Zita the Spacegirl
Recommended. Age: 8+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
A brave, loyal girl crosses the stars to save a friend, and she keeps faith with the weak and odd creatures she meets along the way. The story honors self-sacrifice and keeps going when the way home is lost. Catholic reviewers praise it as clean and see final perseverance in its bones. The one reservation is ordinary comic peril and a few insults, which may scare the youngest readers.
For parents
Read it together from 6, and alone from 8. Common Sense Media says 7 and up; the publisher says 8 to 12. Expect monsters, a kidnapping and robot fights, never gore. Ask why Zita stays loyal to friends who look useless. Ask what our true home is, and what it costs to get there.