
The Starlight Rebel
Lisette Auton(Author)
Puffin (Publisher)
Published on 3. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-241-73273-1 (ISBN)
Description
A sci-fi adventure full of heart - perfect for fans of Ross Welford!
Longlisted for the James Reckitt Hull Children's Book Award 2026
In the future, the most underestimated person on the planet may be the only one who can save it.
The year is 3897, and life on Earth is a neon dream, all flashing lights and buzzy noise - and no one remembers that behind the illuminated shell above them there's a night sky filled with stars.
As she turns 11, neurodivergent, freckled Astrifer Nova is nothing like her sporty, high-achieving twin brother, Blaze. And on the day of her Work Path Allocation ceremony which determines the course of her life, she is crushed when she gets assigned to something as boring as the sock factory.
But all is not as it seems, and as she uncovers layers of hidden truths all around her, Astrifer discovers that the world is bigger than she ever imagined - and that it's up to her and a motley crew of new friends (including one from very far away) to challenge the status quo. Turns out, their differences may be exactly what the planet needs...
Longlisted for the James Reckitt Hull Children's Book Award 2026
In the future, the most underestimated person on the planet may be the only one who can save it.
The year is 3897, and life on Earth is a neon dream, all flashing lights and buzzy noise - and no one remembers that behind the illuminated shell above them there's a night sky filled with stars.
As she turns 11, neurodivergent, freckled Astrifer Nova is nothing like her sporty, high-achieving twin brother, Blaze. And on the day of her Work Path Allocation ceremony which determines the course of her life, she is crushed when she gets assigned to something as boring as the sock factory.
But all is not as it seems, and as she uncovers layers of hidden truths all around her, Astrifer discovers that the world is bigger than she ever imagined - and that it's up to her and a motley crew of new friends (including one from very far away) to challenge the status quo. Turns out, their differences may be exactly what the planet needs...
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Random House Children's UK
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 8 to 12 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
239 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-73273-1 (9780241732731)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Lisette Auton
The Starlight Rebel
Perfect for readers aged 9+, a thrilling and big-hearted sci-fi adventure set in Earth's distant future!
E-Book
07/2025
Puffin
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Lisette Auton is a northern disabled writer, activist, poet, novelist, spoken-word artist, actor, film and theatre-maker, and creative practitioner. She's an award-winning poet who has performed at Northern Stage, ARC, the Southbank Centre and the Sage, in pubs, in a crypt, at festivals, indoors, outdoors, on a bridge and in a launderette.