Countdown

Countdown

by Ben Mikaelson

Publisher: Sagebrush Education Resources 1997 248 pages

Genre: Action, Adventure, and Thriller

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Summary: This story starts with 14 year-old Elliot Schroeder entering a contest, sponspored by NASA to become the first Junior Astronaut. He wins and begins his training with Marlene, his backup. He almost doesn’t get into space, due to this attitude about Marlene. He does get into space, however, and there he comes into contact with Vincent Ole Tome, another 14 year-old, who dreams of a better life, but he forced to give it up to become a Masai warrior and please his father. Due to this fact, he is forced to quit school and now his only link to the outside is a shortwave radio. Through these radios, Elliot and Vincent meet and at first they don’t get along at all, due to cultural differences. Elliot is so frustrated with Vincent that he decided to stop talking to him, but his commander tells him that the world is listening to their conversations and he is forced to continue. At the end of the book, NASA arranges for the two boys to meet.

Response: I liked this book very much. It shows that although we may have differences with others in the global community, in the end, our similarities outweigh our difficulties.