

"The boy is reminiscent of Amy Bellafonte from Justin Cronin's The Passage, yet the journey itself evokes Bryce Courtenay's The Power of One, creating crossover appeal for readers who enjoy a bit of emotional attachment with their time travel. The best of what science fiction can be: a thought-provoking, heart-rending story about the choices that define our lives." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This powerful, suspenseful story asks us to consider what we'd sacrifice for progress-or for the ones we love. "A lyrical and moving narrative of space travel, found families, and lost loves set against an evocative space-opera background." - Booklist (starred review) "This extraordinary science fiction epic, which delves deep into the perils of failing to learn from one's mistakes, is perfect for fans of big ideas and intimate reflections." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) The past hungers for him, and when it catches up, it threatens to tear this makeshift family apart. For her, an anchor to the world outside of herself.īut Nia is not the only one who wants the boy.

For him, a home, a place of love and safety.

And over years of starlit travel, these two outsiders discover in each other the things they lack. Captured by his songs and their strange, immediate connection, Nia decides to take the boy in. The scarred child does not speak, his only form of communication the beautiful and haunting music he plays on an old wooden flute. Alone and adrift, she lives only for the next paycheck, until the day she meets a mysterious boy, fallen from the sky. Her friends and lovers have aged past her all she has left is work. Decades of travel through the stars are condensed into mere months for her, though the years continue to march steadily onward for everyone she has ever known. Nia Imani is a woman out of place and outside of time. A mysterious child lands in the care of a solitary woman, changing both of their lives forever in this captivating debut of connection across space and time.
