I really enjoyed this book; I was intrigued from the very first page. I really liked the diversity of the characters. This was definitely a page-turner--I devoured half the book in one sitting and only stopped because I had to go to work. Definitely recommend!

I haven't taken any time to review books in a long time, but recently came across a Y.A. (young adult) sci-fi book that looked so promising, I had to grab the ARC copy. I'm SO glad I did, because Nyxia by Scott Reintgen is one of the best YA sci-fi books I've read in a long time. It features a host of multi-cultural characters (which is unusual!), unexpected twists, great pacing, and some unique sci-fi elements that were a joy to read for the geeky girl inside me. ;-) I devoured it in 2 days and am chomping at the bit to get the other 2 books in the series (which are, as yet, unpublished)! It reminds me of a mix of Hunger Games, The Maze, and maybe a smattering of Red Rising - and yet it's quite original.

Here's the book's description, and then I'll add my comments:

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Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.

Forever.

Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.

But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.

**********************
There's a bit of mystery swirling throughout the entire book. The author only hints at bits and pieces about the Babel Corporation - letting you know there is something more going on, but not unraveling what that something is. It's clear Babel is the most powerful corporation on Earth, and it's clear they aren't upfront with their recruits. That's about all that's clear! They aren't telling them something about the mysterious and most valuable material ever found - Nyxia, or the circumstances surrounding their trip to Eden. Babel is lying about... something. Babel is hiding...something, not only from the recruits, but from those left behind on Earth. That thread winds itself through the novel, leaving tantalizing clues, but never giving any concrete answers.

There is also something about Nyxia itself that is almost frightening. From it, Babel has achieved unheard of technological advances. It's a material that can be manipulated into almost anything, and yet you wonder, is the material itself doing the manipulating?

Then, there is the mystery surrounding the Adamaites, the native inhabitants of Eden who are more technologically advanced and powerful then we are. There is something that has gone wrong with the Adamites and it seems they are unable to reproduce. The youngest Adamite is in his 50's and for some reason it appears that there are no more females. They treasure and adore children...which is why these 10 teens are hurtling through space on their way to Eden. Only children will be allowed on the planet to mine Nyxia and a competition ensues. Out of the 10 recruits, only 8 will be chosen.

The children chosen are from poverty stricken backgrounds, all of them with a huge and desperate needs. Babel exploits those needs in what becomes a brutal competition.  The losing 2 will get a small amount of money, but the winners will get everything beyond their wildest dreams, not only for themselves, but for their families. For Emmett it means saving his mother from the cancer that's killing her. If he loses the competition, he could very well lose her. This isn't just about being rich (and famous), it's about life and death.  That makes some interesting moral situations that don't always have an easy answer. The desperation all of the recruits face is also something that makes it easier for them to ignore the undercurrent that something isn't quite right.

I loved the character development throughout the book as these teens are stretched to their limits - both physically and sometimes morally. The adults in the book are also multi-layered. No one is purely black or white as far as good and evil and the struggles the characters go through are thought-provoking. I loved the honest approach to these struggles. It wasn't always clear what a character would do in different situations, and the author didn't shy away from allowing even Emmett to have flaws that he had to work and sometimes fight through. You grow to love him and other characters and you also can't help but hate some as well, and yet nothing is ever totally set in stone in that regard. Even the hated characters have their reasons for being the way they are and because of the depth of the character development and the complexity of the situations, it's not always totally clear who you want to win, or who you want to lose...

As a parent, I can say that this books is quite CLEAN and promotes morality - but in an honest and non-preachy way. The characters have their struggles, but it's refreshing to see some take the higher path, even if it could turn out to be a sacrifice. Emmett's background is also positive. He comes from a rough neighborhood, but he's stayed away from drugs and other negative lifestyle choices. He loves and honors his parents, and their relationship is touching. There is a little bit of "boy likes girl" with a scene of holding hands and a non-descriptive kiss. The way it's handled is pretty wholesome and doesn't seem contrived or out of place, nor is it "obsessive."

Another thing I noticed is that there are multiple minor religious references. At first I wasn't sure if they were underhanded digs toward Christians, but over time figured out that the author is coming from a Christian background and drops little tidbits here and there that aren't proselytizing, but appear as the main character struggles to understand things or in reference to Babel. They won't offend a secular reader, and they are refreshing to a Christian reader. I get tired of YA books with anti-Christian agendas. This isn't one of them.

There is a LOT of violence in this book,

***spoiler alert***

including a death that was a bit unexpected (think: a Game of Thrones killing that gets rid of a character you LIKE).

***end of spoiler alert***

The violence is probably at the level of Hunger Games. I recall only one incident of very minor cursing (the word hell).

The "about the author" note states: Scott Reintgen has spent his career as a teacher of English and creative writing in diverse urban communities in North Carolina. The hardest lesson he learned was that inspiration isn’t equally accessible for everyone. So he set out to write a novel for the front-row sleepers and back-row dreamers of his classrooms. He hopes that his former students see themselves, vibrant and on the page, in characters like Emmett.

I think he's done a tremendous job in creating a page-turning novel that does exactly what he was trying to do. It's very difficult to find any worthwhile sci-fi that is accessible to teens (and adults who like YA novels!!). Nyxia does a terrific job not only as a sci-fi novel, but also as something that tackles tough issues and brings to life a multitude of cultures in a fresh and exciting way. If you have a teen who loves sci-fi or you want to encourage a student to dip his/her feet into that genre, Nyxia definitely fills a YA sci-fi void! I can't wait for the next two books to come out!!

Nyxia is an engrossing mashup of Ender's Game and The Hunger Games. It is one of my favorite YA books I have read in recent years!
The Babel Corporation are sending poor children into space to work mining a new power source called Nyxia. The aliens that live on this planet only like children and the teens are compensated handsomely for becoming part of the Genesis 11 project. Emmett and the other nine teens soon learn they are competing against each other for a spot on the miming team and it's every man for himself. In space, away from their families, these children fight to save their families from poverty and disease while pitted in a a dangerous game.
From page one I was sucked in. The style isn't overly wordy (except for the alphabet bit) and the plot moved forward very quickly. The book does better at giving you a look at the ensemble cast than most current books do; I can name a majority of characters and who they were unlike the nameless, unimportant cannonfodder in The Hunger Games.I really loved the strategy of the tasks set before the children and couldn't wait to see how they would think outside the box to complete their tasks. I also, never felt like anyone (except one character) was safe during the competition and the trails really seemed to mean something for these characters.
There wasn't much I didn't like. Mainly, my only problem was the break in the middle where you see the viewpoint of the adult running the trail. The voice was not adult and it still felt like I was reading from the teen's point of view.
An intense thrill ride, I was left wanting more! I can't wait for the rest of the triad!

3/5 Stars

Nyxia follows a story of young man, who's mother is terminally ill and who has a chance to save her by joining Babel (tongue in cheek here people) and help them mine Nyxia - a substance that can be transformed into anything non-organic (and about which Babel knows very little). Once aboard Genesis 11 (again - tongue in cheek here), the kids are informed that only 8 out of ten will be allowed to go Eden (the distant planet from which Nyxia comes) and: "may the odds be ever in your favor."

I think I would have liked this more if it wasn't a rip off of Ender's Game and if it had ANYTHING else going on but the endless competitions that are extremely repetitive. I honestly skimmed most of them at the end because let's face it - I can only the read about the same fights, races and challenges so many times before I just don't care. Also - it was predictable - very predictable. It just really pissed me off - can we have a different story? I don't want to be reading the same story over, and over, and over again. Ender's Game was incredible - we do not need another retelling.

BUT, I liked the characters. I liked Emmett and Kaya, Bilal and Mourning. And I loved the how diverse the cast was (African Americans, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Chinese, etc). I also loved the bonds that Emmett makes on board of Genesis 11, he is genuinely a great kid (tad lacking in character development, but still). This is the only reason why I gave the book 3 stars.

I may or may not pick up the next book. I have a feeling that it will be a rip off The Avatar (the movie).

4.5/5 stars on this one. This was a pleasant surprise in a genre that tends to get bogged down by convoluted plots, flat characters, and annoying tropes.

Emmett Atwater is Detroit born and bred, a scrappy kid from a famiy with a long history of indigents. Life hasn't been easy, but things are about to change since Emmett's been tapped for an interstellar mission by the Babel Corporation. He doesn't know exactly what it'll entail, but he does know his family needs the money. At the point of departure, it's actually life or death for his mother.

Emmett boards Genesis 11, mentally preparing himself for a year-long journey to Eden, a planet rich in a mysterious but desirable element called nyxia, not to mention a species of humanoid creatures determined to safeguard it and their planet from invading earthlings. Along with nine other teen recruits from around the globe, Emmett must perform well enough in simulated training to be among the eight chosen to actually make it down to Eden--thus securing a huge financial payout for himself and his family.

Nyxia is essentially The Hunger Games mashed with Red Rising. In some respects it falls short of these genre predecessors (e.g., Cinna is a far more compelling supporting character than Vandemeer, and the overall quality of prose in Red Rising exceeds that of Nyxia, although author Scott Reintgen is a solid writer in his own right). In others, it surpasses them.

