Martians Abroad: A Novel - Hardcover

CARRIE VAUGHN, the New York Times bestselling author of the Kitty Norville books, is also the author of the standalone novels After the Golden Age and Discord's Apple, and the young adult books Voice of Dragons and Steel.

Twins Polly and Charles Newton are part of the second generation of human Martians. Polly, a natural-born risk taker, is consumed by the desire to become a first-class starship pilot and has landed an internship with the astrodome flight school, but her dream is derailed when her mother uses her position as Mars One Operations Director to enroll the twins in Earth's prestigious Galileo Academy, where all the best, brightest, and richest send their children. Polly and Charles have a steep learning curve, as they will be the first Martian children ever to attend the school. The twins must learn to adapt to Earth's stronger gravity, an Earth-based curriculum, and Earth-born students with superiority complexes. Charles unobtrusively observes the school's director, Ms. Stanton, in an attempt to discover the real purpose for their presence at the academy, while Polly slowly makes friends with outlanders and Earth-born kids as they try to find out who's behind sabotaged field trips. The world-building is completely plausible and will thrill fantasy readers. Polly is a likable character, although readers don't get to know her until the end of the book; Charles, on the other hand, is more of a peripheral character and is slightly underdeveloped. VERDICT A great option for tween fantasy readers, this novel will delight fans of Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" titles or Neil Gaiman's "InterWorld" series.—Desiree Thomas, Worthington Library, OH