Review by Jacqueline Thomas
Orca Book Publishers, 2021
256 pages, Paperback, $14.95 CAD, 9781459828735
Middle Grade, ages 9-12
Fiction, adventure
“Mostly the other astronauts had been pretty good to us. Some of them seemed like genuinely nice people. I still thought some were just better at pretending. Of course, the pretending wouldn’t have to last much longer, because the crew members of the mission would be announced sometime in the next few days – including which two of us would be going. At least, that’s what we still believed.
We hadn’t spoken about it, but I think we all thought I was most likely to be chosen. I was the only male and I’d done pretty well. Not just with the tests and simulations—my instant recall kept coming in handy”
Most mail today ends up leading you to the recycle bin, not to outer space. But middle schooler Houston Williams is in for an adventure when what he thought was a two-week summer camp about space turned into a tryout for the opportunity to go to space as a real astronaut! He comes across friends like Teal and Colonel Sanderson and foes like Ashley but it will be up to Houston and his ability to face his fears and overcome obstacles in order for him to make the journey to outer space.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The overall premise was exciting and provided many opportunities for readers to get glimpses of some of the situations real astronauts in training find themselves in. I found Houston’s train of thought and actions to be engaging and easy to follow. I wish there had been a bit more depth into his emotional processing throughout the book, but I understand for the length and the target audience age, the author may not have seen it as a crucial contribution. While the focus of the book was on Houston’s ability to stay calm under pressure, he had minimal emotional struggles to work through, making this talent less impactful. Rather than highlighting the strength and maturity it takes to master a skill like this, it reduces Houston to being naive about the situations he is facing.
The side characters within the story are an interesting group of people. Some were hard to understand in terms of their logic and actions while others were better developed than the main character. In particular I found Ashley, Houston’s main competitor-turned-friend, to be extremely confusing. It seems like there is no real moment of connection between the two of them, rather she simply goes from despising him to chummy in an instant. This is a common theme throughout the book, the author simply revealing things without explanation rather than showing how things come to be.
One stand-out character who I did enjoy, as he seemed to be the only one with an adequate amount of back story, was Colonel Sanderson. His backstory of being a living legend in space flight, desperate for one last trip, was very well crafted and he provided many of the more impactful dialogues in the book. He was the ideal older mentor figure for Houston, as he provided both comedic and serious moments and seemed to be the only adult concerned with the well being of these middle schoolers.
I would recommend this book to young readers who are interested in the mechanics of space travel and wish to read about it in a fictional scenario with characters that are their age. If you ever dreamed about the behind the scenes of astronaut training when you were little, it is easy to place your younger self in the shoes of Houston Williams and blast off into this adventure of a story.
Jacqueline is a second year psychology student at UBC. She has been reading since before she could talk (confirmed by her mother) and you will often find her daydreaming about the next book, short story or screenplay she wants to write rather than doing her work. She is also a dancer, expert music playlist maker, and constantly fighting her cat about how early she should be fed (it’s never gonna be at 5am, Cheeto).
YOUNG ADULTING 