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Sunshine, secrets, and swoon-worthy stories—June's featured reads are your perfect summer escape.

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Purchase

The Martian Contingency, March 2025
Trade Paperback / e-Book
The Spare Man, September 2022
Trade Size / e-Book
The Relentless Moon, July 2020
Trade Size / e-Book
The Relentless Moon, July 2020
Hardcover / e-Book
The Fated Sky, September 2018
Trade Paperback / e-Book
The Calculating Stars, July 2018
Trade Paperback / e-Book
Ghost Talkers, August 2017
Trade Size
Of Noble Family, April 2015
Hardcover / e-Book
Valour and Vanity, April 2014
Hardcover / e-Book
Without a Summer, March 2014
Trade Paperback / e-Book
Glamour in Glass, January 2013
Trade Paperback / e-Book
Shades of Milk and Honey, June 2011
Trade Paperback / e-Book

Science Fiction Space Opera | Science Fiction Alternate History

Mary Robinette Kowal's science fiction debut, 2019 Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Award for best novel, The Calculating Stars, explores the premise behind her award-winning "Lady Astronaut of Mars."

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.

Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.