Astronautical! by Brooklin Stormie (ARC Review)

Title: Astronautical!
Author: Brooklin Stormie
Type: Fiction
Genre: Middle-Grade, Science Fiction, CanLit
Publisher: Annick Press
Date published: May 27, 2025

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Annick Press in exchange for an honest review.

A century ago, planet Zephyr exploded under mysterious circumstances. Ever since, generations have been living out their lives on the remaining floating planet chunks.

Brothers Max and Lari and their father Captain Cherryhair deliver goods around the galaxy on their spaceship—until their father is suddenly kidnapped by the fox minions of Cynosure, the Planet Breaker.

Luckily, a couple of stars with a ferryboat business offer to help the brothers on their rescue mission. But when Max sustains a life-threatening black hole injury, little brother Lari finally has to step up and take care of his chronically in-charge big brother.

Will Lari be able to figure out the secret of the broken planet and face the powerful Cynosure? Can he save not only his brother, but the people of Zephyr too?

⤖ My Review ⬻

I was very drawn to Astronautical! from the first due to the fun cover! The colours weren’t overly bright, which I liked for this type of book, and the illustration style looked super fun. I was also in the mood for some middle-grade science fiction! Going in, I was glad to find the vibe continued—the colours and the fun style—and that the dialogue between characters and the story itself were fun as well!

I giggled a few times while reading Astronautical! I was entertained (and also a bit creeped out at one point, which added to the fun for me). Astronautical! was very fun for me as an adult, and I would think that it would be fun for middle-grade readers as well! I’m excited for my daughter to enjoy it too once she reaches that reading level.