A review by shayemiller
The Oceans Between Stars by Kevin Emerson

4.0

I became enthralled with Emerson's Chronicle of the Dark Star series, last year. It's wonderful to see a science fiction series that doesn't dumb down the terminology for middle graders. Additionally, the story is intricate woven, but feels fast-paced. I'm very pleased to learn that my 13 year old son now wants to read it. YAY! Quick rehash from book number one, Last Day on Mars: The story starts in year 2213 and we learn that Earth is gone and all remaining humans fled to Mars. Liam's and Phoebe's parents are part of the scientific team who discovered a new solar system to terraform that will sustain humans long-term, so they prepare to make the lengthy journey. In the meantime, the two main characters discover proof of another intelligent being just before the sun dies. And now it appears that their sun might not have died on its own--perhaps there were other forces at work. We are left on a cliffhanger where The Oceans Between Stars picks up.

Aaaaaaand the second book did NOT disappoint! I don't want to spoil anything for those who will soon dive into this series, so... Liam is attempting to reconnect with his little sister, who left Mars before he did. He continues to experiment with a special watch he found and learns there are multiple outcomes to his future, depending on what he chooses. We learn a lot more about Phoebe's family, as well, and the theme of this book revolves a great deal around human behavior and the power of trust. These are a few of the quotes I bookmarked from book #2:

"Trust is a power adaptation of three-dimensional beings. The hope or belief in something. It's your engine for still making a choice when you don't have all possible information."

"If there's anything I learned in all those history lessons I had to sit through on Mars, it's that [the human] species doesn't have the best track record when somebody else is living on the land that [they] want."

"One of the unfortunate things about a life lived in only three dimensions is that you do not know how or when you are going to die. You'd be surprised how much easier things are, knowing how long you have and what part you play."

There's such depth to the relationships in this series. These books need to be in both middle grade and upper teen collections. I plan to squeeze in book #3 just as soon as possible!!

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!