Titan of the Stars (Titan of the Stars #1)

Teens band together while on a catastrophic interplanetary cruise in this futuristic, adrenaline-fueled series launch from Johnston (Pretty Furious). Titan is a new kind of spaceship embarking on a weeklong maiden voyage to Mars. Though the passenger decks are posh and display alien specimens—which were uncovered from Earth’s permafrost and kept secret until now—crew quarters are cramped, and the hull carries indentured workers destined for Martian mines. Desperate to escape his imperious adoptive parents and narcissistic boyfriend, first class traveler Dominic Reubens chats up hardscrabble Titan engineer Celeste Sparrow. Like Dominic, Celeste was orphaned following the Ottawa Valley rift system collapse—or the Rupture—which destroyed “almost everything from Montreal to Sudbury” when they were toddlers. While Celeste initially dismisses Dominic as a poster child of Rupture recovery efforts, she soon realizes he’s earnestly curious about his origins. Just as attraction sparks, disaster strikes, forcing them to prioritize survival over romance. Extraterrestrial elements feel shoehorned into the plot, undermining impact. Nevertheless, Johnston keeps the pages turning with high-stakes action, escalating terror, and a visceral first-person-present narrative that alternates between Dominic and Celeste, and prominently features themes of classism and self-determination. The protagonists cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: David Purse, Inked Entertainment. (May)