Summary: An adopted boy discovers not only is some of his family still alive, but he isn’t even human.
I read this several years ago and then again as a read-aloud with my son. My son is a good reader, but he also tends to only read graphic novels. I am not opposed to graphic novels, but I do want to get him into a wider range of books. He tends to fully invest in a book and finish it quickly. And frequently because he can read a graphic novel so quickly, he will reread it two or three times before we return it to the library. I am also heavily invested in reading on my kindle, and while he has occasionally read on my kindle, he prefers paper. But more than anything, I just love reading out loud. I tend to read when he is sketching or folding clothes or doing some other task that a keeps him present but not intellectually engaged.
Orion is a twelve year old boy at the start of the book. He was adopted by an older Korean woman whom he calls Halmoni (Korean for grandmother). Orion is smart and great at fixing things. He and his best friend compete in a robotics competition and he fixes people’s bicycles. But he also constantly needs his inhaler and is clumsy. Walking home one night in suburban Atlanta, someone tries to kill him, and someone else shows up to protect him. And that starts a whole series of events leading Orion to be brought back to his home planet to live an assumed identity. He discovers that there is an empire with three small planets who have powers that people on Earth would consider magic, but are connected to stardust in the nebula near the planets.
As Orion seeks to fit in with his new friends and the family that is hiding him while trying to figure out who is trying to kill him, he is also trying to figure out is real identity. Orion and the Starborn plays with the “chosen one” and “adopted but really someone important” tropes that are common in middle grade fiction. These are common because they are developmentally exactly what middle grade students need as they are trying to discern their identities and separate themselves from their parents and family of origin. One of the most helpful features of sci-fi or fantasy (and Orion and the Starborn blends their elements) is that they allow the reader to see how culture and the rest of existence could be different in ways that are similar to cross cultural travel.
There is just the right amount of tension and suspense to keep a middle grade reader engaged, but also not get too scary or graphic. My son does not like violence or scary things in his books, but he does like puzzles and figuring out what is going on. The mystery of who Orion really is and the tension of knowing that someone is trying to kill him and that there is many things he does not understand because he did not grow up in this new world and culture kept my son engaged.
As always, as an adult, I love that KB Hoyle writes with depth. I have read all of her books, most more than once and while these are books that kids can understand, they invite multiple readings with lots of reference, subtle allusions, and depth that most kids (and adults) will not get on a first reading.
We are now about 1/3 of the way into the second book and we will be impatiently waiting for the rest of the series to be published.
Orion and the Starborn by K.B. Hoyle Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition