Dyson's Review of Shanghaied to the Moon
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Reviewed by: Marianne Dyson Title: Shanghaied to the
Moon Author: Michael J. Daley Ages: 9-12 Format: paperback Pages: 249 Publisher: Putnam Date: March 2007 Retail Price: $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-24619-7 All
Stewart wants for his 13th birthday is his father’s signature on an
application to Space Academy Camp. But his father is on a business trip to the
Moon that Stewart thinks was timed to avoid a confrontation over Stewart’s reason
for wanting to go to camp: he wants to be a rocket pilot. To follow this career
path, he must pass an entrance exam during his 13th year, and
Stewart sees camp as his last chance to get the training he needs. He idolizes
a famous rocket pilot named Val Thorsten who flew
many harrowing missions (made into “3-Vids” that Stewart “flies”) and
disappeared while testing a new rocket design. Stewart’s
mother was also a rocket pilot. She died in an accident when he was six. He
sees a holographic counselor to help him deal with the lingering trauma.
Despite watching a “holo” of the accident that shows
him watching the crash with his father, he can’t actually remember being there
or feeling anything. He continues to have nightmares and occasional “squiggles”
of memories of his mother. After
an unproductive session with the holographic counselor the day before his
birthday, Stewart visits the space port. He meets an old spacer who offers him
a job as a cabin boy on a trip to the Moon. The man tells Stewart that counselors
make you forget. Stewart checks out this assertion when he gets home, and finds
his computer is blocked on the topic of memory suppression. That night, he has
another nightmare and then recovers some memories of his mother when he smells
pancakes his brother makes for his birthday breakfast. Stewart
confronts the counselor, demanding to know why he has so many holes in his
memories, and discovers that his visit to the space port was recorded on video
and that his computer is bugged. The holographic counselor forbids him from
seeing the spacer again, refuses to answer his questions, and won’t stop
playing the holo of his mother’s crash. Stewart loses
control and smashes the projector. A human counselor arrives with a needle, and
he trips her so that she injects herself. Then he flees to the space port. The
spacer and Stewart launch into space and a series of adventures that lead them
to the Moon and an understanding of what really happened to Stewart’s mother
and Stewart’s hero, Val Thorsten. Information
is revealed in perfectly calculated doses to keep the story moving and not give
away the conclusion. The technical issues faced by the characters and their
resolution of them were all believable, with some exceptions. One major error and a
disservice to children is the use of the incorrect notion that there is a dark
side of the Moon. On page 41: it says “The light side was declared off limits
to more development.” When the moon is between the Earth and the Sun (a new
moon), the side facing Earth (the near side) is dark, and the side facing away
from Earth (the far side) is in the Sun and would be ”the light side.” When the
moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun (full moon), the near
side is the light side. So, the statement on page 41 means the whole moon was
declared off limits to development! I think the author may have meant “near”
instead of “light” side, but this blatant mistake almost caused me to give up
on the book. The story kept me reading, but I was dismayed to discover the
error repeated on page 231 when the father refers to a “hideout on the dark side.” One
other bit of inaccurate science is in the discussion of why they are running
out of air. On page 163: “It’s the oxygen. Most of it vented when we overheated
leaving orbit.” Overheating the outside of the shuttle does not vent oxygen!
Overheating could build pressure in oxygen tanks, but they would have to
explode to vent. I
read a review copy that came with a disclaimer that some changes had yet to be
made in the final galleys. I hope this explains the typos on pages 24, 93, and
136, and 235. One
neat idea that space enthusiasts may appreciate is on page 40 in a discussion of
the Apollo 11 flag. The author speculates that because this flag fell over
during the crew’s launch off the Moon, that it was covered with dust and thus
protected from the bleaching effects of the Sun’s UV radiation. The other flags
are expected to have faded to gray and white by now. I hope that one of the
young readers of this book will find the answer to this question for all of us! Overall,
this book is an excellent science fiction adventure appropriate for middle
grade and young adult readers. I give it points for clarity of terms, new perspective, readability, science in the plot, and characterization, but must dock it one point for misinforming children that the Moon has a dark side. Total: 5 points. Shanghaied to the Moon has captivating characters, and is a thrilling
adventure with a satisfying conclusion that nonetheless allows
for a sequel. © 2007 Marianne Dyson |
