Galaxy Jones and the Space Pirates - Briana McDonald

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Galaxy Jones lives on the very, very edge of a star system in an inn run by her dads. She loves her home and her little family, but ever since the train station that serviced their part of the universe went defunct, tourists have stopped coming, and Lexi’s on the verge of losing it all. When the royal family stops at their inn on the way to a neighboring star system, Lexi’s dads hope for some good business, but Lexi knows from past experience with spoiled Prince Weston—and his annoying dog, Comet—to expect nothing but trouble.

Turns out, that “trouble” is a whole lot bigger than she anticipated. Weston has stolen something. Even worse, he’s stolen it from notorious pirates—former followers of Lexi’s idol, the famous pirate Astro Bonny—who have tracked him straight to her house. Problem is, Weston has lost the trinket somewhere in deep space. And now the pirates are holding all the adults hostage with the threat of destroying the inn if they can’t find what they’ve come for.

Lucky for Weston, Lexi has a plan. In exchange for his help saving the family business, she will use all her skills and embrace the adventurous spirit of the great Astro Bonny to help him find whatever it is the pirates are after. With some pluck, and a whole lot of luck, she might just pull it off—and make an unexpected friend along the way."

I haven't finished this book yet, but I need a book to review, and I've got some thoughts about this one, so it's happening. This was a subscription box book (the now-defunct Owlcrate Jr. box), and a fairly recent one. Rare, me reading a subscription book right away, but the cover drew me in.

Now, normally when a cover draws me in, it's because I've immediately fallen in love with it. In this case, it was less that and more that I was...a little confused? This version is a slightly toned down version as far as the colors - my cover is VERY pink, and just the whole vibe was like...what kind of story is this? Don't get me wrong, I think the cover art is unique and draws you in, but I also don't totally think it vibes with the actual story, which is an odd choice.

And speaking of the story, this book clocks in at 288 pages, and about halfway in, I feel confident in saying that is too long. The pace is a mess - nothing is happening, and then fast-forward a bunch of things happen in one chapter that should probably have been spaced out over at least a couple, and then nothing is happening, and then something is happening but it doesn't make sense...add to that, the character development is virtually nonexistent, and I just...I feel like it's a great idea that falters on the execution. 

Maybe someone with more patience would like it, but it isn't drawing me in, and while I will be adding it to my school library, I'm not sure if my students will have the patience for it either. But who knows? Maybe my opinion for it will change in the second half. I'll update if so.