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“Fantastic worldbuilding, a hero you can’t help but root for, and the best sidekick this side of the galaxy.”
—Katie Slivensky, author of The Countdown Conspiracy
Eleven-year-old Jillian hates surprises. Even fun ones make her feel all panicky inside. But, she’s always dreamed of joining her space-explorer parents on a mission. It’s Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Jillian finally has her chance to visit an alien world! But can Jillian find her chill and save her family from creepy aliens? Take a deep breath, grab your sidekick, and blast off to Parasite Planet!
“Fantastic worldbuilding, a hero you can’t help but root for, and the best sidekick this side of the galaxy.” —Katie Slivensky, author of The Countdown Conspiracy
Cover and interior illustrations by Scott Brown
Can an anxious eleven-year-old find her chill and save her family from creepy aliens? Only if she’s the most awesome, super-brave astronaut since Spaceman Spiff! So take a deep breath, grab your sidekick, and blast off with Jillian to Parasite Planet.
Eleven-year-old Jillian hates surprises. Even fun ones make her feel all panicky inside. But, she’s always dreamed of joining her space-explorer parents on a mission. It’s Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Jillian finally has her chance to visit an alien world!
The journey to Planet 80 UMa c is supposed to be just a fun camping trip. But then the local wildlife starts acting really dangerous. Only the onboard computer SABRINA sorta knows what’s happening—at least when it’s not goofing off or telling bad jokes.
Looks like it’s Jillian vs Parasite Planet—and Jillian is determined to win!
A STEM Tuesday Pick: Fun with Physics Book Riot Best Middle Grade Science Fiction Books
“On Take Your Kid to Work Day, Jillian feels like the luckiest kid in the class—because her parents go to space for their jobs. Of course, at 11, she’s too young to go with them, but she’s determined to get as close as she possibly can to ‘all that sweet, sweet space magic.’ Her parents lead her on a tour of the StellaTech facility (state of the art for the year 2113), even introducing her to SABRINA, a ‘Semi-Autonomous Bio-Reconnoitering Intelligent Nanobot Array,’ who’s got wit beyond its programming. Jillian’s eagerness for adventure, hunger for information, and utterly relatable anxiety make her an instant classic middle-grade protagonist. It’s the best surprise of her life when her parents take her through the StellaTech portal to an alien planet—and the worst when they crash-land, green worms dissolve most of their supplies, and her parents barely survive. Until their portal back to Earth opens, Jillian has to keep them all alive. Good thing she’s got SABRINA’s quippy help . . . Problem-solving has never been such a wild ride.”
—Kirkus
“Look out Heinlein, here comes Nicole Kornher-Stace! In her middle grade novel, Jillian vs Parasite Planet, she not only does a Heinlein space explorer, but her young female hero, with hands full of science and parasites, manages to grow up as well. Huzzah! Great space fun with a lot of ick thrown in as well.”
―Jane Yolen, author of Owl Moon
“Fantastic worldbuilding, a hero you can’t help but root for, and the best sidekick this side of the galaxy.”
—Katie Slivensky, author of The Countdown Conspiracy
“Action, science, and creepy crawly creatures. This is everything I ever wanted in an all-ages space adventure.”
—Landry Walker, author of Star Wars Adventures
“The Martian for kids—a fun yet surprisingly gritty story of resourcefulness and survival in the wilds of outer space.”
—Sophia McDougall, author of Mars Evacuees
“Around every space boulder and puddle, Jillian uses her savvy, deduction skills, and intuition to navigate an unfamiliar, hostile environment. Jillian vs. Parasite Planet is a smart science fiction adventure that celebrates its heroine’s ingenuity and independence, even in circumstances that are out of this world.”
—Foreword
“I like a book that keeps the reader posted on what everybody has to eat. Also, I like a book with worms, (in the story, not in the physical book). Not many books have worms. This one does. It’s a romp. It’s a space romp. It’s a romping story in which food is mentioned, and there are worms, and a neat kid who’s realer than some kids you meet in books.”
—Daniel Pinkwater, author of The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
“Jillian vs Parasite Planet is a thrilling middle-grade sci-fi novel, with a plucky and ingenious hero who never gives up, and an A.I. partner we all wish we could have.”
