Book: 172 Hours on the Moon
Author: Johan Harstad
Translated by: Tara F. Chace from Norwegian to English. (duh!)
Pages: 368
How Long it Took To Read: An afternoon. A rainy, dark afternoon...perfect for a book like this.
Plot Summary: The book starts in 2018 (very slightly in the future), some senior folks at NASA are discussing the possibility of going back to the Moon, even though no one has gone back in decades. But going back isn't as easy as it seems. Funds are a big issue. Also, the new generation doesn't quite care about man on the Moon as the older generations did back in the 70s. With this obstacle in mind, the NASA folks decide to hold a world-wide lottery for kids between 14-18 to stand a chance to go the Moon. They think, with kids getting all excited and the attention that the lottery will get, multinationals will pour in money to sponsor this hugely expensive expedition.
So the lottery is announced and there is world wide excitement. And in due course, three kids are selected to go to the Moon.
Mia, from Norway is entered in the lottery by her parents, who think this is a great opportunity. Mia doesn't think so. She'd much rather stay on Earth and give her band her all. But eventually decides to go thinking this is a great way to promote her band and their music.
Midori, from Japan, thinks this is a great way to get out of Japan and find herself in the world outside of her traditional country. She wants to come back from the Moon and live in New York and this chance will give her the way out of her homeland.
Antoine, from Paris, France wants to get as far away as he can from his ex-girlfriend who has broken his heart. The Moon to him is as far as he can get from her.
The three of them train for months, learn all they can about the Moon and spaceships and what to expect. Once on the Moon, things are not as they should be...things take a frightening turn and things start to go wrong...very wrong.
Characters: Mia, Midori and Antoine are main characters but Mia is more of the central character, we spend most time with her. There are portions of books from each of their perspectives, before they are selected and we get to know of their lives and their families. I liked Mia and Midori the best, Antoine was a little...insipid...also his reason to enter the contest were a little too lame.
Apart from the 3 leads characters, there are of course their families that play a fleeting part in the story. There are astronauts- five of them- that accompany the teenagers to the Moon and are part of the action in the second half of the book.
What I Liked: The writing was great, as was the pace of the book. I liked that it went from the very inception of the contest to the three teenagers to their training and to finally the Moon. It helped build up the tension and the anticipation of what was coming next.
But the best part of the book was the creepiness. I am possibly not going to see the Moon or space in the same way ever again. The way the author has described the silence on the Moon, freaked me out. I loved how scary the book suddenly got, even though there was a lot of uneasiness from the word go, it got bad very fast.
I also liked the the teenagers were from countries like Norway, Japan and France and not from the US as is the case in so many YA book, where the protagonists are from the US.
What I didn't: Hmmm....the basic premise is a bit silly, isn't it? Who would send 3 teens to the Moon? I know it sounds silly but it is sort of explained in the book. But still....really?!
Another thing that irked me was..none of these three was a space geek. None of them really cared. Each of them was there for a wrong reason. I wish there was at least one of them who was excited to be there and knew things and was genuinely interested in being on the Moon.
General Thoughts: I enjoyed this book. It had some issues but it was entertaining as hell. I read most of it in one afternoon, while it rained outside and I won't lie, I was a little bit spooked..a little.
Will You Like It? If you like getting scared, you might enjoy this. Also if you like space and Sci-fi, though this is most definitely more Horror than Sci-fi.
Rating: 4/5
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