Under Different Stars

Gr 9 Up—Just before her 18th birthday, as she's looking forward to the freedom from the abusive foster care system that milestone will bring, Kricket Hollowell is retrieved from Earth and taken to her home planet, Ethar. Discovering she is not of Earth, that she is a priestess in one culture on Ethar and believed to have committed a crime by another group of Etharians (the two cultures from which her real, Etharian parents came), having to learn the customs and constraints of life on Ethar, and falling in love with one of the soldiers who brought her from Earth provide numerous challenges for Kricket. She is at the center of conflict between the two cultures, sought as a consort by a man she could never love, and struggling to come to terms with her "gifts," which allow her to determine if someone is lying and to see into the future. This engaging story, the first in a series, has interesting characters and world-building that listeners will enjoy. Kate Rudd narrates, providing an impressive array of voices for the different characters, allowing listeners to easily understand who is speaking.