—Samantha M Clark, author of The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast
“Freaking delightful.”
—Blogendorff
Nicole Kornher-Stace is the author of the Norton Award finalist, Archivist Wasp, and its sequel, Latchkey, which are about a postapocalyptic ghosthunter, the ghost of a near-future supersoldier, and their adventures in the underworld. She has two more books due out in 2021: the sci-fi thriller, Firebreak, and of course, Jillian Vs. Parasite Planet. You can find Nicole on Twitter @wirewalking, where she is probably semicoherently yelling about board games, video games, hiking, aromantic representation, good books she’s read recently, or her cat. She lives in New Paltz, New York with her family.
Scott Brown has produced work for television commercials, magazines, toys, and comics. He spends his free time at his drafting board working on creations of his own. Originally from the seaport of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Scott currently resides on the South-west gulf coast of Florida (he can’t stand living too far from the ocean) with his wife, two daughters, and a rather affable pug named Linus Van Pelt. And he is very happy to report that his girls have been inspired to pick up the pencil and let their imaginations loose on paper as he once did all those years ago.
Praise for Nicole Kornher-Stace
“Nicole Kornher-Stace is a genius.”
—Tiffany Trent, author of The Unnaturalists
“Fierce, blazing, brilliant.” —Jacqueline West, New York Times–bestselling author of The Books of Elsewhere
“Astonishingly original.”
—Mike Allen, author of Unseaming
“Richly textured, atmospheric prose.”
—Booklist
“Mesmerizing from the first page.”
—Fantasy Book Critic
Praise for Archivist Wasp
Norton Award finalist
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2016 Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of 2015 Book Riot Best of 2015 Buzzfeed Best Fantasy Novels of 2015
ABC Best Books for Young Readers Los Angeles Times Summer Reading List Locus Recommended Reading List
“Archivist Wasp is a gorgeous and complex book, featuring a deadly girl who traverses an equally deadly landscape. Wasp won me over, and she’s sure to find fans among teens and grown-ups alike.”
—Phoebe North, author of Starglass
“A tremendously inventive and smart novel. Archivist Wasp is like Kafka by way of Holly Black and Shirley Jackson, but completely original. Highly recommended.”
—Jeff VanderMeer, author of the Southern Reach trilogy
“A gorgeous, disturbing, compelling book with a smart, complicated heroine who bestrides her post-apocalyptic world like a bewildered force of nature.”
—Delia Sherman, author of The Freedom Maze
“Brutal post-apocalypse meets sci-fi techno-thriller meets a ghost story for the ages in this astonishingly original novel.”
—Mike Allen, author of Unseaming
“Goes off like a firecracker in the brain: the haunted landscape, the sure-footed, blistering prose—and, of course, the heroine herself, the most excellent Archivist Wasp.”
—Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble
Praise for Latchkey
Kirkus Best YA Science Fiction of 2018
Tor.com Best Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2018
Den of Geek Best Fiction Books of 2018
2018 Locus Recommended Reading List
[STARRED REVIEW] “Near-future science-fiction crimes bleed into dystopian horror centuries later in a wildly imaginative genre-hybrid sequel to Archivist Wasp . . . Excruciating, cathartic, and triumphant.” —Kirkus
[STARRED REVIEW] “Archivist Wasp fans, prepare to be delighted . . . Teens who enjoy reading extended fight scenes and want immersion in an extraordinary world will enjoy Kornher-Stace’s second act.” —School Library Journal
“Has there ever been such longing, fueled by such darkness and adrenaline? Has there ever been such satisfaction, and at such a cost?” —C. S. E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Bone Swans
“Cathartic, feminist, explosively imaginative and masterfully told, Kornher-Stace gives us a second-world fantasy that transports our minds while, time and again, it emotionally arrives.” —Carlos Hernandez, author of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
“Fierce, blazing, brilliant. The mythic and brutal world of Nicole Kornher-Stace’s Latchkey is so richly realized, you don’t step into it, you fall.” —Jacqueline West, New York Times-bestselling author of The Books of Elsewhere
Jillian vs Parasite Planet
Nicole Kornher-Stace
“Fantastic worldbuilding, a hero you can’t help but root for, and the best sidekick this side of the galaxy.”
