Flight of the Outcast: The Academy, Year 1 (The Academy: Year 1)

Review by Kidsreads.com for Flight of the Outcast: The Academy, Year 1 (The Academy: Year 1)
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Asteria Locke has lived her entire 13 years on the remote planet of Theron. She doesn’t mind the loneliness of the farm, living with just her father and cousin Andre (her mother died when she was little). But what Asteria does mind is the complete boredom that swallows her with the farm work. She wishes her dad would get Cybots to do the boring work, but no such luck. Andre is the lucky one; he just received an invitation to study at the elite Royal Military Academy. Her father had done the same years before, joining forces with the Royal Empyrean Space Fleet after his schooling. That kind of life sounds exciting. But then Asteria’s boring life comes to an abrupt and painful end, exploding into an unbelievably thrilling and dangerous life on the edge.

Raiders attack the farm. Wanting to fight alongside her dad and cousin, Asteria is indignant when her dad locks her up in the shelter. When she finally emerges, the farm is destroyed, the Raiders are leaving, and her family is dead. Asteria is left all alone with her grief and anger. But from out of the pain evolves a plan. She will take her cousin’s place at the Royal Military Academy. She will study and work hard through the four years of school, gain an assignment in the Royal Empyrean Space Fleet, and then take revenge for her father’s death.

Asteria takes a few belongings with her as she leaves what’s left of the farm: a couple of pictures, her father’s will leaving the farm to her, and a strange belt she found in the shelter. The belt seems to have molded itself to her waist, and Asteria can’t figure out how to remove it. She has no idea of the struggles she will face at the Academy, including endless studying, a bully forever trying to get her into trouble, and social class tension between the supposedly special Aristos and the lowly Commoners, like herself. But she does meet a new friend named Dai, and finally faces challenges and goals in her life. Now, if only she can stay alive long enough to carry out her revenge.

Brad Strickland, the author of over 50 books for young readers, jumpstarts FLIGHT OF THE OUTCAST on the first page with strong writing, lots of excitement and a bit of foreshadowing (“Asteria Locke’s world ended quite suddenly one noon in the early summer of her thirteenth Standard year…Yet after that day — after that hour — she set out on the long path to becoming a legend.”). And this fast-paced novel doesn’t slow down, not even on the last page. The pages are jampacked with lots of cool sci-fi stuff, like the flight suits that are sort of sprayed on and automatically administer oxygen to the pilot’s body, books that are uploaded into the reader’s brain like a computer program, and the Cybots that are mostly robots with chunks of human brain taken from the mortally wounded or criminals. He also cleverly weaves in social class struggles between the honored royal Aristos and the lowly Commoners.

The Academy is a wonderful new sci-fi series filled with excitement, exploration and adventure, and has the potential for almost anything to happen. Fans will be eagerly awaiting Year 2.