In this āslow-burning, atmospheric romanceā (Publishers Weekly) from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, an illness cursing the land forces a teen girl astronomer to venture across the wilderness in search of the starsā message that will, hopefully, save them all.
When all is lost, look to the stars.
Vega has lived in the valley her whole lifeāforbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But when Vega sees an omen in the skyāone she cannot ignoreāshe is forced to leave the protective boundaries of the valley for the first time. Yet the outside world is much more terrifying than Vega could have ever imagined. People are gravely sickāthey lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.
But Vega has a secret: she is the Last Astronomerāa title carried from generation to generationāand she is the only one who understands the knowledge of the stars. Knowledge that could hold the key to a cure. So when locals spot the tattoo on Vegaās neck in the shape of a constellationāthe mark of an astronomerāchaos erupts. Fearing for her life, Vega is rescued by a girl named Cricket who leads her to Noah, a boy marked by his own mysterious tattoos.
On the run from the men hunting her, Vega sets out across the plains with Cricket and Noah, in search of a fabled cure kept secret by the astronomers. But as the line between friends and protectors begins to blur, Vega must decide whether to safeguard the sacred knowledge of the astronomersā¦or if she will risk everything to try to save them all.