PLOTTING THE STARS 3: ASHGARDEN, by Michelle A. Barry, Pixel+Ink, Oct. 15, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 10 and up)
Exiled to an uninhabitable planet, a girl discovers her government has been lying for centuries in Ashgarden, the final book in Michelle A. Barry’s Plotting the Stars series.
Out of the ashes, change will grow.
Thrown on a ship on a one-way voyage to uninhabitable Earth, Myra, Hannah, and Bernard believe they’ll never see their home or the people they care about again. After crash landing, they’re attacked, sedated, and dragged away . . . by people? There are still people on Earth? Unbeknownst to just about everyone in the galaxy, the Old World is inhabited by Botans and many generations of their offspring. And that means maybe Canter’s mother and Hannah’s sister might be there, too.
Back on Venus, Canter and Lila have an insider spying on MFI’s operations and are biding their time, waiting for the right moment to expose Melfin’s treachery before he risks more than just the Settlement food supply.
But there’s more at stake than revealing the continued existence of the Botans and freeing the Reps. Other long-buried Old World secrets. Secrets that were buried for a very good reason. . . .
Will Myra and her friends kindle and cultivate a new future from the ruins of the old, or have they ignited an inferno that will destroy all they hold dear? —Synopsis provided by Pixel+ink
Sometimes a book or series just speaks to you. For me, Plotting the Stars is one such series.
It starts with Moongarden, where a girl discovers a secret garden. Next comes Seagarden, where said girl must hide her new-found magic. Lastly comes Ashgarden, where said girl works to unravel the lies the government has been propagating for hundreds of years.
Moongarden is my favorite of the three novels — watching the secret garden spring to life is magical. But Ashgarden is a close second.
When Myra and her friends land on Earth, they can’t believe their eyes. The planet is teaming with life. It’s like Mother Nature on steroids. And Myra’s interactions with the plants is a joy to behold.
Ashgarden is told from the alternating points of view of Myra and Canter, allowing readers to see the action from two different places and viewpoints.
Michelle A. Barry’s writing is confident and inviting. Her pacing is strong and her use of STEAM themes will appeal to a wide cross-section of readers. It’s a page turner of a book. I highly recommend the entire series.
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