The Lion of Mars
What could life be on a remote planet for a child who never lived on Earth? Who do you ask for help when your isolated small mission of compatriots is in trouble? What is family? A very heartfelt, engaging story from the perspective of a 9-year-old born in a very, very, very different world… A terrific novel for any curious young mind!
- Science fiction
- Novels
- 7-10
- Adventures
- Family
- Feelings
- Friendship
- Science
- Self-discovery
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SYNOPSIS
A chef, a nurse, two mechanics, a farmer, a captain, five kids and a cat represent the U.S. permanent Mars mission. The year is 2091 and only the adults recall living on planet Earth (the kids arrived on Mars as babies). In a sophisticated underground settlement, the team subsists on provisions received from Earth every two years or made from hydroponic algae (algae TP?!). After a mysterious incident some years prior, the crew has cut off all contact with other nations’ Mars residents, and the isolation nags at everyone. That changes when a life-threatening crisis forces Bell, the narrator and youngest team member, to bravely seek the help of neighboring mission teams. Crisis averted, international friendships blossom and together, the inhabitants become “the pride of Mars.”
PERFECT AGE 10 – 14
THEMES
- Teamwork, support for each other, working hard together
- Harsh consequences of rule-breaking
- Managing one’s feelings, empathy for others, feeling ignored by a friend
- Getting accustomed to life in unfamiliar, uncomfortable circumstances, making sacrifices
We love
- The way the crew grow accustomed and in-sync with each other makes you think that families can be “born” in many ways
- How thoughtful and deeply empathetic Bell is – the carrot cake he plans for Meems’s birthday reveals him to be beyond-his-age observant and caring
- The very different yet equally relatable personalities of each member of the U.S. crew
- The emphasis on plants, music and world cuisines as a few unique Earth treasures
WATCH OUT FOR (Language, Big / Sensitive Topics, Outdated Concepts):
- We learn that a crew member (whom we never meet) died mysteriously, after purportedly having been abandoned by neighboring missions’ members…
- Bell finds his closest adult friend and grandpa figure, Phinnaeous, dead in his algae farm…
- The kids have no parents because they were all put up for adoption on Earth…
CONVERSATION STARTERS
- What would you find most exciting if you moved to live on Mars?
- What would you most miss or insist on taking along with you?
- Which of the young characters do you relate to the least? Why?
- Does it seem like the grown-ups in the U.S. mission get along with each other? How so?
- What do you think will happen to the U.S. crew when Terrestrial Command finds out they have not followed orders?
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