Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney starts her career with less than stellar results. When she loses hard on the night court defense circuit, a strange scientist makes her an out-of-this-world offer: broker a deal between his species and the United Nations to cure Earth diseases in exchange for the planet’s gold. Deep schemes lead to deeper questions of legal ethics and even whether pastoral androids can dream of eternal virtue. John Grisham meets Galaxy Quest in Daniel Schwabauer’s whimsy-gilded sci-fi tale, featuring robot judges, secretive aliens, and a truly flawed human heroine.

Best for: Older teen and adult fans of science fiction with retro flair.

Discern: Light alcohol use and lighter allusions to a past romantic fling gone awry; open uncertainty of God’s place in a world of shrewd aliens and questioning robots.