Girl of Fire by Norma Hinkens

Five out of five stars. It will come as no surprise to most of you that I was very excited to read Norma Hinkens’ book Girl of Fire. Not only is it science fiction, it is clean, action adventure science fiction! So many wins, so little time.

Trattora is a young girl in training to succeed her adoptive father as the chieftainess of a primitive tribe of hunter-gatherer humans living on a mostly ignored planet in a seldom-traveled part of the galaxy. She desperately wants to know where she is from, but she has no clues except for a bracelet with her name and birthdate inscribed on it, which she was found with. Trattora, with an inclination towards risky behavior and a yen to visit the Nethersphere, as she calls the space between planets, soon finds herself embroiled with oremongers who have a particular interest in her planet. She moves from disaster to disaster, complication to complication, all the while trying to both save her adoptive tribe from an immediate threat and discover what she can about her origins.

Hinkens’ writing drew me in immediately. She conveys a wide, rich universe with motivated characters who work for their goals, and creates conflict in meaningful ways. Although the book includes some typical YA tropes — teenagers on a quest to save the world, no responsible or trustworthy adults in sight, too smart for their own good — Hinkens manages to use every bit of story to engross the reader and catch them up in a whirlwind of tension and zigzagging plot lines.

If you enjoy science fiction and young adult books such as Cinder by Marissa Meyer, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, or Brandon Sanderson’s YA books, you will definitely enjoy Girl of Fire.

I rate it for 14 and up on the Aardvark scale for physical violence and peril.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.