YA ARC Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Aurora Rising
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Series: The Aurora Cycle (Book 1)
Publication: Knopf Books for Young Readers (May 7, 2019)

Description: From the New York Times and internationally bestselling authors of the Illuminae Files comes a new science fiction epic . . .

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy's biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger-management issues
A tomboy pilot who's totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem--that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler's squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

NOBODY PANIC.

My Thoughts: AURORA RISING was a great start to an epic science fiction series. It begins at Aurora Academy and deals with a squad of graduates.

The Alpha of the squad is Tyler Jones. He was very near the top of his class and should have had his pick of other squad members. Except he was off rescuing Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley who was the sole survivor of the colony ship that was taking her to Octavia where she was going to be a cartographer. Her ship was lost in the Fold and she is 200 years out of her time.

Tyler's new squad has a lot of the dregs of the Academy. He does have his sister Scarlett for his diplomat. She wasn't going to let her brother attend the Academy without her but she wasn't really interested in doing well there either. And he has Cat for his pilot. She is the best in the Academy is fiercely loyal to Tyler. She also might have more than a small crush on him.

But his science and medical specialist Zila Madran might be a sociopath. She's brilliant but not a people person and tends to use her disruptor to solve a lot of her problems. And his new Tech is Finian de Karran de Seel, a Betraskan, who is isolated from his family, wears an exoskeleton because of weak muscles, and has a well-honed sense of sarcasm. Finally, his combat specialist is Kaliis Idraban Gilwraeth, a Syldrathi member of the Warbreed Cabal, and one of the few Syldrathi at the Academy since the war with them ended just a short while ago.

Their first mission seems in keeping with a squad made up from the leftovers. They are sent to bring medical supplies to an almost abandoned space station currently housing a small number of Syldrathi refugees. The first problem is that they won't let Kal come aboard because many members of his caste are still fighting against the Terrans. But a bigger problem is that they have a stowaway. Aurora was told by the Academy leaders to stow away on their ship. And now the Terran Defense Forces and the Global Intelligence Agency want Auri and are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way.

Auri has come out of the Fold with psychic powers and visions. Worst of all, her past seems to have been erased. She's told the planet she was going to never existed and never had a colony. Untangling all the lies and figuring out her new powers and her purpose keeps all the kids busy for the rest of the book.

I liked the characters who were all unique individuals. I liked the worldbuilding. I liked the action and pace of the story. The only thing I didn't like was that this is book one of a series and now I have to wait to find out what happens next.

Favorite Quote:

"You're an asshole, Finian," Scarlett sighs.

"Yeah," he replies. "But I'm your asshole."

He makes a face.

"Wait, no, that didn't come out right. Ew. Sorry. Terran as a second language and all..."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.