JOURNEY BETWEEN WORLDS

Author: Sylvia Louise Engdahl ISBN: 0399245324 5/2006 FUTURISTIC TEEN Publisher: G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS

When Melinda Ashley receives a ticket to Mars as a high school graduation gift from her dad, she isn't at all eager for the trip. But he is going himself, and because she hasn't had much opportunity to get to know him in the past, she agrees to accompany him. She has little interest in the Martian colonies until, aboard the ship, she meets Alex Preston, a second-generation colonist who is going home. During her stay on Mars she finds herself more and more drawn to Alex. She also enjoys the company of his family, and begins to understand why they believe so strongly in the future they are working toward. Ultimately, after she has faced tragedy and sorrow, a terrifying experience on the Martian moon Phobos shows Melinda what is really important to her.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Melinda, a recent high school graduate, travels to Mars with her father for a vacation before starting college. Not really interested in leaving her boyfriend for six months, Mel is sullen during the space flight until she meets Alex, a boy returning home to Mars after studying at a university on Earth. Due to Alex's influence, gradually Melinda's views on Mars and the colonists living there change, but she is still eager to return home to the life she's planned. When her father is killed in an accident, Melinda realizes that she no longer wants what she had planned for her life. As her friendship with Alex grows into more, Melinda must decide whether to return home to Earth or stay on Mars with Alex.

JOURNEY BETWEEN WORLDS is a fast-paced, futuristic romance that will appeal to teens. By placing the story in the future and on Mars, the author is able to set the tale apart from the many other teen romances available today. Melinda is a typical teen, eager to break away from home and start a life on her own. Having been raised by her grandmother, Melinda shares feelings with children of divorced parents. She wants to spend time with her father, but feels she doesn't really know him. Later in the story, she even mentions that her father is more of a friend, rather than a parent. One of the things I like best about this story is the connections the author made between the colonists on Mars and the colonists at Jamestown and the pioneers that settled the western United States. By tying the two groups of pioneers together, the reader is able to identify with the feelings of the Mars colonists and thus connect the reader to characters that on the surface aren't anything like himself.

While I can't say that this book is especially memorable, I will say that JOURNEY BETWEEN WORLDS is a satisfying read, and a step above the typical teen romance. It will especially be of interest to fans of teen romance and science fiction.

Kendra Patterson