The Starlight Rebel

Published on 5 January 2026 at 21:14

The Starlight Rebel

🌠🌆🌳👽

by Lisette Auton

★★★★

Things I loved:

🌟 Spell-binding cover and blurb

🚀 Unique futuristic setting

🧠 Insight into neurodiversity

🌆 Terrifying neon dome city

⚔️ Good versus evil storyline

🧑‍🔬 Brilliant, brave Uncle Fluro

At a glance

✍🏼 Author: Lisette Auton

🎨 Cover artist: Helena Jayne

📅 Release Date: 3rd July 2025

📚 Book type: Chapter, 336 pages

🌟 Reader level: Confident, ,8+

Dive Deeper

Review

I read this book after receiving it from the Rebel Reading Society. The spell-binding cover caught my eye straight away and the blurb intrigued me too!

I really enjoyed reading a futuristic book (set in 3897!) for once as I don't usually read them. It was also super educational for me as Astrifer is neurodivergent and Lisette Auton manages to weave lots of interesting insights into the story, helping me to understand how some people think and see the world.

The thing I loved most about this book was the setting. The idea of being trapped in a neon city within a giant dome is terrifying to me, and I loved travelling through the city and experiencing what the future may be like. (Hopefully not, though!)

The characters were also super unique and I liked the battle of good against evil. I wish I had an uncle like Fluro who is smart, brave and event lets Astrifer run through his museum when she should be elsewhere!

I would recommend The Starlight Rebel to confident KS" readers who enjoy futuristic stories and the idea of standing up for what you believe in (even if this means rebelling against the government!).

Blurb

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…