When we last read about Anna, she was torn from her earthly home and transported mysteriously to another star system. When she awakes, she has no means to communicate with the staff of the hospital where she is being held, though her nightly dreams indicate that she should have some memory of her surroundings.
Caught between the desire to return to her family on Earth and the sense that this new planet is her true home, Anna learns the language of her “captors” while trusting no one. She is particularly suspicious of Julianus, a handsome but overbearing young man who seems determined to control Anna.
Eventually Anna's memory reassembles the puzzle of her past. She realizes that her real name is Quintina, that she is a well-established astrophysicist on the planet of Enki and that she witnessed a crime many years ago, putting her life in danger. Anna's “soul” has traveled from one planet to the other, and she seems to have two bodies – or bio-machines as she sees it. Now Anna must save her home planet, as well as Earth, from evil scientists.
Anna greatly resembles heroines of typical current young adult novels. She is bright and unassumingly attractive, interested in romance and the most popular guy around. However, she has not yet compromised her virtue in spite of common expectations on both of her planets and the suggestive cover on the book. Although the story has a slow start, the plot picks up around chapter 6. For teenage girls who are looking for light science fiction with a brainy female main character, The Starseed Series is a clean alternative to the usual YA fare. A former teacher, Jennifer Minicus is currently a full-time wife and mother.