One way that Nyxia stands out is in its character representation. There are many diverse backgrounds represented here, the vast majority of them non-American people of color, many who don't even speak English. Emmett himself is African American, and his background seems to accurately reflect the struggles often endured within that community. So often, these YA dystopian/sci-fi stories set aside racism for some wholly fabricated plot point of dystopian society, and it was refreshing to see that Nyxia doesn't latch onto that post-racial cop-out as tightly as other stories. If anything, I hope Reintgen continues to focus on it even more in future books in this series.

The characters were also well fleshed-out. No one felt like a throwaway, although I would've loved to have learned more about a couple that appeared in the last third of the book. Hopefully, more info will be revealed about them in the next novel. These characters have reasons for acting the way they do, for lashing out instead of making friends (or the opposite, in the case of some of the book's more memorable characters like Kaya and Bilal). No one is evil without cause (although there are certainly some who are less likable than others).

Sci-fi sometimes runs the risk of hyperfocusing on technology to the detriment of character development and a competent storyline, but Reintgen does a good job of succinctly describing technological advancements without dragging readers away from the plot to do so. The challenges each character faces during their training were adequately unique. Readers of The Hunger Games, Red Rising, and other novels in this category will probably feel a sense of familiarity with them, but they're not knock-offs of past offerings.

If anything was lacking, it's a nearly intangible sense that some scenes were a little too rushed, that I didn't form strong enough attachments to some key characters to care about their fates. The training that the characters undergo isn't meant to kill characters, unlike the other two series I keep returning to, so Emmett's primary focus is simply making the top 8, which didn't feel particularly engaging. The stakes of not becoming rich might have been compelling to Emmett. To me as a reader, not quite so much. There was a threat that arose from another set of characters, but Emmett didn't seem especially concerned about it throughout most of the story so neither, in turn, did I.

That aside, this was a solid offering, with a fun, interesting plot. The story wraps up somewhat predictably with a cliffhanger (i.e., book one is a complete story unto itself but you'll have to wait for book 2 before knowing what happens on Eden and beyond), but I'm hooked enough that I'd be willing to read another helping to see where Reintgen goes with this.

If you're a fan of sci-fi or dystopian YA but want more diversity in representation of your main characters, Nyxia is a good read that should feel satisfying.

I was really excited for this book, but the pacing was really off and I didn't really care about what happened to the characters. It was really, really exhausting reading about every single challenge that the teens on the Genesis 11 had to face. In detail. Repeatedly.

"Break the chains, the key cries. Take what is yours."

This was a great intense book that was super fun and also emotional. It was so many things that I wasn't expecting and it completely blew me out of the water! Now since it doesn't come out until a few months, I'm going to keep the review pretty short and because I have no motivation to review. IDK why, or what's wrong with me lately but reviewing is just so exhausting. I'd rather be reading or playing video games but NO, those stinking "RTCs" keep looking at me with murderous looks. So whatevs, I'm forcing myself to get this over with LOLOL Someone send me some motivation though, I need it, or maybe some ice cream? I could use some of that too. ANYWAYS, lets get on with this.

Review:
IN the far future ( i completely forgot which year this is in, but it's in the future LOL ) we have 10 teens. All of them were found by this company called Babel, a company that found a new planet with life on it. And on this planet ( i forgot what the planet is called too OML IM A MESS ) And they are being sent to this planet to mine a substance called "Nyxia." Nyxia, is a black substance, that can change form depending on the users thoughts. BUT the kids have to go get it because the life on the planet will kill adults. So the adults (Babel) have struck a deal with the Adamites (OH YEAS THE PLANET IS CALLED EDEN I JUST REMEMBER LOLOLOL) for the kids to come down to mine the Nyxia. But of course, something is fishy about it. And the catch is, is that only 8 kids get to go to the planet. And also, there's a gigantic cash prize, so the teens are all POOR> So the catch is, is that the kids have to endure a competition on this ship that will rank them on their ability to survive on the planet. It's like Hunger Games in space, but without the killing. They're pitched against each other to try and get to the planet so they can make their money for their families. And it's just crazy interesting.

What I Loved:
Well, I loved the whole book pretty much. This book was crazy intense and the author wrote AMAZING. Now it wasn't super flowery or descriptive, but it was perfect for the pacing. AND also, there were moments where Scott hits you with these quotes and it hit yours heart and it's like WHO ALLOWED YOU TO DO THAT?? You think you're just getting a Spaceish Hunger Games but no. It's so much more than that. These teens become connected with each other, they become intertwined and begin to love each other. WHICH IS JUST HURTFUL> It messes with your heart so much. Also, every single character it feels like, is from a different culture and race. So it's insanely diverse, not just because of their race but because they do come from different backgrounds as well. I'm telling you, it won't disappoint. OH OH I also loved that it was a male MC. It's like near impossible to find a male MC in YA novels. AND he was black, so thats a double win because PoC males are hardly ever represented in YA novels. SO as I said earlier. This was just AMAZING.

