Nyxia

Gr 9 Up—Emmett Atwater is in need of a great deal of money to help his mother. So when Babel Communications offers him a fortune and a once-in-a-lifetime deep-space experience, he jumps at the opportunity. Now he and 10 other broken and desperate recruits are fighting for the right to mine a planet that humanity does not know exists. But are they just competing against one another, or is there more to Babel's plans? Can the cost of human lives be measured against the value of Nyxia, a new substance found only on the planet Eden? At what cost do success and failure come? An amazing adventure of intelligence and strength, this sci-fi book presents diverse and complex characters in a tale about greed and internal compromise. The author brings to life more than a dozen characters with depth and individual personalities and agendas. This is a wonderful example of how personal and corporate values are often intertwined despite being at odds with each other.