The author says:
Sci-fi/Space Opera action/adventure story. Targeting older children/pre-teens. Newly qualified Captain Aurora Starlight sets out on a time and space-bending adventure to save a uncontacted race of aliens from annihilation.
This is final and published cover, but returning back to the writing world after a long break and considering a redo.
Nathan says:
Consider that redo! This cover may win some nostalgia points among readers who are old enough to remember the simplified covers of SF for young readers in the ’60s and ’70s, but that’s not really your target audience, is it?
I just looked at the top-selling science fiction books for readers age 9-12 on Amazon. (Click to see it larger.)
What I see is colorful, dynamic artwork, mostly with figures in action. (Red Sun is an outlier — in other words, that’s statistically not the example you want to follow.)
The good news is, this is exactly the kind of thing that A.I. is good for. Play around with it; see if you can come up with an illustration that evokes the kind of reaction you want in your readers.
Good luck!