Quotes:

( Part One ) "My dreams are black holes. In the first one, the black hole devours me atom by atom and leaves me in the nothing of the universe. In the second one, I’m the black hole. Towering and dark, I destroy the other contestants one by one. Their screams have no sound. I’m not sure which dream is scarier, the destroyed or the destroyer."

( Part One ) “Why’d they choose us?”
“We’re all broken. They picked us because we’re broken.”

( Part One ) "All my chaos runs into the music. I play the song three times, louder and louder, until all I can hear is song, the pulse and the beat."

( Part One ) "But you want to know why I care about you? Why I like you? Because I made a promise to myself when I was little. If I ever saw someone who was blue, like me, I’d never leave them. So I’m not going to leave you just because you had a bad day. I’m not going to leave you just because you’re mad at everything. We’re not just roommates anymore, Emmett; we’re family. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

( Part One ) "There’s a heaven in him no darkness can take."

( Part Two ) "I cry good tears and bad tears, missing tears and hopeful tears. When I finally pull myself together, each footstep sounds like a promise."

//

** Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a copy for review! **

** Also, all quotes are taken from the ARC, so they are not final! **

//

This was just such a fun book and I'm super glad I got the chance to read it. OH and it also doesn't end on a cliff-hanger so it's safe for y'all who don't like cliff-hangers. BUT I NEED BOOK TWO NOW THO. I need to know what happens to my faves.

“But they don’t tell you the pain comes with you. They don’t tell you that hurt travels at light-speed too.”

This is easily one of the best books I've read all year. I can't wait for everyone to be able to read this in September when it releases. This book is the YA Sci-Fi book I've been waiting for my entire life.

Growing up, you guys might have learned about the story of Tower of Babel as a lesson about why we speak so many different languages. Basically, after the Great Flood happened, a bunch of people came together and agreed to build a tower that would touch Heaven itself. God, realizing what they are attempting, scatters them all around the world and makes them all speak different languages, hence our world today.

Well, Scott Reintgen spins that story backwards, and created a company, Babel, that brings ten teens from all around the world, speaking different languages, from different cultures, and gives them headsets that translate everything for them. Then, they are sent on a mission to land on a new planet, Eden, where the life forms, Adamites, won't harm children. Babel then wants the children to mine Nyxia, which is the new super resource and is a substance that can create anything.

This book also feels a bit like a mixed hybrid of The Hunger Games, Ender's Game, The 100, Divergent, but, in my opinion, it does it way better and more realistically and much more emphatically.

Nyxia stars a young black boy from Detroit, Emmett, who is one of ten teens that are a part of a space mission. All of these children come from broken places, and all are desperate to enter this program, because the company, Babel, is offering them an immense amount of money. But Emmett isn't in it for the money; Emmett is doing it to save his mother.

Systemic poverty in America is real and the system keeps people in that demographic over and over and throughout generations. This book doesn't shy away from it or any other hard topics. Emmett's family works hard, they work so very hard, but they still can't afford his mother's hospital bills. She is in dire need of a transplant, and the only way to get her to the top of the donor list is for Emmett to be a part of Babel's mission.

“It’s hard to tell the difference between rich and wrong.”

Our story mostly takes place on the ship, Genesis 11, where the teens are heading to Eden and Babel is training them to not only mine the substance, but to become powerful and strong tools themselves. The teens all get scores and points on how they complete their daily missions. Seriously, think Hogwartz, where the kids can constantly see how they are doing. Once on the ship, the group is informed that only so many will be allowed to actually step foot on Eden and be able to gain all the money they were promised. Obviously, this is where the point system comes into play, and we quickly learn how much this mission means to these ten teens.

➽ Emmett - American (Detroit) - The main protagonist.
➽ Kaya - Japanese - Emmett's roommate and a master problem solver.
➽ Longwei - Asian - The best on their ship.
➽ Jaime - Swedish - The only white boy.
➽ Azima - Kenyan - Looks for strength, while being strong.
➽ Katsu - Japanese - The stereotypical chubby comic relief (but I do love him).
➽ Jazzy - American (Tennessee) - Beauty and pageant queen with a sick mother.
➽ Isadora - Brazilian - Has a secret tattoo, and carries a lot of anger and hurt.
➽ Roathy - A boy with a lot of mystery and sadness surrounding him.
➽ Bilal - Palestinian - The sweetest and kindest boy in the world.

