Light from Other Stars

A Novel

De: Erika Swyler

Narrado por: Kyla Garcia

From the author of national best seller The Book of Speculation, a poignant, fantastical novel about the electric combination of ambition and wonder that keeps us reaching toward the heavens.

Eleven-year-old Nedda Papas is obsessed with becoming an astronaut. In 1986 in Easter, a small Florida Space Coast town, her dreams seem almost within reach - if she can just grow up fast enough. Theo, the scientist father she idolizes, is consumed by his own obsessions. Laid off from his job at NASA and still reeling from the loss of Nedda's newborn brother several years before, Theo turns to the dangerous dream of extending his living daughter's childhood just a little longer. The result is an invention that alters the fabric of time.

Amidst the chaos that erupts, Nedda must confront her father and his secrets, the ramifications of which will irrevocably change her life, her community, and the entire world. But she finds an unexpected ally in Betheen, the mother she's never quite understood, who surprises Nedda by seeing her more clearly than anyone else. Decades later, Nedda has achieved her long-held dream, and as she floats in antigravity, far from earth, she and her crewmates face a serious crisis. Nedda may hold the key to the solution, if she can come to terms with her past and the future that awaits her.

Light from Other Stars is about fathers and daughters, women and the forces that hold them back, and the cost of meaningful work. It questions how our lives have changed, what progress looks like, and what it really means to sacrifice for the greater good.

©2019 Erika Swyler (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

How does she do it?

This is such an intriguing and thought-provoking book that kept us listening well past our bedtime! Our post book discussion centered on the 'what if' and 'how did she think of this'? We loved Erika's first book - The Book of Speculation - and this is so different - yet just as wonderful. At the end, we paused, caught our breath, and said -- a sequel!!! We hope!
Erika, you are amazing!
Bonnie & Jo

Excellent YA Sci Fi

This book took a bit to get into. It's told from the point of view of Needa, a geeky 10-year-old, and her grownup self as an astronaut aboard a space ship heading into outer space. The chapters go back and forth between 1986, when the space shuttle carrying her astronaut hero exploded, and the spacecraft, and involves time travel as well as speculative science. Once I got the pace of the story and into the head of Needa, the story got very interesting. I have labeled this book YA sci-fi because that is how it felt for me. An original story and nicely narrated by Kyla Garcia.

gave up

narrator is awful. I couldn't make it through. it's like listening to a subway announcement in book form.

Life is too short to waste time on bad books

it. was. a. struggle. just poorly written, poorly woven story, confusing, bad concept. just plain bad.

Don’t waste your time

I love science fiction and YA. However, this story just didn’t develop. And then it was all of a sudden needing to wrap things up at the end. There could have been so much more character development but I found myself not caring about anyone. I didn’t care about their outcome either. What a waste of time.