The Good for Nothings

In an attempt to win approval from her mother, the hard-to-please leader of an interstellar crime family, and to make enough money to upgrade her android best friend Elio’s failing body, Cora Saros attempts a solo job, only to be caught and thrown into a maximum security prison. After an unsuccessful escape attempt with her cellmates—Earthan thief Wren and temperamental reptilian warrior Anders—Cora and her companions make a deal for their freedom with the prison’s warden: retrieve the long-hidden keys needed to unlock an immortality-granting elixir. As the group traverses the galaxies in search of their objective, dangers await at every turn, including hazardous planets, implacable pursuers, and Cora’s own plan to betray her comrades. With this star-hopping romp, Banas (The Supervillain and Me) pits her eclectic band of larceny-minded misfits against a hostile universe, forcing them to come together as a makeshift family. While the chain of events occasionally borders on the implausibly coincidental, the quirky characters, who are fleshed out by attributes such as tough Anders’s constant flight sickness and Elio’s insistence on a favorite food despite his inability to eat, share an endearing earnestness. A fun, galaxy-spanning treasure hunt with plenty of action and heart. Ages 13–up. [em](Aug.) [/em]