United By Pop received a free copy of Moondust in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are our own.
Title: Moondust
Author: Gemma Fowler
Purchase: Available in the UK and the US
Overall rating: 4/5
Great for: Sci-fi and space lovers
Themes: Space, self-belief and appreciation
Review: I’ve always been one of those people who has never understood the fascination with space. Yeah, I guess planets are kinda cool and stars are pretty when you look up on a clear night, but as for the rest… it’s not my bag. When I hear people talk about wanting to travel to space, it baffles me. Travelling for years to then be placed into a void of nothing, to not even have control over yourself. Scary.
For that reason, and that reason alone, I wouldn’t generally pick up ‘Moondust’ if I saw it on a shelf. This is one of my many flaws because Gemma Fowler has written a gripping young adult sci-fi escapade. Initially, I thought I’d read the first few chapters and see how far I got, well, I finished the whole thing in 2 days.
Now let’s get into the story itself. Set against a backdrop of post-apocalyptic earth, people are sent to live and work on the moon to mine a new mineral used to power and save the world called, ‘Lumite’. Fowler paints a beautiful picture of a self-sustaining colony, it’s here that we meet Aggie, the stories heroine and violet-eyed protagonist.
Aggie doesn’t like to be the centre of attention, for this reason, she’s a low-level staff member. When she’s thrust back into the limelight by Lunar Inc. senior personnel, the truth behind Lumite, the base and her own Godfather is unearthed.
Along the way we meet some strong and likeable secondary characters including Aggie’s best friend, Seb and her love interest, Danny. Another charming and slightly different character was the base’s artificial intelligence system, Celeste. Celeste’s character grew and blossomed into one that really made the story special for me, her wit and cheer in the face of danger was one of the funnier elements in the story.
‘Moondust’ is a gripping YA sci-fi novel, if you’re a fan of Marissa Meyer’s ‘The Lunar Chronicles’ this will be right up your street. As for me, I’m going to stop judging books on their topics and pick up more.