The Search For Our Cosmic Neighbours
Chloe Savage
Walker Books

This awesome book follows Commander Julia and her space team aboard Mission Star Drifter. They have already spent ten years searching the galaxy to discover the answer to humankind’s greatest question: are we alone in the universe? The excitement of their expedition has already worn thin and Commander Julia has finally had enough. However, she decides that rather than declare the mission a failure, they will try one last planet.

What they anticipate is yet another lifeless, desolate wasteland but instead, thanks to the dog, Khan, they find themselves face to face with curious space creatures – a whole community of them. They too have eyes, arms and legs like the human crew but the earthlings have so much to learn

and interestingly the space creatures seem to do lots of things simply for the joy they bring.

Basking in how brilliant it is to be alive in the universe is something the human visitors try for a while; they even defer their return to Earth and stay a bit longer to enjoy this new way of seeing things.

It’s great to see how the book celebrates scientific roles, particularly women in STEM such as the astrobotanist, Lata and of course, Julia the mission’s astrobiologist. It’s great as well that the story will certainly have readers pondering on and discussing what it means to exist in the vast universe.

A book that definitely deserves to be on family bookshelves, in classroom libraries and anywhere else that young people come together.