You'll feel an immense amount of empathy for all these characters, but, besides Emmett, Bilal and Kaya were easily my favorites, and both are complete little cinnamon rolls! The kindness that Bilal would constantly show everyone, even the people who wronged him, made me cry or tear up constantly. I wish everyone in the world was more like Bilal. And Kaya, and the unconditional love and friendship she showed to Emmett was something I always look for in a YA book. All of the friendships in this book are honestly goals, and Bilal and Kaya showed so much beauty towards Emmett that I couldn't help but fall in love.

I spoke about how this book touches on our current health care crisis and how we let people die just because they can't afford treatment to live, but Scott Reintgen doesn't stop there with there with the important discussions. We get to see in this book how we stereotype and profile kids and adults of every race so very often and without even thinking.

I loved seeing Emmett handle this anger, and using the system his Grandma helped him with. I hate how we live in a world where black men have to always be portrayed as angry. They can never be happy, or emotional, or anything close to looking sensitive. I loved seeing Emmett constantly battling his anger, and then also seeing him break down and just cry innocent tears from his family's love and them believing in him.

And the family dynamic in this book is so strong and wonderful. We don't get to see a lot of Emmett's family, but each time we did I had tears in my eyes. Emmett's dad is perfect, and seeing his unconditional and unwavering love for his son and wife was something pure and beyond words. I wish more YA books showed stronger familial bonds like Nyxia.

Emmett's journey to making his own family on the ship was also something of perfection. So many important messages are in this book about feeling broken in this broken world, with such heavy emphasis on letting kids know that they are not alone, no matter how alone they feel. Seriously, this book is not just a fast paced and addicting read, it's powerful and full of messages that warm my heart to know teens and young adults are reading about.

I also loved the use of music in this book, and how Emmett would constantly use it to calm him and to cope with heavy situations around him. I'm a strong believer in the healing powers of music, and I love seeing it used as a positive outlet.

“The power of music and how it can heal your very soul”

I predict that this is going to explode. Between the amazingly addicting story, to the wonderfully diverse and realistic cast, to the important topics and discussions, to the beautiful writing, this story has it all, and I truly believe it is a recipe for success. I can't wait to get my hands on book two and to see what Scott Reintgen does next!

I'm always looking for more science fiction novels set in space and the synopsis for Nyxia sounded so intriguing. From the first chapter I was completely pulled into the story and had trouble putting it down. The competition between our main character, Emmett, and all the other recruits vying for a spot to go to Eden was full of tension and kept the plot moving at a fast pace. All the characters are diverse, complex, and interesting. I loved the way Scott Reintgen portrayed all the different ways relationships could evolve from that kind of environment: friends, enemies, allies, rivals, and everything in between. 

My only complaint would be that I had been expecting them to arrive to the new planet, Eden, but now I will be looking forward to reading the next book in the series to continue the adventure. Nyxia is a action-packed, science fiction book that will have you turning page after page!

First Impressions: Author, Cover, and Title
I saw this book reviewed on Tumblr and the cover intrigued me. As a debut author, Scott Reintgen has a lot to live up to, when the opening letter refers to Illuminae and other popular YA space fiction. I like the cover and the font used.

Characters
Kaya is my favorite character and Morning is very interesting as well. Both would have been much more interesting people to follow to Eden, rather than Emmett. I like that there are people from several different countries around the world but the Nyxia masks make this a non-issue. Part of any culture is the language and the Nyxia masks take away their language, one of the important aspects of a culture is completely ignored. And where is their culture otherwise? They were allowed very few personal items, and Emmett doesn’t interact with his fellow competitors very much. Why does it matter where they’re from since it’s not important to the story? Does where they’re from even impact their reactions? I can’t tell.

Their personalities are different and perhaps this is where their cultural differences come in. Their reasoning and thinking makes their competitions interesting but still the focus is on Emmett and Kaya. We see little of how the other competitors think, even during the one on one duels. A third person perspective would have been a better choice at times, as it would have resulted in a more well-rounded story.

Style


Overall Impressions: Do I recommend?
The opening comparisons to Illuminae set the bar too high for this book. It doesn’t come close to how I feel about those books. It didn’t invoke the same level of emotion as those novels did. I almost put the book down, after reading the first two chapters. The characters are set up as being very childish. Emmett sees things, notes them, then mentions them again, describing what they mean, instead of letting the reader think for themselves. Emmett’s inner voice is just annoying and illogical. He says that everyone has secrets, especially Babel, but then seems upset that Babel is keeping something from them. He knows that this competition takes months and months, but is upset at some minor losses in the first two days. He isn’t even in the complete bottom of the group but wasn’t the absolute best. He’s overly emotional early on, and not in the way that a fifteen year old might be in such a situation.

