THE STARS BETWEEN US

THE STARS BETWEEN US is Cristin Terrill's delightful sci-fi thriller, a careful-what-you-wish-for, rags-to-riches tale wherein the main character receives everything she's ever dreamed of just as it all turns to poison.

Life on Philomenus has made Vika Hale old before her time. Philomenus has always been the poorer of the twin planets, which inhabit a distant and lonely corner of the universe. And ever since her beloved father's nervous breakdown caused him to lose one of the few jobs on Philomenus that paid a decent wage, 17-year-old Vika has been working multiple jobs to help put food on the table and take some of the pressure off. Then comes shocking news: the richest man on either of the twin planets has been tracking Vika since meeting her briefly as a small child, and as his dying wish, he has chosen her to be the bride of his son, Leo. No sooner is the news out than reports arrive that Leo has been killed in a shuttle explosion. But a chance arrives for Vika to still move to Leo's family home and inherit some of his wealth. It isn't a coincidence that Leo and his father died back to back, but what any of this could possibly have to do with Vika is anyone's guess. With a new life of luxury at her fingertips, Vika has to decide whether to adapt to her newfound wealth or whether it's worth digging into the events that led her where she is. Cristin Terrill is the author of Here Lies Daniel Tate and All Our Yesterdays, winner of the International Thriller Writers' Award for Best Young Adult Novel, a YALSA pick for best young adult fiction, and one of Kirkus' Best of 2013. She runs Wordsmith Workshops, which hosts retreats and online learning for new and aspiring authors, and is the business manager for The Author Village.