(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Polly Newton has one single-minded dream, to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the Director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly's plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth--the one planet Polly has no desire to visit. Ever.
Homesick and cut off from her own plans for her future, Polly cannot seem to fit into the constraints of life on Earth, unlike Charles, who deftly maneuvers around people and sees through their behavior to their true motives. Strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences centered on their high-profile classmates begin piling up. Charles may be right--there's more going on than would appear, and the stakes are high. With the help of Charles, Polly is determined to find the truth, no matter the cost.

*2.5 stars*

Take any YA novel featuring whiny teenagers and stick it in space and that is pretty much what we have here. The characters are so unlikeable it is very hard to get emotionally attached to any of them. I was kinda hoping Polly would just disappear back to Mars...or anywhere else, for that matter. Her brother wasn't much better and the secondary characters were one-dimensional and didn't engage with me at all.

Which is a shame - the base of this story is quite sound. Carrie Vaughn knows how to pen a good tale, filling it with intriguing goings-on and thrilling scenes.

It is so sad that the characters were so dreadful...


Paul
ARH

Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn is a stand alone science fiction novel for young adult. I have read the Kitty Norville series from Vaughn, but it has been awhile, so I was not sure quite what to expect. I came in with pretty high hopes, which might have colored my reaction to what I found.

Polly Newton has one single-minded dream, to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly's plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth—the one planet Polly has no desire to visit. Homesick and cut off from her desired future, Polly cannot seem to fit into the constraints of life on Earth, unlike Charles, who deftly maneuvers around people and sees through their behavior to their true motives. Strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences centered on their high-profile classmates begin piling up. Charles may be right—there's more going on than would appear, and the stakes are high. With the help of Charles, Polly is determined to find the truth, no matter the cost.

Martians Abroad has a reasonable premise for a solid science fiction story for middle grade to young adult readers. Teenagers sent to a new world for a tough boarding school where they are bound to face the trials of fitting in, but some kind of adventure or danger in the process. That is all there, although not at the speed I would have liked. I found the start fairly slow, and Polly to be a bit of a brat. She acted more like a petulant ten year old than the teen she is supposed to be, and her brother Charles is pretty much a sociopath. I feel like neither really made an effort to fit in, both rather doing what they wanted. This goes especially for Polly, who I envision stomping her feet and pouting a lot. I also felt that there was not the underlying humor and fun that I seem to remember from the author's other work. I missed that.

Now that that is off my chest, lets talk about what I did like. I enjoyed the amount of world building that was included. Little things like Polly's build and gut bacteria having an impact on her comfort and ability to do things in a different environment. I also liked that while Polly is not my favorite character, she does have a selfless quality to her, and is always willing to jump in to help others.

Martians Abroad was a book I really wanted to love, but I kind of fell flat for me. I think part of this was because of my high expectations.

“Martians Abroad” eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Carrie Vaughn (http://www.carrievaughn.com). Ms. Vaughn has published over 20 novels and numerous short stories.

I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of mild Violence and Mature Situations. The story is set in the far future when the Solar System has been colonized. A young Martian girl, Polly Newton, and her twin brother, Charles, are sent to Earth to attend the prestigious Galileo Academy.

They are the first Martians to attend the school. Students from other colonies are there as well. None of the off-world students fit in well, nor do the Earth students treat them as equals.

Dangerous accidents keep happening to Polly and her small circle of friends. She and her brother come to the conclusion that there is a conspiracy against them and they try to discover the source.

This was an OK 6 hour read of a Young Adult Science Fiction story. The story seems to be targeted at Middle School/High School girls since Polly is the primary character. I think it could have been better if there had been a little more meat to the story. The cover art is OK as certainly it gives the feeling of a young girl missing home, but I think something showing some action caused by one of the accidents would have been better. The way the story ends, there could easily be sequels, which I would reaed. I give this novel a 3.6 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

The Listed books below I didn't finish because I either lost interest or didn't like them to finish them!

Excellent start to a new series, I hope. However, I don't believe it should just be considered adult science fiction/fantasy so much as young adult due to the ages and concerns of the protagonists. It also has a "young voice" that i think is much more suited to the YA market. Adults that like that type of fiction will enjoy it too as it isn't really juvenile. However, those lovers of straight up space scifi may find it not as good a fit.

I love Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series, so when I saw that Martians Abroad was available on NetGalley I couldn’t resist requesting it and Tor Books kindly approved it.

