Now Seeker and the Search for Sedna #1) Madeleine Borealin

Madeleine (Maddy) Carson Borealin was born on March 29, 2018, in Ithaca, New York, to Commander Pierce Gregory Borealin, an astronaut, and Rhea Gaia Borealin, a prominent astrobiologist. In 2023, after Pierce retired, the family moved to California, where Rhea landed a prestigious teaching job and she and Pierce homeschooled Maddy.

In 2028, when astronomers realized a newly-found, mysterious asteroid from outside our Solar System would pass close to Earth, Pierce volunteered to fly a privately funded solo mission to intercept it, only to vanish moments before its closest approach. Grief-stricken, Rhea suffered a severe stroke and passed away in 2029.

Devastated and alone, after Rhea's funeral Maddy moved back to Ithaca to live with her paternal grandmother, Matilda Borealin. She was tutored for a few years until 2032, when she enrolled as a sophomore at a public high school in Ithaca.