Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Published by Delacorte Press on November 6th 2018
ISBN: 0399555773
Pages: 528
Goodreads

Spensa, the main character, lives on a planet that is being constantly attacked by aliens. The planet’s only defense against the aliens is to send up their own pilots to shoot them down. Spenca wants to become one of those pilots, just like her dad was. Unfortunately he died a coward and many people feel she will follow in his foot steps if she becomes a pilot. But Spenca has other ideas and she is going to prove all of them wrong, including the admiral that does anything she can to stop Spenca from achieving her dream. This is a FANTASTIC sci-fi story. Spenca is such a great character; strong in mind and body, definitely has a few flaws and carries a ton of baggage. Great battle scenes and strategies. The humorous parts in the book dealing with the AI (artificial intelligence) known as M-Bot, are just terrific.  Sci-fi is becoming very popular with teen readers and this one nails it in every way. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

Mary Lehmer, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME