Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction

Age Recommended: 14 and up

This book was awesome; it seemed like a mashup of Ender’s Game and The Hunger Games, was better than either of them, and basically had the best of both worlds. I was very easily attached to the characters in this book because they seemed a lot more real than the typical whiny teenage kid. I would definitely recommend this to fans of extraterrestrial fiction, which is something I tend to shy away from, but was actually very well-written in this case.

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Emmett’s mother is dying of cancer. She needs the best of the best to heal her and that’s not something that his father can provide. So when the Babel Corporation offers to pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for a three-year commitment to a space program, Emmett doesn’t hesitate for a second.

After enrolling in the program, Emmett learns that he will be training with nine other kids from around the world, who have come from circumstances just like his. Their mission will be to harvest Nyxia, the most valuable substance on Earth, from another planet. The catch? Only eight will get to go to this planet and receive the glory of a 50,000 dollar check every month.

From the moment they are put together, the recruits are in a race. Each win earns them points, while each loss pushes them further down in the standings. They are all desperate for money and will do whatever it takes to help their families. Emmett needs to win a spot in the top eight to help his mother, but is he willing to sacrifice his humanity to do so?

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