Starred Review All her life, 17-year-old Adri's been preparing to be a Mars colonist, so when she must leave behind her home in Miami, thanks to rising ocean levels, she doesn't mourn too much, since she's been ready to leave the whole planet behind for years. Her sense of detachment wavers, though, when she's placed with Lily, her elderly, last living relative, in the months leading up to her one-way trip to Mars. In Lily's ancient Kansas farmhouse, Adri finds shreds of clues about her past, including enigmatic letters and journals and, oddly, a Galápagos tortoise. Now cold, prickly Adri finds herself fixated on where she came from rticularly the stories of two women, Catherine, who lived in Lily's house during the Dust Bowl, and Lenore, who lived in England during WWI st as she's about to leave it all behind for good. As Anderson beautifully weaves together Adri's, Catherine's, and Lenore's stories, each of the three women come vividly to life through distinct voices and behaviors. Their stories have parallels vironmental devastation, leaving home behind, and finding a new one t they're all deployed with determined subtlety, and the resolutions, while never tidy, are tantalizingly satisfying. With quietly evocative writing, compellingly drawn characters, and captivating secrets to unearth, this thought-provoking, lyrical novel explores the importance of pinning down the past before launching into the mystery of the future.

In the year 2065, 16-year-old Adri Ortiz is one of the hardworking, talented few chosen to colonize Mars. Adri's an orphan with ties to no one, but the Latina teen understands the importance of interpersonal cooperation, so she doesn't complain when the head of the Mars program sends her to live with a long-forgotten cousin near the space center in Wichita for the months leading up to the launch. Lily, the cousin, is 107, passing into dementia, and more eager to know Adri than Adri is to know her. But Adri is intrigued by a postcard she finds in the farmhouse, written in 1920 and mentioning the Galápagos tortoise who still lives on the farm (and is herself named Galápagos). The story shifts to diary-keeper Catherine, a hardscrabble white teen living on the same farm in 1934, at the height of the Dust Bowl. Catherine's little sister Beezie is dying from dust pneumonia, and their mother, a widow, seems locked into helplessness. Again the story shifts—now it's England, 1919, and white Leonore is mourning both her brother's loss in the Great War and the friend who left for America years before, to whom she writes. Galápagos ties the stories together as all three young women fight for self-determination, love, their futures, and the realization that you can never move forward freely until you have something important to leave behind. Deft, succinct, and ringing with emotion without ever dipping into sentimentality, Anderson's novel is both intriguing and deeply satisfying. (Science/historical fiction. 12-adult)

In the year 2065, 16-year-old Adri Ortiz is one of the hardworking, talented few chosen to colonize Mars. Adri's an orphan with ties to no one, but the Latina teen understands the importance of interpersonal cooperation, so she doesn't complain when the head of the Mars program sends her to live with a long-forgotten cousin near the space center in Wichita for the months leading up to the launch. Lily, the cousin, is 107, passing into dementia, and more eager to know Adri than Adri is to know her. But Adri is intrigued by a postcard she finds in the farmhouse, written in 1920 and mentioning the Galápagos tortoise who still lives on the farm (and is herself named Galápagos). The story shifts to diary-keeper Catherine, a hardscrabble white teen living on the same farm in 1934, at the height of the Dust Bowl. Catherine's little sister Beezie is dying from dust pneumonia, and their mother, a widow, seems locked into helplessness. Again the story shifts—now it's England, 1919, and white Leonore is mourning both her brother's loss in the Great War and the friend who left for America years before, to whom she writes. Galápagos ties the stories together as all three young women fight for self-determination, love, their futures, and the realization that you can never move forward freely until you have something important to leave behind. Deft, succinct, and ringing with emotion without ever dipping into sentimentality, Anderson's novel is both intriguing and deeply satisfying. (Science/historical fiction. 12-adult)

Anderson (The Vanishing Season) interweaves the stories of three tenacious young women in this sprawling saga. In 2065, orphan Adri Ortiz has been accepted into a prestigious Mars colony program, where she will work to create a livable extraterrestrial world. In the weeks before relocation, she is set up to live with a long-lost relative, a lively and opinionated centenarian in Kansas. After discovering a cryptic postcard that dates back to the 1920s, Adri is drawn into a mystery involving an ancient tortoise-still alive and well-and a mystery woman. In 1934, Catherine Goodspeed finds the same postcard among her mother-s possessions; Catherine-s journal recounts her worries about the discovery, her younger sister-s declining health, and the dust storms raging around her. And in 1919 England, Lenore Allstock writes letters to her estranged childhood friend as she mourns the death of her brother during WWI. Each character-s resilience and independence shines brightly, creating a thread that ties them together even before the intersections of their lives are fully revealed. Anderson-s piercing prose ensures that these remarkable women will leave a lasting mark on readers. Ages 14-up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (June)

Anderson, author of the acclaimed Tiger Lily (HarperCollins, 2012/VOYA February 2012), weaves together the stories of three women from different times. Adri is a teen preparing to depart for an expedition to colonize Mars in the year 2065. Since she has no known family, she must spend the remaining weeks before the launch living with Lily, a 107-year-old distant cousin in Kansas. Through a series of letters she finds, Adri learns of Catherine, who is struggling to survive the Dust Bowl in 1934 with her mother and young sister, Beezie, who suffers from dust pneumonia. Catherine is given some letters that introduce Lenore, a young woman who is grieving the loss of her brother, a fallen British soldier in 1919. As these letters are shared between generations, the reader learns the secrets and desires of the characters. Although these characters never meet, their lives are beautifully intertwined into a moving story of struggles, heartbreak, and family. Each woman displays strength, perseverance, determination, and spirit as she discovers love and friendship. Anderson packs a lot into a slim 272-page book that the reader will not want to put down. Lyrically written, this moving novel will touch the heart of any teen who has questioned the importance of their life.—Mary Balog.