The premise is quite trite: a mysterious element in a far away galaxy that is super valuable and useful to Earth and to this billionaire company that is bigger than Nasa. It’s like Avatar all over again with their Unobtanium. The style also reminds me of “Ender’s Game,” both in the way it’s written and the internal struggle Emmett experiences as he fights his fellow competitors. He struggles with violence and wondering if he’s a good person. He takes things too far with his competitors and wonders if it was the right thing to do, if he’s being pushed into being something he isn’t or of he was always that way.

The triumphs don’t feel right—they don’t impart emotion, they don’t mean anything to me. The missing information makes me ask questions about how this whole process works and some info is added later, which increases my low opinion as I read on.

Somewhere at about a quarter of the way into the novel, something changes. The author seems to fall into his voice and Emmett follows suit. It’s a subtle change. I was finally able to enjoy the story and the characters, particularly Kaya. I do wonder at this world the author has built. Though it’s set in the future, it seems impossible that a kid from Detroit hasn’t heart of Alice in Wonderland. The classic story has hold in so many different medias, from the novella itself, to video games, to movies, to TV shows. Was such a classic story so left behind in this future that a teenager hasn’t heard of it? Seriously? Plus, Emmett didn’t know what flippers were? What kind of world is this? I can’t suspend disbelief enough to understand this lack of information. I just wish there was more world building, more information about the state of Earth, politically, scientifically, as regards the climate. I know the story isn’t primarily set on the planet but this information should be imparted at some point because it’s vital in terms of why Babel exists and what they’re doing as a company. Are they trying to find a new planet? Has Earth been saved? I have more questions than answers on this point, even by the end of the book. But the story isn’t heading in a direction that seems likely to answer these questions, especially since they’re heading to a whole new planet to harvest nyxia.

And jumping in on this: Eden is an incredibly unoriginal name for a planet. Paradise? Being thrown out of the “garden”? I mean, honestly.

The romance was quickly set up at the tail end of the story, which made it feel rushed. It is, perhaps, setting it up for the second novel, which is great. But hints would have been enough! Instead of this magnetism that seems to exist between Emmett and Morning.

Regardless of all these problems, I have hope for the second novel. I would like to see where this story is going and I think the writing will be better, so long as it continues as it was at the end of “Nyxia.” As such, I vote the last part of the book at about 4 stars, but the first half is about 2 stars. So it’s an average of 3 stars, with hope for the second novel, which I will hopefully read. But read this book with a grain of salt and know that it is not what it promises to be in the beginning letter.

"Unlearn your idea of impossible."

Five words that summarize the incredible ride this book is about to take you on. To call this debut stunning doesn't feel impactful enough. This book is nuclear in it's impact!

Emmett finds himself about to board a spaceship. A winning ticket to a life he and his family have only dreamed of. A lottery he never entered, that he never knew existed. He and nine other kids are offered money they can't fathom, benefits they've only dreamed of, a life that they never thought could be theirs.

Their mission is to go to a new planet. A habitable planet.  Eden. Where a new substance has been discovered, and it's unlike anything found before. Nyxia.

"It has secretly become the most valuable resource in the world."

Babel knows about it. Has been studying it. And wants more of it.

Except. There's always an except. Except, there is a species already living on that planet. A species stronger than we are. The Adamites. They tore through a platoon of heavily armed and trained military personnel. Humans are not welcome. But even the Adamites have an except. They revere children.

Babel, a corporation powerful enough to swallow Google whole. A corporation to end all corporations is determined to mine Nyxia and profit from it. Even if they have to turn children into miners. No matter the risk, and regardless of the consequences. So they offer these ten poverty stricken young adults the opportunity of a lifetime.

Of course, there's a catch.

Too late, they all learn that not all of them will be chosen. That two of them will be given consolation prizes and sent home. Wealthy, but not the riches they've already begun dreaming about.

The scoreboard becomes Emmett's constant companion. Following him day and night, reminding him of what he has to lose. The scoreboard turns his companions into competitors. People he cannot trust, people he cannot rely on.

"Competition. Supply and demand. Cage-style."

I love the discussion of corporate power in this book. The blatant manipulation of these kids by a powerful corporation is very compelling. The idea that profit supersedes everything. These kids are employees on one hand, and commodities on the other. The end goal for every person on that spacecraft is to prepare them for mining Nyxia, and nothing will get in the way of that goal.

Emmett knows that Babel is lying to them. Giving them half-truths and just enough information to motivate them, but never enough to dissuade them. Each step in the competition unfolds, drawing them deeper and deeper in the web, until they can't see the way back. Emmett sees this, but his families needs outweigh what his instincts scream at him. He can't afford to see the truth.

Emmett and all the other kids are pawns in Babel's chessboard. They know it, yet their desperate need to escape the hell of poverty is so great, they are willing to do anything to make the top spots. No matter the obstacles. No matter the consequences.

