THE BOY FROM MARS

An Earth-born Martian teen travels through space and time to save his home planet in DeLaurentis’ debut YA novel.

Fifteen-year-old Thomas Knight lives on the Mars Station, a strictly controlled interior city on the Red Planet in the late 21st century. He learns all he can about Earth, the “origin planet,” which superfloods rendered uninhabitable a couple of decades earlier. His Earth obsession could lead to trouble—Martian inhabitants are confined to the Station, and attempts at escape are dealt with harshly. One day, Thomas meets a stranger who makes the startling claim that Thomas is not like his genetically engineered peers—he was the very last child born on Earth (“With a real mother and father? How could that possibly be?”). His birth father, whom he’s never known, has worked with others to implement a plan for Thomas to salvage their devastated world. It entails time-traveling into both the past and the future, but Thomas doesn’t exactly land where he was meant to. Arriving in 2023 Marin County, California, he meets a fellow teenager, Elly McAllister, who can tell him even more about the planet that has long enchanted him. DeLaurentis depicts a visually rich SF setting including the Station’s interior of overlapping circles and the children’s diet of geometric foodstuffs (like freeze-dried triangular tomatoes). The scenes set on Earth are equally engaging as Thomas spots so many peculiar things that Elly must explain to him, from a dartboard to a roller coaster. The relatively small cast shines, including Thomas, who easily adapts to changing circumstances; the ever-helpful and easygoing Elly; and Eno, Thomas’ smaller “counterpart” (the boys room together on the Station), who’s brilliant and loyal. Wherever he goes, the young hero faces obstacles, such as Mars’ sub-zero temperatures, megalodons on Earth, and bullies that, sadly, exist on both worlds. While this book delivers a satisfying, well-rounded adventure, it’s also the first installment in a proposed trilogy—Thomas’ interplanetary, time-hopping journey is just starting.

Vibrant backdrops and stellar characters animate a worthwhile SF romp.