Nyxia

I (obviously) went to ReadUp Greenville this year, a young adult author’s conference where you basically spend the day getting to listen to authors talk about their books, processes, and motivations.  It was (obviously) phenomenal, like I knew it would be.  Usually going in I have read some of the author’s books, so I have my list of ones that I want to buy or are interested in hearing about.  Scott Reintgen’s novel Nyxia wasn’t even on my radar, but after hearing him talk about it, I knew I had to get it.

If I had to describe Nyxia in one phrase, it would be “Hunger Games in space.”  It’s set in the future when a new Earth-like planet has been discovered along with a new element called nyxia.  The problem is the indigenous people of the planet don’t like humans, but they’re peaceful with children.  The solution:  assemble a team of teens, promise them a whole lot of money for participating, train them to be soldiers and miners, and send them to the new planet to mine the nyxia.  Ten kids are chosen to go, but they soon find out that not everything is as it seems and everything is part of the game of survival.

First, I loved the diversity.  Everyone can find someone they relate to.  Elliott, the main character, is a black teen from Detroit.  There are also teens from Pakistan, Japan, China, Switzerland, Nigeria…and the list goes on.  The author also did a good job with making the characters each have their own personalities while making them not seem stale.  Another aspect I liked was the quick action.  The storyline picks up quickly from the start, and the science fiction aspect isn’t completely weird.  Since it’s set in the future (around 2050-ish) the tech they have seems plausible and the element nyxia gives it just enough mystery to make it intriguing.

This is the first in a trilogy, so hold on tight!