Countdown

by Ben Mikaelsen

Overview

DANGER IN SPACE!

Separated by country and culture, will danger unite Elliot, a young astronaut, and Vincent, a Maasai herder?

When NASA selected Elliot to be the first teen in space, he eagerly anticipated the day he would board the space shuttle Endeavour. After intense preparations, Elliot never expected anything to go wrong on his voyage, but when danger threatens, the only contact he has, via shortwave radio, is with Vincent, a Maasai boy in Kenya. The two can't agree on anything. When the Endeavour makes an emergency landing on the coast of West Africa and Elliot's life is hanging in the balance, can he and Vincent reconcile their cultural differences and become friends?

"Mikaelsen weaves a provocative message through his novel and blends two fast-paced stories into a single, powerful whole." -Booklist (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798890220547
Publisher:	Speaking Volumes LLC
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.59(d)
Age Range:	5 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ben Mikaelsen has won the International Reading Association Award and the Western Writers Golden Spur Award. His novels have won critical acclaim, as well as several state reader's choice awards. These novels include Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red, Stranded, Countdown, Petey, and Touching Spirit Bear. His newest book is "Jungle of Bones". Ben's articles and photos appear in numerous magazines around the world. Ben and his wife, Connie, live in Anacortes, WA.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8If you can buy the premise that NASA would randomly choose a teenager to serve as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle, then this ambitious book will make an enjoyable near-future-fiction read. Elliot Schroeder, 14, of Crazy Peak, MT, is selected to fly on the shuttle, while Vincent Tome, a 14-year-old Maasai youth living in Kenya, considers whether his future lies as a warrior or as a person educated in the white man's ways. The boys' stories merge when Elliot, whose primary assignment is to talk from orbit via short-wave radio to ham-radio operators around the world, contacts Vincent. Their vast cultural differences spark genuine conflict, distrust, and dislike. When a shuttle emergency forces a landing at Dakar, Senegal, NASA flies Vincent to meet Elliot, allowing the boys to reach across space and culture to make the world a bit more peaceful. Both boys are credibly shown to be inquisitive idealists. And they are dreamers, yearning for lives that exceed their fathers' expectations. Elliot feels he must outperform the alternate Teen-in-Space applicant, a girl named Mandy, while Vincent (more convincingly) faces conflicts with Leboo, a boastful bully. Careful research allows integration of details that lend authenticity to the tale, and the plot moves quickly enough to engage the intended audience while challenging readers to consider their own cultural biases.Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA

School Library Journal