Although Australian author Gillian Rubinstein's best-known books are her science fiction and fantasy stories, her works attract readers who do not normally enjoy those genres. She also uses the genres to explore family and relationship issues as they affect children and young adults. In books such as Space Demons and its sequel Skymaze, Beyond the Labyrinth, Galax-Arena, and Foxspell, Rubinstein investigates the boundaries between childhood and adulthood as well as between imagination and reality. "Her tightly plotted narratives move seamlessly from reality to fantasy," Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers contributor Agnes Nieuwenhuizen states, "and, while they incorporate tough issues, they do so in ways that seem to both entertain and empower readers."

Rubinstein's protagonists tend to learn cooperation and responsibility from their experiences. They confront strong emotions--including fear, love, and hate--and feelings such as insecurity. Her characters learn to confront these feelings in a forthright, positive, and constructive manner...