There is a danger when people's basic needs reach such desperate levels that they become willing to do anything in order to meet them. Desperation is always present on the edges of this competition. Two kids will go home with a small sum of money. They will go home knowing they held the keys to the kingdom of their dreams and let them slip through their fingers. Desperation is used against them by Babel, keeping them on edge and focused.

All the kids are chosen from poor families. It isn't just the money that is is the carrot dangling in their faces. The promise of healthcare and access to doctors and treatments is just as alluring as hard cash. Emmett's own mother fights cancer. Access to treatment, to doctors, to medicine is immediate. Cash is a fleeting dream. Something desired but now known. Whereas treatments, medicine, doctors. Those are life. Those are now. Those are what they fight for.

The theme that stood out the most for me in this book is power. Money is power. Babel is the money. They are the boss. They hold all the cards. The scoreboard holds power over all of the kids. Who stands the most to gain, who stands the most to lose. Babel uses the prize money as their way to retain control and power over each individual on the ship. There is too much to lose and nothing to gain by not following their rules.

Babel wants to tear them down. "Babel's plan is to make us numb. Execute the task without emotion. Complete the mission." They want to build them up into the perfect workers. Compliant and ruthless, with the sole focus on completing the job no matter what.

And then there's the struggle for power within the self. Emmett battles with becoming who he wants to be, versus who Babel wants him to be. One side wanting to embrace the dark side that will lead him to victory. The other side demanding that he not lose himself to that darkness.

This struggle is one I think so many of us can relate to. Sometimes we are put in situations in life where we see how easy it would be to comply. To just do what our boss wants, or our spouse, or our friend. But, sometimes, that isn't always the right thing. Being aware of that, and facing that dilemma is never easy. I was glad to see the struggle happen in Emmett. It was honest and real, and I think readers will relate to that.

Finally we have the timeless divide between the rich and the poor. Money always equals power, and in this society that fact also remains true.

"It's hard to tell the difference between rich and wrong." This quote is so stunningly simple and staggeringly true. Rich is always seen as right, while poor is always seen as wrong.

All of these struggles and fights for power all play out in simulated training. Each player fighting for a position within Babel. This book is a survival of the fittest in a high-stake corporate game. In space.

Absolutely amazing.

File this book under M for Must Read. Under D for Do Not Miss. Under E for Epic. Under H for Heart pounding.

I cannot wait to see what happens next. This series is already moving it's way into my top five favorite series. It's going to kill me waiting for the next installment.

Nyxia comes out September 12, 2017. If you love science fiction and suspense, order this book! It is stunning.

Pre-Order Link

Thank you Random House Kids, Crown Book for Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC!!!

Lots of mystery in this science fiction book. What are the aliens like? What is the real motive behind the company? Why set up the competition and what are the ulterior motives of the company? Although they arrive at Eden at the end of the book, questions still remain. I was left feeling the story was not complete.

Science Fiction Heaven! Been a long time since I've read a book that encaptures me in such a way that Science Fiction does and I'm glad this was the book I chose to read first!

Nyxia features a diverse group of young adults in a competition sponsored by the Babel Corporation to travel to the planet Eden. They are tasked with mining the newly discovered resource, Nyxia. On their journey through space, they must learn the properties of Nyxia while simultaneously competing against one another for a limited amount of spots on Eden. Fans of sic-fi will definitely enjoy this novel and its ups and downs for the crew as they hurtle through space toward their destination. While some of the book was repetitive on account of the challenges for the competition not changing much, there are many surprises and emotional moments - as well as buried secrets by the Babel Corporation - that keep you wanting to read more. The author also does a great job describing Nyxia and its properties - and it will make any reader wishing they had some too. Nyxia channels what it’s like to be a minority growing up in poverty, but that second chances exist, though sometimes at a price. Love, loss, friendship, fear…the competitors must get through all of these and more in order to gain a coveted spot on Eden.

Wow! This book was pretty freaking awesome!

Since it doesn't come out until Sept. 2017, I'm going to keep it short and no spoilers.

Emmett is one of 10 teens picked to go to the planet Eden. They are going to meet a new species there and try to set up a good life on Eden. They have some work to do there. They have to mine a substance called, Nyxia. It's pretty cool stuff too.

The kids are put through some rigorous training like fighting, terrain issues, work they have to do there and a few other things. They have to be prepared for life on Eden.

The kids are scored daily on the trials they perform and that will tell who all gets in.

I loved some of the characters in the book and I can't really tell you which ones because some might die right? Just want to keep you on your toes!

The company they are working for, Babel Communications, are keeping secrets. Isn't that the way it always goes though? But the kids are in a race to see who can get to Eden at all costs. They will win a lot of money and their families will be set for life. I wonder if that's really true.

Some of the kids form some bonds even though they are competing against each other. Sometimes you need teamwork to get you to the top.