—Katie Slivensky, author of The Countdown Conspiracy
Eleven-year-old Jillian hates surprises. Even fun ones make her feel all panicky inside. But, she’s always dreamed of joining her space-explorer parents on a mission. It’s Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Jillian finally has her chance to visit an alien world! But can Jillian find her chill and save her family from creepy aliens? Take a deep breath, grab your sidekick, and blast off to Parasite Planet!
Jillian vs Parasite Planet
by Nicole Kornher-Stace
ISBN: Print ISBN: 9781616963545; Digital: 9781616963552
Published: July 2021
Available Format(s): Hardcover and Digital
“Fantastic worldbuilding, a hero you can’t help but root for, and the best sidekick this side of the galaxy.”
—Katie Slivensky, author of The Countdown Conspiracy
Cover and interior illustrations by Scott Brown
Can an anxious eleven-year-old find her chill and save her family from creepy aliens? Only if she’s the most awesome, super-brave astronaut since Spaceman Spiff! So take a deep breath, grab your sidekick, and blast off with Jillian to Parasite Planet.
Eleven-year-old Jillian hates surprises. Even fun ones make her feel all panicky inside. But, she’s always dreamed of joining her space-explorer parents on a mission. It’s Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Jillian finally has her chance to visit an alien world!
The journey to Planet 80 UMa c is supposed to be just a fun camping trip. But then the local wildlife starts acting really dangerous. Only the onboard computer SABRINA sorta knows what’s happening—at least when it’s not goofing off or telling bad jokes.
Looks like it’s Jillian vs Parasite Planet—and Jillian is determined to win!
A STEM Tuesday Pick: Fun with Physics
Book Riot Best Middle Grade Science Fiction Books
“On Take Your Kid to Work Day, Jillian feels like the luckiest kid in the class—because her parents go to space for their jobs. Of course, at 11, she’s too young to go with them, but she’s determined to get as close as she possibly can to ‘all that sweet, sweet space magic.’ Her parents lead her on a tour of the StellaTech facility (state of the art for the year 2113), even introducing her to SABRINA, a ‘Semi-Autonomous Bio-Reconnoitering Intelligent Nanobot Array,’ who’s got wit beyond its programming. Jillian’s eagerness for adventure, hunger for information, and utterly relatable anxiety make her an instant classic middle-grade protagonist. It’s the best surprise of her life when her parents take her through the StellaTech portal to an alien planet—and the worst when they crash-land, green worms dissolve most of their supplies, and her parents barely survive. Until their portal back to Earth opens, Jillian has to keep them all alive. Good thing she’s got SABRINA’s quippy help . . . Problem-solving has never been such a wild ride.”
—Kirkus
“Look out Heinlein, here comes Nicole Kornher-Stace! In her middle grade novel, Jillian vs Parasite Planet, she not only does a Heinlein space explorer, but her young female hero, with hands full of science and parasites, manages to grow up as well. Huzzah! Great space fun with a lot of ick thrown in as well.”
―Jane Yolen, author of Owl Moon
“Fantastic worldbuilding, a hero you can’t help but root for, and the best sidekick this side of the galaxy.”
—Katie Slivensky, author of The Countdown Conspiracy
“Action, science, and creepy crawly creatures. This is everything I ever wanted in an all-ages space adventure.”
—Landry Walker, author of Star Wars Adventures
“The Martian for kids—a fun yet surprisingly gritty story of resourcefulness and survival in the wilds of outer space.”
—Sophia McDougall, author of Mars Evacuees
“Around every space boulder and puddle, Jillian uses her savvy, deduction skills, and intuition to navigate an unfamiliar, hostile environment. Jillian vs. Parasite Planet is a smart science fiction adventure that celebrates its heroine’s ingenuity and independence, even in circumstances that are out of this world.”
—Foreword
“I like a book that keeps the reader posted on what everybody has to eat. Also, I like a book with worms, (in the story, not in the physical book). Not many books have worms. This one does. It’s a romp. It’s a space romp. It’s a romping story in which food is mentioned, and there are worms, and a neat kid who’s realer than some kids you meet in books.”
—Daniel Pinkwater, author of The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
“Jillian vs Parasite Planet is a thrilling middle-grade sci-fi novel, with a plucky and ingenious hero who never gives up, and an A.I. partner we all wish we could have.”