This book is a fresh sci-fi YA about a girl named Polly (and her twin brother Charles) who gets enrolled in a prestigious school on Earth. Polly however has no plans to go along with this since her goal has always been to become a starship pilot and see the far reaches of the galaxy. Her mother
however, who also happens to be the director of the Mars Colony, makes it plain that the trip to Earth is not negotiable. So off they go, from their home planet Mars all the way to Earth, their new home for the foreseeable future.

As opposed to her brother Charles who seem to acclimatize quickly, Polly is homesick and she has a hard time settling in her new home, while also getting used to the crushing gravity of Earth and the vastly different mindset of its inhabitants. When strange and dangerous accidents keep occurring
around her and her classmates, Polly’s determined to find the truth behind these incidents.

Despite Polly being a younger protagonist than what I’ve read from Vaughn before, I loved that I could still clearly hear her voice as a writer. All the best authors has a flow that’s uniquely theirs, and Carrie Vaughn is such an author.

Following Polly on her journey, got me thinking about the things that we take as granted as earthlings. Our air, gravity and green open spaces is not something that we always appreciate, but for someone like Polly these are either associated with strict rules or fear with some wonder thrown in. Well, that gives me some food for thought anyway.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars and are keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel. So if you like sci-fi YA
and/or Carrie Vaughn, I highly recommend this book!

Carrie Vaughan showcases Polly Newton, aspiring space pilot from Mars Colony, who has been sent to Galileo Academy on Earth by her mother. Classic science fiction reminiscent of Podkayne of Mars by Heinlein. Suspicious accidents keep happening to Polly and her friends; she suspects Stanton, dean of students, of coordinating these dangers. Martians Abroad is an exciting and well written space opera.

Polly and her twin brother Charles were born and raised on Mars, they don't really feel much of a connection to the place their ancestors originated so they're horrified when their mother announces that they're being sent to Earth to finish their education. Earth is a culture shock in so many ways, not only does the different gravity make even walking a much more difficult task than they're used to but they're also thrown in at the deep end thanks to gaps in their education and their totally different life experiences. It quickly becomes clear that the earthborn kids view off worlders as second class citizens so they're going to have their work cut out if they want to be accepted.

Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn wasn't quite what I expected but that's definitely not in a bad way because it was a thought provoking and enjoyable story. I thought she did a fantastic job of highlighting the how strange it would be for children raised on an inhospitable planet like Mars when they visited earth for the first time. From the way the increased gravity made it so difficult for them to carry out day to day tasks to the panic Polly felt the first time she stepped outside and suddenly realised she wasn't wearing an oxygen mask - something that would have killed her back home! There were just so many clever little ways that Polly and Charles were effected by their new surroundings and that made the story feel completely realistic and believable.

I hated the way the earth students treated those who had come from other planets but unfortunately that was incredibly easy to believe too. We've seen time and time again how humanity treats anyone they perceive as different and as horrible as that is it doesn't seem to be getting any better thanks to politicians who love to preach hate and intolerance. What I really loved was the way Polly and Charles handled their situation. Polly is the kind of girl who acts first and thinks things through later, she's impulsive and it often gets her in trouble but she's also a quick thinker and great to have by your side in an emergency. Charles is quieter and tends to plan ahead so he's usually the one trying to stop Polly doing anything too crazy and keep her out of trouble. What was interesting was the way the earth kids were so privileged and spoiled but had very little in the way of common sense, it was the off worlders who were better at problem solving because they'd had to learn things the hard way in life or death situations that the earth kids had never faced.

I don't want to go into detail about the plot but there was much more going on at their school than first meets the eye and I enjoyed seeing Polly and Charles work together to figure things out. Martians Abroad was the kind of book that you can easily devour in one sitting and I really enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on. As far as I know the story is a standalone but if Carrie Vaughn decides to revisit these characters I'll definitely be picking up any sequels.

Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This book was really good. I plan on stocking it in my store.

Carrie Vaughn's Martians Abroad reads like a science fictional school story in which two Martian-human kids are sent to Earth to a prestigious school and things go amok. It's a well-written, yet straightforwardly simple story following Polly's mishaps as she attempts to integrate into Earth's way of things at this boarding school. A set of orchestrated, predictable events prove Polly's worth to herself, her mother, and the other students as she risks her life to save a handful of the other students. While I was expecting more depth, I think this is a great introduction to science fiction for the younger YA set and a great bridge from children's fiction to "older" science fiction.

Polly and her twin brother Charles have always lived on Mars. Their mother, Director of Mars Colony One has arranged for them to go to Earth and attend the prestigious Galileo Academy. Polly has plans and trying to fit in earth side in certainly not part of hers. On earth Polly finds everything different than how she expected and that she chafes at the rules. When a number of dangerous coincidences occur, Polly and Charles find themselves caught up in the mystery.

