Starstuff: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Celebrate New Possibilities - by Wade Roush & William Alexander (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In a thrilling follow-up to Tasting Light, ten best-selling and award-winning masters of the form use the possible--and the premise of hope--to explore how science and technology can reshape our world and defy assumptions.

At once a collection of hard science fiction for curious middle-graders and an antidote to despair in the face of dystopian uncertainty, these ten horizon-bending stories may seem unreal, but all follow the rules of physics and biology as we understand them today. These tales of space junk, multiverse navigation, an asteroid named Doomsday, and bees and marmots in space pulse with honesty and optimism. Whether home is a planet, a moon, a space station, or a fleet starship, relatable protagonists of different genders, classes, nationalities, ethnicities, and orientations face challenges--some harrowing, some hilarious--true to their moment in time and space. Brisk plots, resonant themes, and scientific rigor define these forward-facing stories by leading middle-grade authors. Taken together, the tales champion youth agency through characters who approach science in adventurous ways, underscoring that we are all, indeed, made of the same luminous stuff.

With stories by:
William Alexander * A. R. Capetta * Maddi Gonzalez * Carlos Hernandez * Kekla Magoon * Jenn Reese * David Robertson * Wade Roush * Eliot Schrefer * Fran Wilde

Review Quotes

A science-fiction short story collection that showcases the possibilities of the near and distant future.
--Kirkus Reviews

The science and technology are consistently plausible throughout, and if the authors aren't (yet) household names, they, as well as their casts of characters, are broadly diverse of nationality, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
--Booklist

This diverse set of intentionally hopeful science fiction stories collectively represents ways that optimism, genius, and activism can change the trajectory of a possible future for a better world. There is significant variety here in formatting, tone, and pace in the ten offerings, resulting in an overall buoyant read.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

About the Author

William Alexander is a New York Times best-selling author of unrealisms for middle-grade readers and a contributor to Tasting Light: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Rewire Your Perceptions. His novel Goblin Secrets received the National Book Award, and his novel Ambassador won the Eleanor Cameron Award for excellence in juvenile science fiction and was a finalist for the International Latino Book Award. He served for three years as the faculty chair of the Vermont College of Fine Arts program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. He lives in Vermont.

Wade Roush is a technology journalist and audio producer who focuses on how science and technology are changing our lives and what we can do as individuals to steer that process. He is the host of the podcast Soonish and the editor of the hard sci-fi anthology Twelve Tomorrows, published by MIT Press, and a co-editor with A. R. Capetta of Tasting Light: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Rewire Your Perceptions. He holds a PhD from MIT in the history of technology and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.