What’s the book about?
Three days, three clues, one hungry planet. Constant surveillance. The entire universe watching every move. Some will shatter. Most will fail. A select few will make it through, instant celebrities.
Welcome to the Surface Trials. The only way into Starquest Academy.
For Amethyst Antares, Starquest Academy offers an escape from the prison of her home planet. For Rian – the uber-famous and expertly disguised heir to the universe’s two greatest dynasties – failure to get into his own academy is not an option. And Deneb? Well, he’s an outlier…
But this year not everything goes to plan, and Amethyst and her squad find themselves playing for more than Starquest admission. To survive, they’ll have to outsmart carnivorous creatures, share dangerous secrets, maintain trust and embrace the most shocking truth in the galaxy.
Set on a fascinating yet hostile alien planet, this pulse-pounding, high-stakes, elimination-quest novel will have readers on the edge of their seats.
Recommended for:
Ages 10+
Three reasons to read it:
- Amethyst Antares (coolest name ever, by the way) doesn’t come from privilege. She’s not famous. She’s not genetically engineered. She doesn’t have a galaxy-sized fanbase cheering her on. What she does have is grit, determination and a desperate desire to escape her restrictive, suffocating home world. You’ll feel every ounce of her pressure, every moment she doubts herself, every spark of hope when she pulls off something no one thought she could. She’s smart without being smug, tough without being cold and the kind of flawed, funny, fierce main character you can’t help but follow to the ends of the universe … or, in this case, the edges of a very deadly planet.
- Picture this: everything you do is being broadcast to the entire galaxy. Every mistake, every argument, every time you trip over a root and face-plant in the mud. It’s like an interplanetary version of Survivor meets The Amazing Race, but with way more death vines and alien venom. The pressure isn’t just physical. It’s emotional. Mental. Public. Ammy and her teammates have to make impossible decisions while knowing billions of eyes are judging their every move. The stakes? Fame, glory, entrance into the most elite academy in the universe or total humiliation and failure. No pressure!
- If you’ve read anything by Waugh before, you know she doesn’t mess around. Her worldbuilding is rich and sharp — you can feel the alien air, smell the weird plants and see the bizarre terrain. Everything is there to support the story, and this story is fast, smart, funny, dangerous and emotional all at once. She balances character growth with epic action and heart-thudding mystery and she knows how to drop a twist like a meteor out of the sky. She makes you feel the stakes and love the ride, even when it’s terrifying.
Buy a copy of Surface Trials here.
About the author:
HM Waugh is a children’s author, educator and environmental scientist with a long-term love of wild places and outdoor adventures. She has been kidnapped twice, handled dragons for a job, and dreams of one day blasting into space. Her books mix humour, danger and friendship with a dash of science and imagination.
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