I liked Polly. She is spunky and smart and fearless. She also has a temper and it both helps and hinders her. Polly wants to be a pilot. She has a plan and is about to start an internship that will get her where she wants to go. So Polly very very unhappy with her mother when she is sent to earth and is outspoken about it. Which gets her into trouble and she has to deal with the consequences.

I think that Charles may have been my favorite character. You just know that he knows exactly what is going on and will fix everything when it goes wrong, because he is brilliant. Also secretly snarky. I also appreciated the contrast between Charles and Polly. They are different but still siblings.

I did like that they were from Mars and considered themselves Martians. I also liked all the problems that came from living some place other than Earth. So one warning about this book it ends abruptly. The set up seems like a school book with each year being a book but this one just kinda ended. Like just done. It was really really abrupt.

So overall it was a fun read, with potential to go further.

I had pretty high hopes for this, since I enjoy Carrie Vaughn's work. And it's not a bad book; it just never took off for me. The set-up, the conflict, the conclusion -- all of it felt a little flat to me. I didn't quite believe in it, I definitely didn't believe in the stakes, and I don't think I really believed in the characters either. On the face of it, I should really enjoy Polly's character: her presence of mind, her refusal to think inside the box, her quickness to act and her willingness to protect others. I don't even really know why I didn't. I suppose because I didn't feel her emotions coming through. She was dumped by her boyfriend and my reaction was 'oh, well' -- partly because of her reaction, though admittedly also because that relationship isn't built up at all.

If the phrase "dumped by her boyfriend" makes you feel like this might be a little juvenile, you're right there, too. It feels like a YA novel, not just because of the age of the characters but because of the relatively low stakes. I mean, the stakes are allegedly life and death, and yet it always felt like a game. You got the sense that things would be okay. I almost hoped they wouldn't be, at one particular point near the end, because that would've surprised me.

Bit of a miss for me, alas.

Link to my blog is live from 15th March 2017.

This is my first look at this great author! Loving the world-building and truly hoping for more!

Loved this! It reminded me of one of the Heinlein juveniles that I grew up on. Real science fiction and adventure.

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
---
I remember while growing up back in the 20th century that SF was fun. Maybe fun isn't the right word, but stick with me -- sure, the stories were serious, there were real stakes (usually), not every ending was happy, and so on -- but there was an overall sense that the future would be okay, that space travel and aliens (at least the ones not trying to kill us/take over the world) were positives, and that there as something in humanity that made it all worthwhile. But more and more that went away, and the future became (when not downright dystopian) a grim place with people struggling to survive. By and large, who wants to live in the future depicted in SF now? Sure, there are exceptions, but most of those are in the Douglas Adams' tradition (Scalzi and Clines would be good exceptions to this) -- "light" or humorous SF. I'm not saying that I want an end to those stories, or that I don't enjoy the darker SF. But I wouldn't mind more SF that makes me feel okay about the future, rather than wanting to return to the carefree days of the end of the Hoover administration instead of getting to 2040 and beyond.

Enter Carrie Vaughn and Martians Abroad -- an update of Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars (not unlike Scalzi's take on Little Fuzzy in Fuzzy Nation). Now, I've not read Podkayne, but I assume that it could use a little update and some tweaking. Not necessarily to improve it, but to make it "fit" the readers of today. Like a good cover song, such an update can revitalize an older work, showing different aspects of it, without having to replace it (see Parton and Houston's "I Will Always Love You"). Since I didn't read the original, I have no real idea how much of the plot of this book came from Heinlein and how much is straight from Vaughn herself -- and I really don't care outside of some vague curiosity. What I do know, is that Vaughn took some classic ideas and did something that only she could do with them. She gives us a vision of the future that's not perfect, but seems like an okay place to be. This doesn't make it better (or worse) than other SF works -- just a refreshing change of pace.

From Lowood Institution to Trinity High School to Welton Academy to Hogwarts (and many others), there's something about boarding school stories that just works. You get a little bit of a fish out of water story, usually an oppressive administration, some unofficial traditions shaping actions (frequently at least brushing up on bullying), and a heckuva story ensues. Sure, as a kid (and even now) I always wondered why anyone would attend/send their kids to one, but apparently it's a thing. Add the Galileo Academy to the list -- it's a school for the children of Earth's elites, as well as those of a few select space stations and colonies. Charles and Polly Newton are the first students from Mars to matriculate there -- by "from Mars" I mean that they're from the human colony on Mars, not some sort of fully alien life.

