"Sweet Sci-fi romance for all ages"

Melinda Ashley never expected the promised graduation trip with her father would actually be a year-long business trip with him to the remote colony on Mars. What was her father thinking? She wasn't like some of her classmates who wished to travel afar. It was a shock to find that this actually was a life-long dream for him; so she grudgingly postponed her plans for college, marriage to Ross and returning to her family home.

While on the ship to Mars, Melinda begins a trip of the soul. She becomes friends with Alex Preston, a second generation Martian colonist who shows her a whole new way of viewing the world. Can she leave her pre-conceived ideas behind as she has left Earth? How will her relationships and dreams change as she finds more than her own world view?

JOURNEY BETWEEN WORLDS is not hard sci-fi but more a sweet romance and coming of age in a new world. Characters are human and believable and you grow to understand the various perceptions. Written as if Melinda was remembering her past, Ms. Engdahl presents a story that touches both the heart and mind.

A major plot point is the thought provoking comparison of early settlers and homesteaders with Mars space colonization. There may be a bit of preaching philosophy of colonization as future hope, but is subtly woven into the story and not objectionable.

If this is a story you have read, you may wish to take a second look as this 2006 edition has been updated. The author states that she found more changes needed to reflect the modern woman's role than the science since her 1970 edition.

Reviewed by Cy Korte
Courtesy eBOOKISLE.com
Posted March 23, 2006

Note from Author
This new, updated hardcover edition of Journey Between Worlds will be published in 2006 by Putnam. With the current interest in Mars, the story is more relevant to today's readers than ever, so I'm happy that it's coming back into print.

Summary

Eighteen-year-old Melinda Ashley never wanted to go to Mars. She had her life all planned out—marry Ross, become a teacher, and inherit the beloved family home. But when her estranged father convinces her to take a trip with him to the remote colony on Mars, she finds herself tempted to leave her comfortable existence on Earth behind. Mars proves to be quite different than she had imagined and when she meets Alex Preston, a second generation Martian colonist, she finds herself on a surprising new path.

This timeless novel of a young woman's journey between two worlds has stirred readers' imaginations for generations.