Review by Booklist Review
The author-illustrator team behind Varjak Paw (2003) reunites for this mystical sf adventure about a boy with the power to save his galaxy from the Wolf That Eats the Stars, an encroaching void caused by the war between humans and alien Axxa. In his dreams, Lucky travels among the stars and listens to their songs, but when he wakes, everything around him is covered in ashes. Before his mother is able to explain what's happening, she is killed, and Lucky winds up fleeing the planet on an alien starship. Lucky and the Axxa crew are reluctant to travel together, but as they search for Lucky's lost father, who may hold the key to his powers, they learn their differences are less striking than their similarities. The narrative and evocative artwork come together to form an inspirational tale of embracing empathy and fighting despair, couched in a familiar chosen-one arc, that works both as an allegory and a straightforward adventure. McKean's stylized illustrations add to the mythic tone of Lucky's transformative experience.--Hutley, Krista Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Said reunites with his Varjak Paw collaborator, McKean, for an SF adventure that favors an elaborate cosmology over science, as Lucky, a boy of mysterious parentage, discovers that it's up to him to save the galaxy from destruction. There is no shortage of enmity between humans and the extraterrestrial creatures they dismiss simply as "Aliens," and the two sides are engaged in a devastating war in which entire suns are going supernova and collapsing into black holes. Lucky barely escapes from his home moon on an alien starship, losing his single mother in the process, and he soon learns that the aliens are far less different from humans than he had been taught, and that neither side of the conflict is in the right. Powerful and ancient beings known as the Astraeus are helpless against a growing evil force, and Lucky must use his own unexplained, newly awakening superpowers to end the war. Coincidences abound in Said's story, but the plentiful intergalactic action should easily hold readers' attention, and McKean's haunting illustrations strongly support the mystical nature of the adventure. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up-When Lucky wakes to a scorched bedsheet and the smell of smoke, his mother begins frantically packing his things. She rushes him out of their apartment and to a nearby space station, hoping to catch a flight off Phoenix, the moon they call home. Although desperately asking questions, Lucky can't get his mother to tell him what's wrong, and he is appalled when, after all flights off Phoenix are canceled, she accepts the help of a group of aliens known as Axxa, with whom humans are at war. But learning to trust the four Axxa offering him travel on their ship is only the beginning of Lucky's trek across the war-torn galaxy. He is the key to the conflict between humans and aliens; he just doesn't know it yet. Built around Axxa legends of the Twelve Astraeus, this sci-fi novel follows Lucky from one solar system to the next; Said creates not just a new religion and planet but multiple galaxies with a star at the heart of each, all connected to the Axxa pantheon. As the characters travel, revelations old and new slowly unravel and the secrets of Lucky's own past untangle. However, despite a fleshed-out narrative, captivating black-and-white illustrations, and themes of equality, connection, healing, and creation, Lucky's severe lack of self-confidence and general slow-wittedness may leave readers frustrated and make it difficult to form a bond with him. VERDICT For patient sci-fi fans searching for new characters in a unique world.-Maggie Mason Smith, Clemson University, SC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When a "crack in the sky, shaped like a V" appears above human boy Lucky's home on remote moon Phoenix, his terrified mother bundles him away on a ship with alien Axxa for a clandestine journey through the universe--and into the human-vs.-Axxa war. McKean's trippy black-and-white illustrations evoke reverence for the expansive universe and play with Said's unique, staccato text. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Young Lucky is awakened one night to discover his linens seared by fire after having a dream of flying among the starsbut it was no dream. Immediately after discovering that he has had a true out-of-body galactic experience, Luckys mother packs their belongings to flee their home planet, Aries One. Her plan is violently thwarted by the nefarious Shadow Guards, and Lucky is separated from his mother. He is forced to escape the planet on a spaceship occupied by a family of horned Aliens, a species that co-exists with Humans throughout the galaxy (not always peacefully). What starts as a suspenseful tale quickly turns sideways as Lucky discovers that the frightening, demonic Aliens hes always feared dont carry many traits different from Humans other than horns and hooves. Aside from the irritating notion that every species in the galaxy speaks English, the no-nonsense plot, in which Lucky discovers the origin of his ever surfacing power while on his first journey through the galaxy, unfolds smoothly. His innocence never turns into the annoying superpower bravado that often accompanies young apprentices, and it is underscored by Saids straightforward, even nave narrative style. McKeans illustrations of Luckys communions with the godlike Twelve Astraeus add haunting visuals. Luckys race is not indicated. An astrological twist on an age-old story; the echoes of Star Wars, The Golden Compass, and A Wrinkle in Time should win it fans. (Science fiction. 10-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
