The Galahad Legacy
*Starred Review* Starting with The Comet’s Curse (2009), Testa has published six books in the Galahad series in just four years, and this grand finale makes one appreciate all the more the accomplishments of that colossal effort. What began as a fairly straightforward tale of 251 teens shot into space to escape a ravaging disease on Earth became a deeper, broader, scarier, and more intellectually stimulating journey with every book. This all-too-soon conclusion finds the battered crew having to make a series of impossible choices regarding their fate: take the offer of the advanced Dollovit race to live in controlled comfort, or gamble it all on the harsh conditions of the planet Eos. Practically every other chapter includes a merciless shocker or a personal sacrifice of crushing consequence. Meanwhile, Testa’s darkest theme—the idea that intellect taken too far can lead to dehumanization—is pushed to the fore as the ship’s leader begins to question their friendly, all-knowing computer, Roc. Beth Revis’ similar Across the Universe (2011) is the one on the best-seller lists, but, in truth, few YA sf series in recent memory have been this satisfying. Whatever you do, don’t start here: the Galahad series is a single, unified story arc, and this powerful conclusion proves how deftly Testa planted his seeds of destruction and salvation along the way. Grades 7-10. --Daniel Kraus