But really, in so many ways, they might as well be wholly alien -- ditto for the students form various space stations or the Moon, etc. Due to differences in gravity, having to breathe pumped-in air, etc., their muscle structure bone density -- and even digestive systems -- have adapted to their environments to the extent that it's easy to tell an offworlder by sight. How serious are these changes? Let's put it this way -- the non-Earth born kids can't eat bacon. I know, I said this wasn't a grim or dystopian view of the future, but that one fact makes me rethink that whole idea.

Now, the last thing Polly wants to do is come to Earth -- she has a plan for her future, and this isn't anywhere near it. It fits right in with her mother's plans (Polly just doesn't know how), Charles convinces his sister to go along with his mother's plan without much fuss -- it's not like they could stop things, anyway. The trip from Mars to Earth isn't as bad as she expects and she begins to have a little bit of hope - only to have that crushed as soon as she starts to meet students and administrators from the Academy. Basically offworlders are seen as lower-class/working-class, not as sophisticated or healthy as those born and raised on Earth. Polly, Charles and the other offworlders find themselves grouping together, and the target of harassment of varying degrees of seriousness and intensity from the rest. It's tough to tell how much of this is in their minds and how much this is real -- at times it feels like Polly's exaggerating how bad things are, but typically, her perceptions are substantiated.

Before long, some accidents or other dangerous situations start occurring that put Polly and her classmates in jeopardy --and it's not long before the students begin to wonder if there's something other than chance at work here. While Polly seeks to integrate herself better into her new community -- and she makes some pretty good strides at it (and some stumbles) -- she, Charles and her friends try to figure out just who is targeting their class and why.

Polly is a great character -- strong-willed, fallible, smart, impulsive, brave, socially awkward -- very real. Incidentally, you may have noticed that we share a last name -- I'm claiming Polly Newton as my great-great-ellipses-great-granddaughter right now, and welcome her to the family. The rest of her classmates are just as well-drawn. I could've used a little more on the adult front -- the teachers and administrators are largely absent, and are vaguely drawn. I do think that's a function of Vaughn's focus being on the students, not necessarily a flaw with the book -- I just would've liked a bit more of adult presence.

There is some real honest humor here -- some of it comes from the situations, some of it is from Polly's snark. But better than her attitude is the sheer awe she feels at Earth -- the colors, the life, the non-greenhouse plants, the sky, the air. Her initial impressions of Earth were great -- and they only got better from there -- each time she left the confines of school, she discovered something new about this planet and the way it was described was better than the last. Polly's a human, but from her perspective she's an alien to this planet, she's seeing it with fresh eyes.

There are some villains (of a sort), some real opponents to be faced, but really, there's no one evil. There's some misguided people, some . . . unthinking/wrong-thinking characters. But there's no Voldemort figure, no true evil. Just conflicting agendas, different priorities, unrepentant snobbery -- it feels real. Again, a refreshing change of pace.

Yes, this book is about teenagers, but it's not a YA book. It is, like the SF I talked about at the beginning, YA-friendly, though. A book that I can recommend to friends as well as my kids and their friends -- and, of course, you, whoever you are. The book was exciting, entertaining, filled with real situations in an appealing future. Vaughn's to be thanked for such a pleasant change of pace, a breath of fresh air -- and I hope we get to revisit this world (but if we don't, that's okay, this is a complete story as is).

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tor Books via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this. Also, thanks to Tor for the opportunity to take part in the Book Tour.

Book blurb reads: Polly Newton has one single-minded dream, to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly's plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth—the one planet Polly has no desire to visit. Ever.

This is a traditional school story with a difference. Raised on Mars in low gravity the Newtons have immense trouble adapting to Earth gravity, and since they have spent their lives in a closed environment, just stepping put under an open sky without protective clothing and a breather mask is scary in the extreme. The school they are sent to thinks itself to be super-elite where all the kids of 'people who are somebody' are sent, so their classmates are snobby and elitist, looking down on the non-earthers, because - hey - there has to be someone to look down on if you want to feel superior. Polly doesn't fit in, and doesn't have much desire to fit in, while Charles - too clever for his own good - seems to manage just fine.

But then a series of accidents involving high profile kids starts to happen. Polly, Charles and a few of their trusted classmates try to get to the bottom of it. Charles is the brain, but Polly is the heart.

Carrie Vaughn takes a detour after Kitty Norville and gives readers an interesting take on sci-fi with her new novel Martians Abroad.

