Titan of the Stars

One of Indigo’s Best Ten Books of 2025

“When the action ramps up, the story vibrates with terror, offering readers a compelling and harrowing treat and highlighting the teens’ sheer cunning and urgent desire for survival.” —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

“Gruesome deaths and the paranoia of Walking Dead–style body-snatching form fairly standard horror tropes, but Johnston has established such authenticity that readers will never question the urgency as the pages just seem to turn themselves.” —STARRED REVIEW, The Horn Book

“Johnston masterfully infuses the narrative with bone-deep dread and grotesque carnage; phrases like ‘splash of gore’ and ‘pile of her own sludge’ are haunting. It’s not all body horror, though: Johnston also effectively intertwines themes of class, privilege, and self-determination. An unsettling, pulse-pounding exploration of societal structures and survival.” —STARRED REVIEW, Shelf Awareness

“In this work, readers will recognize the typical signs of a catastrophe in the making: an ecological disaster on Earth resulting in a plan to mine Mars, a gilded space shuttle with a stark class divide to travel there, and the hubris of those who built the shuttle making everything exponentially worse. But this is no stale redux of other works in the genre. The author’s attention to detail keeps readers immersed in the moment, while dual viewpoints gradually bring the characters alive, and a steady pace and eerie atmosphere propel the work forward. . . . A mash-up of sci-fi and horror tropes fervently coalesce into a satisfying and fresh option for teens.” —School Library Journal

“Titan of the Stars will definitely keep you turning pages and reading with the lights on.” —Jefferson City News-Tribune