172 Hours On The Moon by Johan Harstad

Translated By: Tara Chase

Publisher: Atom

Format: ARC

Published: 5^th April 2012

Number of Pages: 368

Book: For Review*

Genre: Realistic-Fiction, Science-Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Action-Adventure, Paranormal, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death, Mild Swearing, Alchohol References

No Drug References

A chilling, edge-of-your seat thriller.  Alien meets Moon.

‘Houston, this is Darlah 2.  We have a problem’

It was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime.  Mia, Antoine and Midori had different reasons to want to enter NASA’s competition for a seat on the first shuttle to go back to the moon in over forty years.

But while they all wanted to escape earth, the never realized there might not be a chance to come home.

A prize-winner in its original Norwegian, 172 Hours on the Moon was published to great critical acclaim and went on to become a huge bestseller.

Review:

In space, no one can hear you scream…

It’s been years since a person set foot on the moon.  The world knows that.  What they don’t know is that a secret research facility was built up there, and has been there for years.  No one has ever set foot in there.  There’s a reason for that, one that is highly, highly classified.

NASA is holding a worldwide lottery!  Three lucky teens have the chance to go to the moon!  The adventure of a lifetime, right?  The three winners, Mia, Midori and Antoine, may have been trying to escape something on Earth, but… they never thought they may not be coming back.  They never thought something was already up there, waiting…

Normally, I’m not big with sci-fi books.  But from the moment I read the blurb of this, I was desperate to have it.  And when I was reading, I was honestly scared and I completely fell in love with all of the characters.  172 Hours on the Moon just completely surpassed all my expectations.  It was brilliant and unputdownable.

The three winners were brilliant!  Mia Nomeland, from Norway, was amazing:  she was wonderfully snarky, sarcastic and just overall hilarious!  Always outspoken, she was brave, charismatic, confident and cheeky.  Overall, Mia was just so strong and in control: a real leader who turned into a genius in difficult situations.  I loved her from the word go.  Antoine Devereux, sixteen, from Paris, was really sweet, always funny, logical, optimistic and too cute!  Midori Yoshida, from Japan, was the youngest at fifteen.  She, too, I loved from the beginning: she was just brilliant!  Cheeky, bonkers, strong and sweet, she told the scariest stories – which had worrying similarities to future events in the book…

The crew was equally awesome.  Commander Lloyd Nadolski, an experienced astronaut, who was serious, professional, determined and business like – he would do anything to protect his crew and the teenagers.  Lt Caitlyn Hall: the cool, funny astronaut, totally in love with space.  Captain Aldrich Coleman, brave, who knew more than he let on…

And then there was it.  The blur.  I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say everyone was right to be terrified.  And when you read the book: keep your eyes open for the clues – I missed the first two.  I want to see how you all do!

I loved the relationship between Mia, Midori and Antoine: it was fun, friendly and real.  I completely believed that they were actual friends, even though they were so different.  The relationship between Mia and Midori was really sweet: Mia really took care of Midori.  But it was obvious that even though Antoine was the oldest, Mia was the one in charge!  Antoine and Mia’s relationship was more romantic.  Sweet and touching, and a long way away from the scariness of the moon!

I must admit, I wasn’t thinking I’d love this book and read it in a blur.  I was literally on the edge of my seat all the way through.  I was actually terrified, never sure which way the plot would go, and I was scared for my characters.  All the way through questions flew through my head.  I needed the answers and read so fast to find them.  When I got there… did NOT see them coming!  Same goes for the ending!

Of course, I can’t judge the book based on its original Norwegian, but in English the writing was absolutely amazing.  Even though it was all third person (not my favourite style), it really, really worked and I felt like I got to know everyone.  Also, it meant we got to know things that we never would have been able to if, say, Mia alone was the narrator.  The writing was so addictive, full of suspense and description: I just loved it all!  And I loved learning more about the moon and space.  Freaky moon blur not included, of course!

Three strong, relatable lead characters, a bunch of equally believable crew members and a moon with something unknown lurking on it…  172 Hours on the Moon was so utterly addictive, a scary, thrilling story that had me completely hooked from start to finish.  One of my favourite sci-fi books ever!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Lorien Legacies Series by Pittacus Lore

The Devil's Triangle by Mark Robson

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley 

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Atom in exchange for an honest review