Sanctuary by Caryn Lix (review)

Raised by her parents to appreciate the benefits of corporate citizenship and to maintain unwavering loyalty to their employer, Omnistellar Concepts, Kenzie is following in their footsteps and guarding the space station Sanctuary, a prison for children and teens imbued with superpowers. Her aspirations, faith in Omnistellar, and belief in her parents come crashing down when a prisoner escape plan coincides with an alien invasion, turning Kenzie from guard to prisoner, fighting for her life among the kids she had been taught to fear. There’s an enjoyable B-movie vibe to the plotting, as Kenzie outmaneuvers monsters, discovers her own technologically repressed superpower, learns the tightly circumscribed boundary of her mother’s love, and kindles a romance with the Sanctuary prisoner leader, all within the time-frame of a couple of days. The themes and characters may derive from familiar sci-fi repertoire, but Lix’s breakneck pacing keeps the pages flying, and Kenzie’s barely tapped superpower and the unplumbed depths of Omnistellar’s presence provide plenty of scope for later adventure. Lix leaves readers just where she wants them: satisfied by a complete story arc but ready to follow the surviving renegades into space, with good guys and bad guys undoubtedly in hot pursuit.