Alone Out There: NYT Bestselling Author Riley Redgate Encouraging YA Readers Through Fiction

 

We are continuing our series of the nurturing the emotional and mental health of kids through reading, especially when it comes to inclusivity and representation.

 

We speak to the award-winning author Riley Redgate to discuss her newest YA fiction book titled, “Alone Out Here.”

 

This book poses the question to its young readers, “What Do You Stand for When You’re One of The Last Left Standing?”

 

 

Riley Redgate published her first novel before even graduating from college. The newest YA book from the award-winning author is Alone Out Here, which has been called Lord of the Flies, but in space.

 

“In this gripping near-future Lord of the Flies reimagining, Redgate (Final Draft) skillfully ups the tension, offering an in-depth exploration of grief and trauma while depicting the slow disintegration of morale and societal breakdown within the ship’s tiny community, which comprises tweens and teens representing various ages, countries of origin, ethnicities, and religions, all fighting for survival.” – Publishers Weekly.

 

 

The year is 2072 and the world is going to end. Soon a volcanic eruption will trigger catastrophic devastation, and the only way out is up.

 

Leigh Chen is part of a small group of the children of world leaders (her mom is POTUS) who, while their parents, scientists, and engineers oversee the frantic production of a space fleet meant to save humankind, are brought in for a weekend of touring the Lazarus, a high-tech prototype of the spaceships being designed to transport humanity to a new planet.

 

But when the apocalypse arrives months ahead of schedule, First Daughter Leigh Chen and a handful of teens from the tour are the only ones to escape the planet, sending Leigh and the other kids into an impossible situation: they have to survive. With no grownups. In space.

 

This is the new world: a starship loaded with a catalog of human artifacts, a frozen menagerie of animal DNA, and fifty-three terrified survivors.

 

From the panic arises a new coalition of leaders, spearheaded by the pilot’s enigmatic daughter, Eli, who takes the wheel in their hunt for a habitable planet. But as isolation presses in, their uneasy peace begins to fracture. The struggle for control will mean the difference between survival and oblivion, and Leigh must decide whether to stand on the side of the mission or of her own humanity.

 

“Redgate’s eye for lyricism in her descriptions and vulnerability in her protagonists make this a satisfying, provocative, and memorable read.” Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

 

With aching poignancy and tense, heart-in-your-mouth action, this enthralling saga will stay with readers long after the final page.

 

 

You can purchase the book Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate on Amazon HERE, or everywhere books are sold.