Sovereign — Jeff Hirsch

Equal parts Hatchet and The Martian, Sovereign is a fast-paced and visceral story of family and survival.Micah Cole has been in deep space for three years while his parents chase their obsession with finding intelligence to the far corners of the universe, but Micah dreams of the friends he left behind and counts the days until they return home.When a devastating meteor shower nearly destroys their ship, Micah is separated from his family and stranded on Sovereign, a vast planet of raging rivers, towering forests, and deadly creatures. If Micah ever wants to see his family or his home again, he'll have to learn to how to survive on a hostile alien world, all alone. Armed with only his wits and determination, Micah will battle the elements, his own deepest fears, and a frightening presence that might just hold the key to his parents' obsession and be his ticket back home.Jeff Hirsch is the USA Today best-selling author of four young adult novels including The Eleventh Plague, Black Water Falls, and the most recent, Unnatural Disasters. This is his middle grade debut.