Common Sense Media Review
By Sage Moreaux
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Courage, action, and sentient AI in exciting sci-fi series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In CYTONIC, Spensa Nightshade travels into a strange region of space known as the Nowhere in hopes of stopping the Superiority, a governing galactic alliance, from waging an intergalactic war. As she starts a quest to uncover the lost history of other Cytonics, she gains strange allies, battles space pirates, and helps an AI process its emerging emotions, all while contending with her blossoming Cytonic powers. But as Spensa gains confidence in her newfound abilities, hard choices force her to dig deep into her own courage and find out what it truly means to be a hero.
Is It Any Good?
Not yet the ending that fans are looking for, this middle installment offers time for reflection and character development while continuing to offer the space battles and witty banter between companions that fans expect. Spensa has grown emotionally since her early missions, thinking more deeply about who she's killing and why.
But while character growth helps propel this installment of the series, the action does flag at times. The introduction of a new location and another set of characters to become emotionally invested in asks a lot of the reader. Fortunately, there are enough nods to existing characters to help tie the story together. Fans will look forward with eager anticipation to the fourth and final installment of this series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the nature of heroism and myth as depicted in Cytonic. What makes a hero?
What do you think about the fictional future where humans are ostracized by other species because of their aggressive tendencies?
How does the courage to make hard personal choices differ from the courage it takes to face enemies in warfare? How do the characters find both types of courage?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Adventures , Friendship
- Character Strengths : Courage , Integrity , Teamwork
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Random House Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : August 23, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 17
- Number of pages : 415
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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