The Twin Stars

Book excerpt: "The Lucasfilm-esque milieu, blending magic with exobiology, astrophysics, and a painless layering of multiculturalism, is a tantalizing one. Portman adds a layer of emotion via Olive's struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety... A superhero creator's angst-y perils make this tale a strong start to a space saga." -- Kirkus Reviews A teen at war with her mind. A planet at war with its suns. Can Olive become the hero of her own story? Olive Joshi is an imaginative sixteen-year-old with OCD. She checks and double-checks that the stove burners are off, avoids driving for fear of causing an accident, and constantly worries about hurting the people she loves. Olive finds refuge from her anxiety in writing stories about Coseema, a magical princess on the distant planet Lyria. Coseema is fearless, confident, powerful, and perfect -- everything Olive thinks she'll never be. When she falls through a portal into her own abandoned story, Olive finds herself in a world in peril: double suns scorch the planet, the brutal Prince Burnash seeks supreme power, and Coseema has gone into hiding. Bringing back her heroine might be Olive's only hope of saving Lyria and finding her way home. But when her attempt to summon Coseema goes horribly wrong, it's Olive who must flee for her life. Together with her friends -- a bold and powerful poet, a handsome but cursed musician, a renegade soldier with a troubled past, and an adventurous girl from the desert -- Olive must face her deepest fears to escape Burnash's tyranny. With the fate of a star system on the line, can Olive find the hero in herself? The Twin Stars is an engrossing new portal fantasy in the spirit of the Wizard of Oz, the Neverending Story, and the Chronicles of Narnia, with a dash of Star Wars and a sprinkling of Dune. Fans of space fantasy, coming-of-age adventures, unexpected twists and turns, and novels about mental health and self-confidence will love this unique tale about facing what frightens us most. What readers are saying: ★★★★★ "Portman executes a marvelous debut novel, one which will have readers clamoring for installment number two immediately!" -- Amazon review ★★★★★ "A book that will be cherished." -- Amazon review ★★★★★ "A gripping sci-fi fantasy with powerful themes and high stakes... The second book in this series can't come soon enough! I'm hooked!" -- Amazon review ★★★★★ "Portman does a brilliant job helping the reader experience what it is like to have OCD. It truly is a wonderful representation." -- Goodreads review ★★★★★ "I. NEED. BOOK. TWO." -- Goodreads review