Imagine an alien invasion, but inverted. Andrew J. Chamberlain’s The Centauri Survivors opens with the rude awaking of young Grace McAllen from cryo-sleep. Her spaceship has reached its destination of the newly discovered planet Zera, but her fellow colonists aren’t waking up like they should. She and a ragtag band of teen survivors must confront life on their own in an unearthly wilderness. But the alien elements quickly become the least of their worries. Humans have now introduced greed, betrayal, and a nightmarish plot for world domination into this ecosystem. As the youngsters flee across a hostile landscape, they reckon with past grief and discover intelligent life in unexpected places. But can they stay one step ahead of a very human evil? Reminiscent of Out of the Silent Planet, this fun and leisurely-paced story brightens a constellation of classic sci-fi tropes.

Best for: Fans of science fiction and first-contact stories.

Discern: Violence and mild profanity, insinuation of possible homosexuality and future rape, and detailed descriptions of bodily functions, such as urination.