The Darkness Outside Us

Ambrose wakes aboard the Coordinated Endeavor with no memory of how he got there or of any launch. The ship is on a rescue mission, and the person waiting at the other end is his own sister. He means to see it through, whatever it takes.

Nothing on board adds up. Signs suggest strangers have been aboard before him. The ship's operating system speaks in his mother's voice. The only other person on the ship, a brooding boy named Kodiak, has shut himself away behind a barricade. Ambrose and Kodiak were sworn enemies before being sent on the same mission.

To get through whatever the ship is hiding, the two have to start cooperating and slowly learn to trust each other. When they find out what they are really facing, the stakes rise for both of them. The bond between them becomes part of how they might survive.

The book is young adult science fiction with a mystery at its center and a tender romance between two boys. Its setting is confined: two characters, one ship, and a growing list of questions about what happened before Ambrose woke. Expect a story that keeps its secrets close and builds tension from isolation and doubt.