At a glance
Crudrat
Young adult science fiction
Crudrat
Book 1 of the Tinkered Stars series
Maura is a crudrat, one of the undersized children who maintain the dangerous machinery beneath a vast space station. The station values such workers only while they remain small enough for its narrow passages, then abandons them when growth makes them inconvenient. Approaching that fate, Maura treats rejection as a possible route to escape and relies on ingenuity to imagine a place beyond the system that used her. Gritty yet hopeful, this young-adult science-fiction adventure suits readers who enjoy working-class space settings, resourceful outcasts, survival stories, institutional injustice, and heroines determined to turn planned obsolescence into freedom.
Paired for this story
Jump to the pours ↓Backseat Cold Brew + Competitive Espresso Martini
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No surprises at chapter twelve
Content notes
Child endangerment, poverty, abandonment, death, violence, and peril
Alcohol-Free Pour
Backseat Cold Brew
Straightforward cold brew suits Maura's resourceful approach to dangerous machinery and life beneath a space station.
What you'll need
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.How to mix it
- Fill a glass with ice, add cold brew, and stir in simple syrup if desired.
- Garnish: None.
- Glassware: Highball glass.
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Highball glass ↗Cocktail Pour · 21+
Competitive Espresso Martini
For adults of legal drinking age. Please drink responsibly.
For adult readers, an espresso martini gives Maura's machinery-centered survival story an energetic adult-reader companion.
What you'll need
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- 1 oz coffee liqueur
- 1 oz freshly brewed espresso, cooled slightly ↗
- 1/4 oz simple syrup ↗
- Ice
Alcohol-shopping links are not shown on children's or young-adult book pages.
How to mix it
- Shake vigorously with ice until well chilled and frothy. Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish: 3 coffee beans.
- Glassware: Coupe.
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Coupe glass ↗Set up the bar cart
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