Brightly Burning

April 15, 2018
In this feminist retelling of Jane Eyre, 17-year-old Stella Ainsley must choose between what is romantic and what is right--all while orbiting uninhabitable planets.When Stella finds out she's gotten her dream assignment as a governess aboard the spaceship Rochester, she is thrilled to escape her life as an engineer on the decrepit Stalwart. Soon after arriving onboard, Stella finds that the Rochester is a ship full of secrets, the most compelling of which is 19-year-old Capt. Hugo Fairfax, the handsome, brooding heir to a considerable fortune. Stella finds herself falling in love with the captain even as she discovers the ship's dark past--a past that, eventually, forces her to choose between her conscience and her heart. Debut author Donne crafts a fascinating world in which humans wait out an ice age in a fleet of spaceships orbiting the Earth, reproducing the same inequities that existed on the ground. Donne populates her narrative with a reasonably diverse cast of characters (most of whom are white or Asian) who are nuanced and sympathetic in their individual struggles against the class oppression that is the story's central theme. Stella, in particular, is a skillfully rendered character whose independence, confidence, and insistence on consent are a welcome departure from the original Jane Eyre.A gripping examination of class, romance, and survival set in a dystopian future that feels chillingly relevant to our present times. (Romance. 14-18)

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June 4, 2018
Jane Eyre gets a futuristic reimagining in this appealing YA drama. Seventeen-year-old orphan Stella Ainsley, an engineer aboard one of the many colony ships orbiting an Earth during a new ice age, accepts a role as a teacher aboard a private ship owned by the brooding Hugo Fairfax. After a lifetime of austerity and deprivation, life aboard the luxurious Rochester is like a dream, save for odd accidents, mysterious laughter at night, and the ship’s reputation for being haunted. But as Stella bonds with Hugo, they find an unexpected emotional connection, which blossoms into love despite complications. Stella also stumbles across a conspiracy that threatens the disadvantaged in an increasingly resource-starved fleet, and she risks everything to save those she loves. Newcomer Donne hits all the predictable plot points of her romantic storyline, but she leaves other aspects, such as the heroine’s childhood and the story’s social criticism, undeveloped. Still, this entertaining, loose adaptation of Brontë’s classic novel features solid sci-fi worldbuilding, creative details, and a diverse cast. Ages 12–up. Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Laura Dail Literary.

January 1, 2019
Another ice age has sent humanity to live on spaceships. Stella escapes an impoverished life on a decaying space vessel and takes a governess job on the Rochester. Although the captain of the new ship is charming and she welcomes its luxuries, Stella senses secrets and dangers on board. Donne loosely (and mostly successfully) maps the plot and themes of Jane Eyre onto post-apocalyptic space fiction in her debut novel.

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