Friendship -- Juvenile fiction. |
Fathers and sons -- Juvenile fiction. |
Families -- Juvenile fiction. |
Space colonies -- Juvenile fiction. |
Mars (Planet) -- Juvenile fiction. |
Science fiction. |
Available:*
Library | Collection | Material Type | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Bewdley Branch | Searching... Unknown | Junior Fiction | JF Van | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Eleven-year-old Jameson O'Malley's dad is on Mars. The only way to see him, other than squinting into the night sky, is through the JICC - short for Jameson's Interplanetary Communication Console. Jameson thought the JICC would help shorten the millions of miles that stretch between Base Ripley and Mars, but he's is starting to realize no transmission can replace his real, actual father. When a new family moves onto Base Ripley, Jameson makes an unlikely friend in Astra Primm, daughter of the country's leading climatologist, who died in an explosion on Mars. But as Jameson's friendship with Astra grows stronger, he begins to notice the flaws in his own family. Mom is growing distant, and something is wrong with Dad. He's not sending transmissions as frequently as he used to, and when he does there are bags under his eyes. Jameson begins to realize there's more to the story than he knows - and plenty people aren't telling him. Determined to learn the truth and discover what happened to their parents, Jameson and Astra embark on a journey exploring life, loss, and friendship that will take them to the edge of their universe.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Jameson, 11, checks the JICC (Jameson's Interplanetary Communication Console) daily for new messages from his astronaut dad who left two years ago on a mission to colonize Mars. He knows something is wrong when the transmissions come fewer and farther between, and Dad starts looking thin and haggard. Everyone seems to know more than they are saying, including his new, feisty neighbor, Astra Primm, whose mother, Dr. Primm, was killed on a space mission. Together, the two embark on their own journey to fix the JICC and save Jameson's dad. In this futuristic world, an asteroid has caused the earth to begin drifting ever closer to the sun; global warming, toxic radiation, food shortages, and new technologies are the new normal. There is just enough tension and unease to propel readers without overwhelming them. Jameson appears white on the cover, though his racial or ethnic background is not described in the text. Primm is described as having dark skin and black hair. Physical descriptions are not given for the secondary characters, though some ethnic diversity is suggested via surnames such as Patel, Segundo, Juwan, Haisheng, Ishii, and Branislav. VERDICT A solid choice for upper elementary and middle school students who want dystopia but are not ready for the intensity and violence that defines the YA offerings in the genre.-Stefanie Hughes, Mt. Pleasant, TX © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In a future when an asteroid has moved Earth closer to the sun, Astra is grieving her mother--a scientist who died in an accident on Mars--while Jameson's dad is currently on a Mars mission. A communication device keeps Jameson in contact with his father, but the device seems to be hiding the truth. Sympathetic characters and vivid descriptions of the sun-scorched world enhance the compelling story. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Two children find friendship against a backdrop of apocalypse.Ever since Jameson O'Malley's father left for a mission to Mars on the Christopher Columbus, their only contact is through Jameson's Interplanetary Communication Console, a homemade audio-video transmitter. Earth is now dangerously overheated, the atmosphere destroyed due to an asteroid that's knocked the planet's orbit off-kilter. A successful Mars mission is humanity's last chance. When friendless Jameson meets his new next-door neighbor, the prickly Astra Primm, he is determined to somehow forge a friendship, and the two find solace together after he learns she lost her astronaut mother on a recent Mars mission. Jameson's mother and Astra's father also begin to form a friendship that Jameson suspects is growing too close. When the JICC breaks down, Jameson and Astra undertake a secret mission of their own to find a much-needed replacement part. A sudden chill from Astra leads him to believe she knows a secret that everyone, including the school counselor, is keeping from Jameson. Van Dolzer uses her apocalyptic setting to highlight this story of grief, creating believable, likable child characters. Unfortunately, she undermines Jameson's intelligence by driving the plot with an open secret only he is ignorant of. Jameson is white and Astra black, and though her initial hostility plays into the "angry black girl" stereotype (and, egregiously, her flared nostrils are compared to lima beans), she develops into a well-realized, complex character.Missteps don't altogether take away from this thoughtful novel. (Science fiction. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Earth's orbit is dying; the sun's heat has killed 49 percent of the population, and humanity needs a new planet to call home. A series of Mars missions have been deployed for this purpose, and fifth-grader Jason's dad is a member of the first. Jason lives with the other families of mission astronauts on Earth's Base Ripley, where he desperately wants a friend. Could Astra, the new girl across the street, be that person? At first, their friendship is tenuous because Astra is grieving over her mother's death on Mars Mission 6, but when Jason grows concerned about his father's well-being, their bond solidifies into something real. After Jason's attempts to communicate with his dad fail, he decides to sneak aboard a spaceship with Astra to find out what's happened. Elements in the book (loss, grief, anger, friendship, family dynamics, climate change, and space exploration) combine to make this a captivating read. Strong character development and plotting keep the pages turning as the two friends risk all for each other.--J. B. Petty Copyright 2018 Booklist