Maberry (the Nightsiders series) falls short of his usual level of success in this sluggish SF novel. Sixteen-year-old Tristan Hart and his family are going on a one-way trip to Mars along with 38 other people as part of the privately funded Mars One project. The first half of the book is devoted to Tristan's training, celebrity interviews, and appearances on the reality television shows that are financing the colonization effort, along with his interactions with his girlfriend Izzy, whom he loves deeply but has decided to leave behind. These scenes work individually but, in succession, leave the tale feeling rather flat. Things pick up once the ships leave orbit, particularly when unexplained malfunctions put the mission at risk, and Tristan realizes that the Neo-Luddites, a cult opposed to space travel, have planted agents on board. Tristan is very much in the Heinlein tradition of young heroes, levelheaded and highly competent, with genius-level engineering skills. But while Maberry handles the story's conclusion well, some readers may lose interest before they get there. Ages 12-up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

It ain't easy to get to Mars.It is the year 2026, and Tristan's family has been chosen for the (real-life proposed) Mars One program, a one-way mission to establish a colony on Mars. In order to raise the necessary funds, good-looking white boy Tristan Hart has become an all-American teen heartthrob as the star of the reality show Tristan and Izzy, which chronicles his impending lifelong separation from his childhood sweetheart. Having made millions from the show, Tristan donates a portion of the funds to the Mars One mission and sets some money in trust for Izzy and his best friend, both of whom will be left behind. Lurking in the backdrop of the media charade, a terrorist group known as the Neo-Luddites has launched bombing attacks to thwart the Mars mission. Tensions are further exacerbated when it is discovered that a competitor may have already launched a secret mission to Mars. Tristan capably narrates, the believable teen blending his sorrow at leaving his friends with the kind of excitement readers will expect from a space adventure. Maberry mixes sci-fi details with romance and satire of modern media, his Mars One mission hosting a diverse set of characters that will have readers wishing they could join up. Maberry wins with his on-the-spot dialogue, and his characters grace the page with ease. (Science fiction. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Brilliant teenage engineer Tristan has been training since age twelve to be among the first families to colonize Mars. Despite being aware of his upcoming journey, he falls in love with Izzy, which complicates things. When a terrorist group threatens the mission after launch, Tristan questions its worth. With likable characters and a well-realized setting, Maberry's space epic should have wide appeal. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ever since he was little, Tristan knew he was going to Mars. Now, he's 16 and it's finally time he and his parents are among the first 40 humans on a one-way trip to the Red Planet, where they'll try to establish a permanently habitable colony. First, though, he has to say good-bye to his girlfriend. Based on the real-life Mars One program, Maberry's near-future tale is crammed with a wealth of illuminating detail about the rigorous training and dangerous mission. Gifted and resourceful Tristan, for instance, is forever reassembling household appliances to hone his engineering skills, which become vitally necessary once they discover that saboteurs have infiltrated the program. While occasionally the descriptions of equipment and theory drag down Tristan's first-person narrative, and the romance seems shoehorned in, once the colonists are in space and trying to root out their adversaries, the tension skyrockets as seemingly minor problems become nail-bitingly terrifying in the cold, deadly depths of space. Sci-fi fans eager for realism will be happy to be along for this slow-burn ride. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Best-selling Maberry also has a handful of awards under his belt, and that combination will lure plenty of readers his way.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist