172 Hours on the Moon...

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first moon landing, NASA is holding a contest. Three teenagers, randomly chosen from around the world, will get to join the next lunar expedition and travel to DARLAH 2, NASA's secret moon base 238,000 miles away from home. It promises to be the adventure of a lifetime. What none of the teenagers know is that something sinister is waiting for them on the moon. Something they might not survive.

Is it believable that NASA could build a base on the moon and keep it secret for fifty years? Or that they'd consider sending three untrained teenagers into space? Of course not. But is it a fun premise? Absolutely.

The three winning teens couldn't be more different from each other:  Mia, resourceful and tough, is in a Norwegian punk rock band, Midori is a high school student from Japan, and Antoine, the oldest at seventeen, is from France. Then there are the actual astronauts (five in all) accompanying the teens; one of them knows more about DARLAH 2 and it's hush-hush past than he's telling. And then there's the question of the moon base itself:  why was it never used and why is NASA so determined to revisit it now?  Norwegian author Johan Harstad has written an intense YA science fiction story. 172 Hours on the Moon has a little bit of everything: good writing, great characters, mystery, action, and suspense. Plus there's a twist at the end--a very surprising twist that you may or may not like. I'm still undecided...but overall, I thought this book was a fun read.

Happy Reading!