Tria and the Great Star Rescue - Hardcover

Rector, Rebecca

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385729413 ISBN 13: 9780385729413

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2002

Synopsis

Tria never, ever goes Outside—that’s where germs are . . . and living, bacteria-breathing humans! She’d much rather stay inside her pod with her best friend, a hologram named Star. But now she doesn’t have a choice. Her mom has disappeared and Tria is in terrible danger and must flee their home to the security of a Back to Basics school. Before Tria tearfully turns her friend off, her mom manages to send Star a message—vital information Tria can retrieve when she’s safe. Except holoprojectors are strictly forbidden at her new school. No technology or modern influences are allowed! Tria has no way to contact Star or find out what her mom needed to tell her. Not to mention she has to put up with Dayla, a mean-spirited girl determined to make Tria’s life even more miserable.

Desperate to get hold of a holoprojector, Tria bravely takes on new challenges. But can a girl like Tria succeed in a world where danger lurks around every corner?

About this title

About the Author

Rebecca Kraft Rector is a children’s librarian. This is her first novel.

From the Back Cover

Computer-savvy kids will respond to the fusion of technology and Jetsons charm, and will be both surprised and fascinated as Tria navigates a world in which the modern conveniences she relies on are stripped away.

Reviews

Grades 4-7--Tria doesn't like the Outside. Chiron is a civilized planet, but as far as she's concerned, it's dirty, crowded, and dangerous. She prefers to stay safe in her home pod, studying with her robot tutor. Her mother, an off-planet archaeologist, is often away for weeks at a time, but Tria always has her holographic companion, Star, for company. Then her mother sends an emergency message telling Tria to leave the pod immediately and enroll in the Back to Basics School, an institution that rejects technology. Star must be "turned off" and her program disk carefully hidden. At the school, Tria discovers that her mother has been kidnapped by criminals who are searching for a machine she discovered on her last dig-one that can make holograms solid. With the somewhat unwilling assistance of two misfit fellow students, Tria must locate the hidden artifact, rescue her mother, and prevent the device from falling into evil hands. Tria is a delightful, multifaceted character. Her unusual technological expertise is useful in the rescue attempt, while her occasional mechanical mix-ups add a touch of humor to the plot. Her two school teammates each discover individual talents and all three learn to work together to accomplish their mission. Science fiction fans will appreciate this fast-moving, action-filled story with its strong theme of friendship and courage.

Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

While newcomer Rector's futuristic tale of a girl who faces her fears to save the world has some creative and suspenseful moments, it leaves readers with some unanswered questions. Since her father died Outside, Tria won't leave her pod; she's terrified of germs and animals, and her only friend is a hologram named Star. But when her archeologist mother is kidnapped after finding a device that can make holograms solid, Tria's world changes dramatically. Following her mother's instructions, Tria stores Star on a disk and heads to South Back to Basics School, where she plots to find the device and save her mom: "Bad guys were chasing me, Mom was in danger, and my best friend was a disk in my shoe." (Later, she will need to rescue Star when her disk is stolen.) But to succeed, she must face an angry "furbeast" and enlist the help of two "real" classmates. Some of the details are clever and even comical; for instance, when Tria reassembles a robo horse to escape the school and find her mother, she mixes up parts from other technologies and inadvertently creates a "most marvelous" creature that flies and thinks with the sharp mind of her computerized teacher, Mr. Willoughby. But ultimately some flaws in logic may distract readers: for example, why do armed guards patrol the school, why does the school prohibit technology yet allow the use of robo horses, and how would an archeologist came upon such a sophisticated device on a dig? Ages 8-12.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

My fingers shook as I reached for a new handhold in the slippery rock. Below me, the cliffs plunged into the sea. Crashing breakers churned up a white froth of foam.

"You can do it, Tria!" Star called.

But I couldn't. My hand lost its grip, my feet slipped, and I plummeted down, arms windmilling.

With a thud I landed on the sofa.

Oof! I rolled over and pulled off the AlmostReality headband. Star knelt beside me on the sofa, looking worried. My best friend wasn't a climber. She preferred to sink herself into her studies.

"Are you okay?" she asked. She was wearing Borgarian gauzy purple pants and an embroidered sleeveless jacket. Our tutor, Mr. Willoughby, had been teaching us about the planet Borgar, which is best known for its outlandish clothing. "You were really high on the wall."

I glanced at the gel strip that covered the back wall of our pod, and tried to estimate where I'd been. "I did get a lot higher this time, didn't I?" I loved these virtual adventures. Once I'd even climbed the famous Supoorian banyan tree. "I hope Mom brings another AR game back from her travels."

Star stared into my eyes like a doctor. "You're looking a little disoriented. We'd better do something quiet for a while."

"Okay." I took off the rest of my AR gear and settled on the living room floor. My heart was still racing and my hands were sweaty. AlmostReality games were so good I felt like I'd just fallen off the real Cliffs of Redvor. I wiggled my bare toes in the tufted carpet. My tense muscles relaxed.

"Cards, please. Go Fish," Star said, dropping down beside me.

"Not that game!" I protested as the holo cards appeared and dealt themselves out. There was a glitch in our copy. "At least take the queens out."

Star grinned. "They're the best part."

"You just like to remind me of my mistakes," I said grumpily.

