Red Star Rebels
By Amie Kaufman
Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey
The multi-award winning Australian author takes us back to space in this sci-fi-for-everyone, edge of your seat thrill ride. With witty banter, loveable (even if you don’t really want to) characters, and a timeline short enough to stutter even hardiest of heartbeats, this page-turner will keep you promising yourself ‘This is the last chapter,’ until you’ve read them all in one sitting.
Hunter’s the billionaire grandson of the first man on Mars, and an heir to the family who began the Martian colonization. Cleo’s a sassy hitchhiker who’s been hiding out in the United Nations Martian base for months, running away from a life less ordinary back on Earth. Neither are on the manifest when the emergency evacuation starts, and there are no seats for the leftovers. Suddenly a band of mercenaries marches into the empty station and starts a countdown – seven hours, fifteen minutes – to … what?
In true Amie Kaufman style, Red Star Rebels pairs easy enemies against bigger baddies, as Hunter and Cleo fight for their lives while trying not to fall for each other.
Realising the emergency evacuation was a front for the mercenaries to get into the UN base, Hunter taps into the systems to use his insider knowledge while Cleo uses three months-worth of sneaking and hiding on the base to keep them both out of sight, all while working together to foil the mercs’ plans. Will a familiar face mean Cleo throws Hunter to the wolves? Will family ties on Mars make Hunter abandon Cleo to save himself? Should anyone judge a book by its cover? Probably not. Is blood thicker than water? Maybe. But is time running out? Absolutely.
The sociable sci-fi of Red Star Rebels is clearly driven by a love of space mixed with a desire to create a story every reader will enjoy. The unmistakable wit readers will know from The Aurora Cycle trilogy is paired with a lovers-to-enemies trope skewed against a countdown where no one could come out a winner.
Suitable for all ages of young adult readers, this is a great bridge into the sometimes-daunting world of science fiction, keeping heavy themes and deep morals buried amidst waves of humour and tiptoes into the shallows of teenage lust and adoration.
Teaching resources
A & U Children 2026
Amie Kaufman
More books by Amie Kaufman reviewed in StoryLinks include:
