Dayla Learning

Summary: 

Morgan Enni has things to do. A science prodigy in a university full of mage-scientists, she’s notable for having no magical ability, which only increases her ambition and drive to prove herself. Her research has the potential to devastate every aetherworker in the galaxy and shake the crumbled foundations of the Stavenger Empire. It's no wonder she can't find anyone who wants to listen to her, much less fund her expedition.

But Morgan is stubborn, and eventually her work catches the attention of a group of rebels, who hope it might turn the tide in their favour. When they try to recruit the young scientist, they get much more than they bargained for. Morgan Enni has secrets of her own.

Set in the world of Aetherbound, E. K. Johnston continues to entwine Arthurian myth and the history of North Atlantic fisheries in a clever, character-driven space fantasy.

Instructor Notes: 

This teen-oriented space science fiction book features an asexual/aromantic neurodiverse girl protagonist who is highly gifted in science, attending university and leading her own research project. Written by the author of other science fiction books in respected settings, like Ahsoka in Star Wars, the author offers complex storytelling in an age-appropriate way. 

While this is a sequel to a previous book, it can be read as a standalone; characters from the previous book show up, and there is some lighter worldbuilding in this story. Readers may opt to read the first book if they wish; it is more romance-oriented than this one. 

While the writing and storybuilding are aimed at teen readers (with more mature themes and slower pacing, more nuance), mature tween readers who wish to read complex stories without gratuitous content usually associated with YA books will find this an appropriate challenge in a genre that is undercovered in middle grade literature.