This is a bridge in Vaughn's writing. I can see the seeds of "Bannerless" in her exploration of the near future, with Mars colonies more community centered society put in juxtaposition to Earth/ capitalist. And who has betrayed the children and why. ( )

Very young YA premises & writing style & characters. Polly (aka Margaret aka Meg) is unlikable. I never understood Charles (aka Charles Wallace). Especially as their mother would not have named them after L'Engle's characters, nor do they resemble them.

Stale world-building. Earth's national parks and low-lying coastal areas are intact, Mars has no native or feral life, the rest of the system is of a certain population that is not revealed to the reader. The other characters are cardboard icons. The mystery is revealed in just a couple of pages--the 'spoiler' is the only reason to read this, not the clues or build-up to it. And no sequel? Not that it deserves one, but it does read more like the set-up to a series than a stand-alone.

Tsk. Vaughn can do better. Imo her superhero teens were fun and interesting YA. This, not so much. ( )

As always, Vaughn delivers a solidly entertaining story with her trademark humor and wit. I enjoyed this one from cover to cover and hope we are gifted with another snapshot into the lives of Polly and Charles at some future point! ( )

Vaughn, Carrie. Martians Abroad. Tor, 2017.
The title of Martians Abroad might suggest that Carrie Vaughn is aiming a satire at terrestrial culture in a science fiction homage to Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad. But, as most reviewers have noticed, it is Robert Heinlein’s Podkayne of Mars that Vaughn really has in her sights. Martians Abroad is not so much an homage to Heinlein’s YA (then called juvenile) fiction as a rejoinder to its gender politics. In the Heinlein original, though Podkayne is the titular heroine and diarist, it is her self-absorbed genius brother Clark who undergoes a moral education when Podkayne sacrifices herself to save him and a sentient Venarian “fairy.” Clark does not seem deserving of this trope of motherly selflessness, of which Heinlein is cluelessly uncritical. In Vaughn, motherly figures appear as ruthless manipulators of their children. The siblings in Marians Abroad, Polly (who wants to pilot a starship) and her self-controlled brother Charles (who uses his hacking skills to protect them both), are sent against their will to a posh academy on Earth to have their manners polished and their social status enhanced. As they fight off bullies and overcome ethnic prejudices, they discover that the woman in charge of their education is arranging dangerous accidents for them. Along the way, Polly becomes more self-confident of her ability to step up in a crisis, and Charles learns to put his intellect in the service of others. In sum, Martians Abroad is a successful reformatting of Heinlein themes. 4 stars. ( )

Polly is surprised by her mother with a trip to an exclusive school on Earth. Her twin brother thinks this will be great but Polly doesn’t want to go and already has ideas about how her becoming a pilot are mapped out and this school wasn’t in her plans. Turns out the school can really help her out since the cream of political and money circles of Earth go to Galileo Academy. The off world students stick together for most part due to trying to get used to the gravity.
Polly has more issues fitting in then Charles but when things go wrong on an outing for her year mates she jumps in and does the right thing. This helps her out a bit socially but she still isn’t happy at school. More things happen during the school year as Polly and with some assistance from her twin get to the bottom of it.
Overall a good YA read and I’m glad to see more from Carrie Vaughn.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
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