MIRO CHRONICLES

A tween student with an MIA father hunts for environmental orbs and an elusive key in Arons’ middle-grade SF novel.

Eleven-year-old Jimmy Aster has some notoriety at the Aster Academy of Natural Science and Technology on planet Miro; after all, his great-grandfather founded the school. But that doesn’t excuse him from detention, even if the real troublemaker is Otto, his mischievous companion otter. (Jimmy and Otto, like all students and their respective companion animals, communicate via an AI-translator collar synched with an earbud.) Despite Jimmy’s increasing demerits, his greatest concern for his dad, a space explorer and environmental scientist on a research trip whom Jimmy hasn’t heard from in 14 months. Luckily, his class-project radio picks up a staticky message from his father, who apparently needs the “Aster Key,” which unlocks chests and vaults around the school. To boost the signal further, Jimmy seeks a purple Orragem, the rarest of Miro’s multicolored fuel sources. Getting ahold of that gemstone and the key may necessitate breaking curfew and risking even more of the headmaster’s wrath (“any sensible person trembled when she fixed them with her dark eyes”). Arons’ swiftly paced story and series kickoff drops ample, entertaining objectives and obstacles in Jimmy’s path (his team winning the annual Adventure Race will score him a purple Orragem, and a treasure hides behind a combination lock). The technology is memorable, from hoverskis to Jimmy’s surprisingly warm AI assistant Linus. Jimmy is a likable young hero with wonderful friends who are surrounded by irresistible four-legged companions, including a wolf, a snow leopard, and a white arctic fox. Otto, however, steals the spotlight—his is the only translated dialogue among the companions as he tirelessly encourages Jimmy or suggests snack breaks, and he’s keenly fashionable in a yellow backpack or purple snowsuit. The author rounds out the story with a relevant but never heavy-handed environmental message (the now-uninhabitable planet Zinda is a constant reminder for everyone to protect Miro).

Colorful settings and characters further brighten this already high-spirited adventure.