Voyagers: Project Alpha - D.J. MacHale

Voyagers

Project Alpha (Book One)
D.J. MacHale
Random House Children’s
 
SciFi/Middle Grade

 

Earth is running out of energy. Within one hundred years, all fossil fuel resources on Earth will be gone.    Already, there’s eight hours of power blackout every night just to try to conserve energy.  The only solution is to find fuel on another planet.  Project Alpha will send four kids into space to find that fuel.  It has to be kids, because of the stresses this type of space travel places on adult bodies.  The kids’ families get ten million dollars, and the kids get the honor and adventure of saving Earth.

 
As this first book in the series starts, the eight candidates arrive at a top secret base to begin their training.  At the end, the commander of the mission will choose the final crew.  The training is both physical and mental, and only the best will make it.  Each candidate has a distinct personality, and a different set of strengths and weaknesses.  It’s fun watching the group come together, watching friendships form in such a stressful atmosphere.

This is the first installment in a series of six books.  Each installment deals with a different segment of the mission, and will be written by a different author.  There’s also an online component that allows readers to take tests and see if you could qualify for the mission.  There’s plenty of action, twists, great characters, and some interesting science fiction happening here.  It was complicated enough to hold my interest as an adult, and proved to be great fun for my middle grade reading friend. 
 
Fall 2015

ISBN# 978-0-385-38658-6  (hardcover)