Spinning Starlight by R C Lewis (Young adult, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

  October 2015, Disney-Hyperion, 336 pages, Ebook, Review copy from NetGalley

Content: drama, a bit of humour, tissues needed

Summary from NetGalley 

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men shows up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired. 

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word, and her brothers are dead.
 

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home-a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back? 

Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans fuses all the heart of the classic tale with a stunning, imaginative world in which a star-crossed family fights for its very survival. 

Nayu's thoughts

This is one of the most spectacular sci-fi books I've ever read! I adore fairytale retellings, and the sci-fi take on sweet tale is a pure delight to read. There is an awful lot of hardship for Liddi, but there is hope too. She has a fierce determination to save her brothers, no matter the cost to herself. Staying silent is harder than you might think, but Liddi was able to find a way around not speaking, although communicating in that way wasn't always practical.

I loved the level of futuristic technology, how there was often someone that she needed to hide from which caused obstacles she had to overcome. The way her brothers manage sparse communication gave both her and me hope that they could be reunited eventually. They care a lot for her too, which makes the separation heartwrenching. Liddi isn't completely alone, for she unexpectedly finds a few allies who help her the best they can. 

There is tragedy in the story, I can't lie about that, so make sure you have tissues. The reason for the separation of Liddi's family is one of the many plot twists which made me squee. It's not an overly sci-fi read, if that makes sense, so even if you don't usually read sci-fi do give this captivating book a shot! You won't regret it, I promise!

Find out more on R C Lewis's website.