Earthlight, Volume 1

The year: 2068. The place: Earthlight Lunar Colony, an international melting pot of scientific discovery and global tensions. Population: 228 adults - and 42 kids. Fifteen-year-old Damon Cole, who's just arrived on the moon, is one of the first students at the new Earthlight Academy. It's tough being the new kid - but it's even worse when your mother is your teacher. And when your father is Chief Administrator of the entire colony, that's really asking for it. Damon just wants to kick back and fit in. But soon he's drawn into the life of a pretty girl named Lise, and her abusive boyfriend. Can he avoid being drawn into a deadly fistfight at the top of the lunar dome? And if so, will he be ready for the terror that's coming - from the adult world?

Grade 9 Up—In the year 2068, anyone from Earth is disparagingly called a "weeder" by the residents of the Earthlight Lunar Colony. The latest arrivals are the new colony director, the new teacher at the Earthlight Academy, and their son, Damon. Because of such well-known parents, being a weeder, and showing interest in Xan's girlfriend, Lise, Damon quickly becomes a target of Xan and his friends. Some of the conflicts in this book are resolved with unrealistic speed. For example, Lise is told by her teacher that she doesn't have to stand for Xan's abuse and then minutes later, in an amazing empowerment turnaround, she tells him off. Using a savvy marketing angle, this book is presented as manga and from a distance it looks like a Japanese import. But those who examine it more closely will discover that it reads left to right and is actually an American creation. The artwork features beautiful images of the colony's structures, as well as many views of the star-filled sky. The end of the book includes drawings and 3-D software images that were used as early designs for the final version. The humans are drawn realistically, although their hair is a little pointy at times (the manga influence, or just the effect of no atmosphere?). Periodic references to terrorism foreshadow the cliff-hanger ending in which a terrorist (the LAST person you'd expect) takes over a power satellite and holds the Earth hostage. Readers will clamor for volume two to see what happens next.—Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library
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In Earth's first space colony, teens will still be teens, sneaking off to an abandoned observatory (which resembles water towers used for the same purpose in Earthbound stories) just for kicks. An accident results in three deaths and a change in colony administration. The story proper picks up with the new kid, brought to the colony by his father, the new administrator, and mother, the new schoolteacher. Other kids have their own issues: Lise can't stand to be touched, and Xan is a self-centered punk picking fights to establish his alpha status. Schons's art is a standout; he draws spacesuits and SF gizmos well but doesn't lose sight of the characters. Although the book is part of TokyoPop's Global Manga line, the main manga influence is on the character design. Moore introduces concepts and characters effectively with just a few text lines, but some of the characterization is two-dimensional. The mother is too perfect, with just the right tale of "when I was your age" for every teen drama. Basically The O.C. on the moon, Earthlight's situations are still universal and appealing for a YA audience. The most promising plot points raised (like the kids' anger at their loss of control and what caused the deaths) remain to be resolved in future volumes. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.