Polly Newton thinks she has it all figured out. Born and raised on Mars, Polly’s plans include becoming a pilot someday. No other options exist. That is, until Polly’s mother throws a wrench in said plans and decides that Polly and her twin brother Charles will benefit from going to school at the prestigious Galileo Academy on Earth. Despite that going to this school will invariably help Polly get into a piloting program, she’s not one for being blindsided, and that’s exactly what happened when her mother informed her they were going.

She doesn’t find the reception on Earth any better, when she’s faced with prejudices and competition. But when a series of mysterious accidents continue to befall her class, they’ll have to work together to figure out what’s going on.

Right away the idea of a Martian coming to Earth was unique for me. As far as I can recall, the sci-fi I’m used to reading typically involves Earthlings traveling elsewhere, or other species just traveling space in general. What this did was create a really interesting perspective on Polly’s part. She’s seeing things (such as trees and rain) that are so common to us, but completely new and awe-inspiring to her. Carrie Vaughn did a great job of taking descriptions that could have crossed over into boring or mundane (just because we’re all familiar with them) and turns them into beautiful observations and descriptions. One of my favorite moments was when Polly and her class take a field trip to the Manhattan Cultural Reserve (aka future New York) and she sees a horse for the first time.

The outlook of the future was quite interesting as well. Martians Abroad is set in an indeterminate future time, but it’s not so futuristic that it felt beyond grasp or comprehension. Mars, at this point, had only been inhabited for one hundred years. Not too long in the grand scheme of things, and those inhabitants were former Earth humans, now considered Martians. But you begin to see how disconnected we are in the way that Polly reacts to having to go to Earth–a place where her ancestors hail from.

Probably my biggest complaint was, unfortunately, Polly. She’s so dead-set against trying to make the most out of her situation that she doesn’t figure out what is going on around the school until pretty much the very end when, in fact, the clues are there the whole time. I would have liked the mystery to be a little more involved, but I understand that coupled with the newfound awe of Earth for Polly that may have been too much.

I found Martians Abroad to be a quick read, which makes me want to know, after all is said and done, what will come next for Polly, and even her brother Charles who had his own interesting quirkiness about him. I’m hoping Carrie Vaughn will decide to tell us someday.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Carrie Vaughn’s books, but I’ve only managed to get around to reading a few of them. I liked those books, though, so when I heard she was writing a young adult science fiction novel, I thought I would give it a try. Sadly, I didn’t find much to like about this particular book.

The plot summary is accurate but a little misleading, because it sounds like it’s going to be more exciting than it is. The “strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences” don’t start occurring until halfway through the book. Up until that point, the reader mostly just gets an overview of Polly’s life at boarding school and her reactions to being there. I found that first part of the book to be a slow read.

I also found the inside of Polly’s head a rather unpleasant place to be. To me, she came across as whiny and grumpy almost all the time—rarely does she seem happy or positive about anything. To some extent, that makes sense, since she’s being forced to attend boarding school on Earth against her will and is homesick for Mars. After a while, though, her negative outlook got tiresome. She doesn’t need to be a Pollyanna (ha!), but she was too much of a sourpuss for me to like her.

It doesn’t help that the other characters in the book hardly get fleshed out at all. Polly’s mother, for example, gets almost no page time. Polly doesn’t like her, but it wasn’t totally clear why to me, because they barely interact. The same goes for her brother Charles, who Polly treats more with suspicion than affection, because Charles is . . . manipulative? Scheming? I wasn’t sure what to make of Charles or their relationship through most of the book. The net effect of this treatment of all the characters except Polly is to make them seem like mere props for her to react to instead of real people. Polly doesn’t seem to like or care much about them, and neither did I.

I did appreciate the fact that the author clearly did her homework in regard to the sci-fi aspects of the novel. What it might be like to live in a Mars colony, the physical effects on the body of living in a low-gravity environment—those kinds of details get explored well. Unfortunately that really wasn’t enough to counteract the negatives of the book for me.

An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

Raised on the the colony of Mars, Polly Newton is about to experience Earth for the first time. Sent to the prestigious Galileo Academy, Polly and her brother Charles are thrust into a world of pretentious classmates and suspicious accidents where they are forced to navigate strange social norms - most revolving around earth lineages - and endure the force of gravity itself.

I really like Polly. She's adventurous, curious and has a firm grasp of right and wrong. She's also not afraid to put herself in danger to save the lives of her classmates. Her brother Charles is a good foil, a Machiavellian sort whose quiet machinations only make Polly's behavior seem more heroic.

Readers looking for some light science fiction will enjoy this book. Would recommend to fans of Kass Morgan.