Read this so I could talk about it with my fourteen year old writing buddy who had also read it. We shall have a discussion. I don't think I'll list the talking points here, though. ( )

***ETA: Did end up coming back to this one. Shannon Hale is a figure I quite like but as an author we don't seem to click. Decided to give her sf venture a go but we continue to not pair well as writer/reader. On top of that though, I think this book has some genuine pacing and plotting issues that is going to make a reader's enjoyment of it seriously vary depending on whether or not they like the characters. And I have to agree with some of the other reviewers about the romance subplot. Could have done without any of it.***

I'm about halfway through this one and I'm starting to think I won't end up finishing it. I'm bummed because I really enjoy the protagonist (and her parents!) but the world building lacks depth. I'm having such a hard time visualizing this world much less getting immersed in it. It's interesting to me that I've come by several YA scifi titles recently that I have this same complaint about. I'm not a sf/f reader that needs my world built in painstaking detail but I do need it built in a way that I can imagine people living there and believe their interactions with that world. Has there been a shift lately to focus more on characters and action while letting world building get a little less attention than what I've previously experienced? Or are these just one-offs I've happened to come by in a row? ( )

Maisie Danger Brown! What a fantastic heroine! One handed, super smart Latina with a love of science wins a cereal box trip to space camp. Enter nefarious plot involving a juggling genius, a compelling/disturbing boyfriend, superpowers and alien invasion. Awe-some! And it reads like a pulse-pounding page-turning thriller with excellent best friend and a really great dog.

My favorite one of Maisie's powers? The ability to nickname and have it stick. Read it! ( )

Maisie wants to live up to her middle name – Danger, so she applies to an astronaut camp featured on the back of a cereal box. To everyone’s surprise – she actually wins the trip. While there she meets Wilder, and other first team members who are needed to save the world.

Dangerous is not like the other Shannon Hale books at all. This is modern day with science fiction, rather than high fantasy. There is a romance plot that interferes with the story for me. As smart as Maisie is supposed to be, she seems easily manipulated by Wilder. But then she’s been home school and isolated. (I know a lot of home school kids and they’d all see right through Wilder.)

Dangerous is a one and done that I think some of my students will enjoy. It’s not the best I’ve read by Shannon Hale, I like the Goose Girl series better, but I’m curious to see if she stays writing contemporary or goes back to fiction.
( )

Great diverse cast of characters, plenty of action, almost a cinematic feel to the story - didn't care for the love interest, but appreciated the scene with discussions of both consent and protection - really wish the cover featured the main character ( )