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Reading age
8-12
Genre
sci-fi
Publisher
Yearling
Publication date
May 31, 2022
My little sister’s review, Laly (10):
It is 2091, and many countries have settled on Mars, doing their best to survive.
Bell loves cats and has lived on Mars his whole life in the USA settlement. He is told never to visit other countries. But Bell and his friends get too curious and start exploring their surroundings. They get injured in a rover accident, but that is not the worst. One of his favorite adults in the USA settlement has died. Then some mice stowaways spread a disease that causes all the adults to get ill, and the children must run the settlement. Do the children have to break the rules to see other settlements for help? But what will be the result of this?
The book was excellent and tough to put down. I love how Bell is unaware of everyday things happening on Earth. It feels like everything turns into a Mars perspective of Earth.
The illness is similar to COVID, and there are some difficult topics to discuss, such as death and having to put down pets.
I was disappointed that this book had fewer cats than I thought it would have.
My rating
About the author
“JENNIFER L. HOLM is a New York Times bestselling author and three-time Newbery Honor recipient. She is a cocreator of the Babymouse series (an Eisner Award winner), the Squish series, and the Sunny graphic novels, which she collaborates on with her brother Matthew Holm.” – Book Depository.