So, who ends up going and who goes home? Find out when you read the book.

I was so excited for this book and loved it. I'm looking forward to the next one already. I wonder what's going to happen?

*Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a digital copy of this book.*

I have to say first and foremost that Nyxia is one of my favorite books that I have had the luxury of reading through NetGalley. I have always been a sucker for the concept of sending groups off to foreign planets, and I love that the group in particular is a bunch of kids from all sides of the world. The characters each brought in his or her own level of intrigue and layers that I would love to see developed more in the books to come. The plot itself has been seen hundreds of times, pitting kids against each other, survival of the fittest, blah blah, but Reintgen kept the story unique to itself. I never felt as though I was reading something I had before, from the characters to the plot, Reintgen always kept everything fresh and intriguing from page one to the final page. This is a great start to a coming of age story, teaching lessons of morality and family, all packed between the suspense and action of this wonderful scifi novel that I would absolutely recommend.

Young Emmett certainly isn’t one of the winner in the lottery of life. His mother is very ill, his father works himself tired to provide for his family and pay the medical bills. So when Emmet it approached by Babel, a powerful corporation, and is offered money beyond his wildest dreams, and the chance to change his family’s long dark history, he jumps at the opportunity, even through there are signs that Babel is hiding important information. Stuck on a spaceship with other boys and girls just like him, they are forced to fight for points. In the end, only eight of them will go to the planet Eden and change their fates, the other two are to be send back home as losers. But as the days pass, he can’t help to question Babel’s intentions and hidden agenda. Something isn’t quite like it should.

Nyxia is a fast paced, action-filled novel that captures your attention from the first line. It draws you in and it’s hard to let go. The cast is by far the most ethnically diverse I’ve seen in YA, and I love how it features people from all around the world. I also think the author has done a great job at incorporating the different cultures in a way that feel real. Each character has a depth to them that is rare in a book with so many different characters.

In the beginning, it was a bit hard to keep up with all the characters and I found myself struggling a bit with keeping the names apart. But after a while each and every character pulled away from the “blur of names” and became actual people. I started to get to know them together with Emmett. There were a few times I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to some of the characters through since there could be entire chapters without any mention of someone. In particular, I remember one chapter where there wasn’t a single mention of Isadora.

There is a lot of twists and turns to this story and you never quite know what to expect, and this is a good thing. It keeps the suspense high and the pages turning. The only part I didn’t enjoy in this book was that odd Interlude that was placed in the middle. I couldn’t really see a difference in the voice of that part and the voice of the rest, and it was a struggle to remember that we were in Defoes head at that point. I still can’t really see the point to that scene.

The ending was perhaps not as satisfactory as I would have liked. It felt like there were so much I still wanted to know, so many things left unresolved. I realize it’s building up for a sequel, but I still feel left hanging somewhat. And the actual ending itself was very expected in its “unexpectedness” (if anyone understands what I mean by that)

Overall, this book was a great read, and a superb debut for Scott Reintgen. The writing was stellar, the plot unique, the characters well developed etc. There isn’t much that would take away from a five star review here, but still, there is something about it that I can’t fully put my finger on. It was a good book, it was even great, but I don’t feel overly excited about it, I’m not dying to read the sequel etc. So therefore, I’ll bring it down to four stars.

The beginning of the book made me think it was going to be like Divergent in space. It had the same leaderboard type of competition where not everyone was going to make the cut. What stood out though was the diverse characters. The characters came from around the world with different races and ethnicity. By the end you feel like you really know each one of them, they aren't just competitors for the main character Emmett. There were also some great twists throughout the book that kept it from becoming boring with the competition style story. The only thing that I had a problem with was the nyxia itself. It's abilities are very confusing without much explanation beyond the initial lessons with it. We learn it can change shape based on your imagination, then suddenly later on in the book it can sometimes be used to make the weapons go through your skin while other times it can injure you. It also becomes a gas at some point. These are never explained and just keep adding to the seemingly infinite things that it can do. I hope that it will be explained further in the next book which the ending will definitely leave you wanting to read.

This is by far the most ethnically inclusive mainstream YA sci-fi book I've ever read.It tells the story of an African American young man named Emmett who is recruited by a mysterious corporation and promised a LOT of money for completing a top secret mission on a distant planet. The fine print: while en route, he'll have to compete against nine other recruits--all from different countries--in a series of physically and mentally excruciating tasks to secure one of eight spots on the final mission team.
I love how diversity wasn't the main focus of the story which I prefer it to be sewn seamlessly into a story. The characters are wonderful, I love how the main conflict all hinges on what the characters all have in common.
The depth to this book and it's characters was my favorite part of this story and I cannot wait to see it continue on.