Leeta Simtar: A Life on Two Planets

They said her emotions were an abnormality, a sign of weakness. She's about to prove them wrong.

On the planet Fure, logic rules and feelings are forbidden, but seventeen-year-old Leeta Simtar has never fit the mold.

Too tall, too emotional, too human, she's spent her life believing something's wrong with her.

When Leeta discovers her origin story is a lie, she escapes across the stars to uncover the truth about where she comes from... and where she belongs.

What she finds isn't just buried family history, but a new group of friends who embrace her differences and finally make her feel seen.

With only eight days before she's stranded on Earth, Leeta must decide if she belongs back on her home planet... or in the new home she's found among the stars.

Perfect for fans of Alechia Dow and Amie Kaufman, Leeta Simtar: A Life on Two Planets is an emotionally-charged coming-of-age YA sci-fi adventure about identity, found family, and the courage to be who you were born to be.

"In a universe governed by controlled narratives and cultural erasure, Fox delivers an empowering reminder to embrace individuality and dare to fight for change." -BookLife by Publishers Weekly (Editor's Pick)

"A rousing tale about a young woman coming to terms with an unresolved past." -Kirkus Reviews

SYNOPSIS:

Leeta Simtar travels forty light years to discover that sometimes you must leave home to find home.

Leeta Simtar isn't the only interspecies hybrid on her home planet of Fure, though she is noticeably different from all the others. Impossibly tall and wildly unpredictable, she leads with her emotions, in contrast to everyone else's steady calm and logical demeanor. No wonder Leeta has always believed something's terribly wrong with her, because clearly, she doesn't belong on Fure.

When Leeta suddenly learns that everything she's believed about herself is a lie, she hungers for the facts. Since no one on Fure is talking, she sets off across the galaxy, alone, in search of others like herself-assuming there are others. With just eight days to unearth her origin story, Leeta follows clues that lead her across time and space, desperate to find where she truly belongs.

A story about birth family vs. found family, Leeta Simtar celebrates the courage it takes to retain one's individuality against the intense pressure to conform.

Annie Fox is an author of books for children and teens. Annie loves making art, baking with sourdough, hiking in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband David and Gracie the Dog. Her first novel The Little Things that Kill: A Teen Friendship Afterlife Apology Tour was published in 2024. Her most recent novel (YA sci-fi), Leeta Simtar: A Life on Two Planets (The Unauthorized Biography) will be available March 11, 2025 wherever books are sold. Learn more about Annie at anniefox.com. Follow Annie on Bluesky: @anniefox.com.