Every gram of courage that I possess is going to be barely enough to make me step off the curb. An intake of air and I bail out, my toes 
gripping the soles of my boots for all I’m worth and the rest of me teetering over the edge. A car flashes past and I jump back. That was close.
Scout has to live her life unseen. She is an illegal, with no chip, hidden by her mother since birth. But neither her nor her mum want it to stay this way, so when she has a chance to take a chip, she does. Little does she know that the owner of the chip had a skill like no other: the ability to time travel. She finds herself sought out by two other teens to want to know how to time travel. Soon the three are experimenting with something both exhilarating and dangerous.
Lifespan of Starlight is a gripping dystopian novel for young adult readers, set in a future where identity and activities are closely monitored and controlled. Scout is smart and resourceful, but she isn’t perfect, which makes her all the more believable. Kalkipsakis’ version of time travel is very different from other time-travel stories, an originality which young readers will enjoy.
The first in a trilogy Lifespan of Starlight will appeal to young teen readers.
Lifespan of Starlight, by Thalia Kalkipsakis
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2015
ISBN 9781742978710
Available from good bookstores and online.