We fished back and forth, and it wasn't long before Star announced, "I only have one card left, Tria. Once I match it with the other three, I win!" She swung one slippered foot in time to the bells and cymbals of the Borgarian music she'd put on.

I took a guess. "Got any fives?"

Star twirled a finger through her violet hair and smiled. "Go fish."

Rats. "Fish," I said, and a card winked into existence in front of me. A nine. I didn't need any nines.

Star sat up and her card moved with her. Her eyes were dancing. "Got any queens?"

I groaned. "Ye-es," I said, dragging the word out reluctantly. Two of my three queens jumped out of line and spun smartly over to Star.

"Go on," I said to the third queen. "Get over there." It didn't move, and Star giggled. "Go!" I poked it, but my finger went right through the holo card. The queen still didn't move.

Star collapsed on the floor, holding her stomach and laughing madly.

I pretended to be angry. "You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

When we were seven I had decided to reprogram the Go Fish playing cards. I've always liked to tinker with things and figure out how they work, especially holograms. Back then I thought it was a great idea to make the cards move only when you said, "Pretty please with sugar on top." Star figured out my trick right away. When Mom returned from off-planet, she made me put the cards back the way they'd been.

"Reprogramming so you'll win is called cheating," Mom had said.

"I wasn't cheating!" I had mumbled. "I just thought it would be fun to trick Star."

"Fix it."

I did my best. But putting things back the way they were was so boring. And things never seemed to work the same again. Like the queen of hearts.

"Pretty please with sugar on top," I muttered. The queen of hearts did a back flip and zipped over to join the others. I watched in disgust as the four queens spun in a happy circle before settling on the floor in a neat spread.

"I win!" Star said through her giggles. "I just love that queen of hearts."

"You win," I agreed. "Cards off." I watched with satisfaction as the queens and the rest of the cards disappeared. I loved seeing my mistakes vanish.

"One day," I said, "I'm going to be a great inventor and never make mistakes."

"And someday I'll be a famous ornithologist," said Star.

Star loved birds, all birds, any birds. Mom was going to help me buy a parrot hologram for Star's birthday. No one knew when Star's real birthday was, so we celebrated on the anniversary of the day she came to live with us.

"I'll have to do field research," Star said, rolling over and propping her head on one elbow. "Go Outside, visit lots of planets . . . study the bird populations of the galaxy."

I shuddered. "You don't want to go Outside. You can learn from holo vids."

Star frowned. "Lots of people live Outside, Tria. Don't you ever long to feel the wind in your hair? The warm sun on your face?" She tossed back her hair and lifted her heart-shaped face to an imaginary sun.

"No," I said firmly, squashing a sudden memory of playing on a sunny beach with Mom and Dad. "Lots of people live safely in their pods, just like us."

I looked around our living room, drawing comfort from the familiar surroundings. The walls curved softly around us, but we had built in features that added corners and odd angles. A shiny fractal trellis led to the overhead loft where I kept my experiments, and Mom's smaller artifacts nestled on the shelving underneath. Across the dull red tiles at the other end of the pod were the set of puff chairs and the large Olympian vase Mom had brought back from her last dig. And, of course, the sofa, with its cheerful turquoise and yellow colors, stood near the gel wall, perfectly positioned for me to fall onto its plump cushions. It was all just as it should be, safe and familiar.

Star moved close to me. "Just because your dad died Outside doesn't mean--"

I clapped my hands over my ears. "I don't want to talk about it."

My parents were archaeologists, and I had always gone on their digs when I was younger. So I was there when Dad caught a germ and got sick. "Just a flu," Mom had said lightly. "That's what we get for working around real people." Dad got better fast. But he was still weak when he went back Outside, and an Omegan slither spud bit him. And he died. Just like that.

I'd never gone Outside again. Dad wouldn't have died if we'd stayed inside. I hated that Mom was still an archaeologist. She kept telling me she was safe, that there were biopreventives for almost everything. Besides, she reminded me, she had to make money for us to live on. So she went and I stayed in our pod here on Chiron.

"You can go Outside on Chiron, Tria," my mother had urged. "All the flora and fauna are well known and cataloged. It's perfectly safe."

But I didn't budge. Star came to live with me and be my best friend, and Mr. Willoughby became my Home Tutor.

Mr. Willoughby. Hmmm.

Star never went Outside because I never went Outside. She'd never be a famous ornithologist at this rate.

I uncovered my ears. "Star, why don't you go watch your bird holo vids? I have some work to do with Mr. Willoughby."

Star eyed me suspiciously. "You never want to do lessons."

I raised my eyebrows. "I like to learn new things."

"Right." Star didn't seem convinced, but she got up anyway. "I'll watch the vid in the bedroom then, and you can work out here."

"Thanks." I watched Star walking into the bedroom, her long violet hair cascading down her back. As she turned the corner, her elbow slid right through the doorway. "Clumsy," I heard her mutter.

I had a mission. I was never going Outside, but I didn't want to hold Star back. She should be able to feel the wind in her hair and the sun on her face and watch real birds in a real sky. She should be able to go wherever she wanted even when I wasn't there with my holo projector.

My mission? To make my best friend--my hologram friend--solid.

Edition details

• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385729413
• ISBN 13: 9780385729413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192