Starlight Rebel

Longlisted for the James Reckitt Hull Children's Book Award 2026

In the future, the most underestimated person on the planet may be the only one who can save it.

The year is 3897, and life on Earth is a neon dream, all flashing lights and buzzy noise - and no one remembers that behind the illuminated shell above them there's a night sky filled with stars.

As she turns 11, neurodivergent, freckled Astrifer Nova is nothing like her sporty, high-achieving twin brother, Blaze. And on the day of her Work Path Allocation ceremony which determines the course of her life, she is crushed when she gets assigned to something as boring as the sock factory.

But all is not as it seems, and as she uncovers layers of hidden truths all around her, Astrifer discovers that the world is bigger than she ever imagined - and that it's up to her and a motley crew of new friends (including one from very far away) to challenge the status quo. Turns out, their differences may be exactly what the planet needs...