This story reminded me very much of Tim Peake while he was in space. His interactions with school children created a lot of excitement. The author successfully portrayed this and the main character’s conflict with this new-found fame. Nominated for the 2018 CILIP Carnegie Medal. Shortlisted for the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award, the Haringey Children’s Book Award and the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award.

Jamie's 6th grade class is currently "learning about alien worlds, interstellar travel, and nanotechnology." His teacher, Mrs. Solomon assigns the class a project to "invent an alien".You have been my friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing...after all, what's a life anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die...By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that.” Sixth-grader Jamie Drake has an alien on his cellphone and his parents are splitting up. What more could go wrong? My mind was a messy attic, with snippets of my interviews and different rumors jumbling in my head. With solid science and believable family conflicts, this will be very satisfying to readers whose wishful thinking can suspend disbelief. I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” J.R. Tolkien