—Samantha M Clark, author of The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast
“Freaking delightful.”
—Blogendorff
Nicole Kornher-Stace is the author of the Norton Award finalist, Archivist Wasp, and its sequel, Latchkey, which are about a postapocalyptic ghosthunter, the ghost of a near-future supersoldier, and their adventures in the underworld. She has two more books due out in 2021: the sci-fi thriller, Firebreak, and of course, Jillian Vs. Parasite Planet. You can find Nicole on Twitter @wirewalking, where she is probably semicoherently yelling about board games, video games, hiking, aromantic representation, good books she’s read recently, or her cat. She lives in New Paltz, New York with her family.
Scott Brown has produced work for television commercials, magazines, toys, and comics. He spends his free time at his drafting board working on creations of his own. Originally from the seaport of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Scott currently resides on the South-west gulf coast of Florida (he can’t stand living too far from the ocean) with his wife, two daughters, and a rather affable pug named Linus Van Pelt. And he is very happy to report that his girls have been inspired to pick up the pencil and let their imaginations loose on paper as he once did all those years ago.
Praise for Nicole Kornher-Stace
“Nicole Kornher-Stace is a genius.”
—Tiffany Trent, author of The Unnaturalists
“Fierce, blazing, brilliant.”
—Jacqueline West, New York Times–bestselling author of The Books of Elsewhere
“Absorbing, exciting, intellectually fascinating, emotionally true.”
—Ideomancer
“Astonishingly original.”
—Mike Allen, author of Unseaming
“Richly textured, atmospheric prose.”
—Booklist
“Mesmerizing from the first page.”
—Fantasy Book Critic
Praise for Archivist Wasp
Norton Award finalist
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2016
Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of 2015
Book Riot Best of 2015
Buzzfeed Best Fantasy Novels of 2015
ABC Best Books for Young Readers
Los Angeles Times Summer Reading List
Locus Recommended Reading List
“Archivist Wasp is a gorgeous and complex book, featuring a deadly girl who traverses an equally deadly landscape. Wasp won me over, and she’s sure to find fans among teens and grown-ups alike.”
—Phoebe North, author of Starglass
“A tremendously inventive and smart novel. Archivist Wasp is like Kafka by way of Holly Black and Shirley Jackson, but completely original. Highly recommended.”
—Jeff VanderMeer, author of the Southern Reach trilogy
“A gorgeous, disturbing, compelling book with a smart, complicated heroine who bestrides her post-apocalyptic world like a bewildered force of nature.”
—Delia Sherman, author of The Freedom Maze
“Brutal post-apocalypse meets sci-fi techno-thriller meets a ghost story for the ages in this astonishingly original novel.”
—Mike Allen, author of Unseaming
“Goes off like a firecracker in the brain: the haunted landscape, the sure-footed, blistering prose—and, of course, the heroine herself, the most excellent Archivist Wasp.”
—Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble
Praise for Latchkey
Kirkus Best YA Science Fiction of 2018
Tor.com Best Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2018
Den of Geek Best Fiction Books of 2018
2018 Locus Recommended Reading List
[STARRED REVIEW] “Near-future science-fiction crimes bleed into dystopian horror centuries later in a wildly imaginative genre-hybrid sequel to Archivist Wasp . . . Excruciating, cathartic, and triumphant.”
—Kirkus
[STARRED REVIEW] “Archivist Wasp fans, prepare to be delighted . . . Teens who enjoy reading extended fight scenes and want immersion in an extraordinary world will enjoy Kornher-Stace’s second act.”
—School Library Journal
“Has there ever been such longing, fueled by such darkness and adrenaline? Has there ever been such satisfaction, and at such a cost?”
—C. S. E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Bone Swans
“Cathartic, feminist, explosively imaginative and masterfully told, Kornher-Stace gives us a second-world fantasy that transports our minds while, time and again, it emotionally arrives.”
—Carlos Hernandez, author of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
“Fierce, blazing, brilliant. The mythic and brutal world of Nicole Kornher-Stace’s Latchkey is so richly realized, you don’t step into it, you fall.”
—Jacqueline West, New York Times-bestselling author of The Books of Elsewhere
Visit Nicole Korner-Stace’s website.