Weekend Picks for August 14th

As the back-to-school season looms, professor Erinn Bentley has our reading distraction needs covered. Take a look at her latest recommendation from the sci-fi YA shelves!

Erinn Bentley

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Dr. Erinn Bentley is a professor of English education at Columbus State University, where she also serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Global Engagement. She enjoys mentoring pre-service secondary English teachers, graduate students, and her doctoral candidates. In addition to teaching YA literature and pedagogy courses, Erinn leads study abroad programs for education majors in Belize, Ecuador, England, and Japan.


Many thanks, Dr. Bentley, for our Weekend Picks this month! 

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda

For this weekend’s pick, I’m recommending another sci-fi YA novel, Pitch Dark. This is a roller coaster read - combining horror, suspense, humor, and adventure. ​

​​This novel features two teens, Tuck and Laura, whose worlds literally collide when their spaceships crash into one another.  Here is the plot twist – Tuck (and his shipmates on the John Muir) have unknowingly been stranded in stasis for 400 years on their ship, which carries precious artifacts from Earth. When Tuck awakes, only a handful of human survivors are left, and sections of his ship have been overrun with zombie-like creatures. 

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​Enter Laura, whose family are ship raiders searching for historical treasures. When they accidentally crash into the John Muir, they are forced to evacuate and join Tuck’s crew – along with the horrors on board. ​

​Together, Laura and Tuck must join forces-  as well as rely on some AI assistance - to battle a mysterious hacker who is trying to destroy the John Muir, fend off the murderous creatures on board, and outsmart greedy shipmates determined to steal the Earthly treasures. As I said, this novel really is a roller coaster read, and it’s definitely entertaining as a weekend pick.


Take a look at other amazing works by author Courtney Alameda, and where to purchase Pitch Dark. Happy reading, all! 

Courtney Alameda