Review by Booklist Review
McDonald sets this novella in his expansive and imaginative near-future colonized moon first realized in Luna: New Moon (2015). Cariad Corcoran has known no other world than the unforgiving moon, a deadly environment that can kill a person in a variety of ways. Unhappy with a new addition to her non-traditional family, Cariad decides to take her siblings on an adventure to secure a rare artifact Neil Armstrong's footprint from the Apollo 11 lunar mission as a gift for upcoming nuptials. Told as a first person confessional after-the-fact, Cariad relates a harrowing tale of unforeseen obstacles that nearly kills her family but ultimately brings them closer together. Though it is set in the same world, this story digresses from the corporate intrigue and power struggles of McDonald's Luna novels, and the YA-focused story has little in common with the intricate themes of the original. Fans of that series may be confused by this seemingly unrelated entry, but the likable characters and fast-paced adventure will appeal to readers of near-future speculative stories.--Craig Clark Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The sophisticated worldbuilding McDonald presented in his Luna trilogy is sadly absent in this forgettable novella, presented in the form of a bratty teen's recounting of an adventure to a therapist. In 2089, Cariad Corcoran, who was born on the Moon, is rattled by the arrival of a previously unknown stepsister, Sidibe Sisay, whose existence further complicates her messy family relationships. Intimidated by Sidibe's height, beauty, and ability to fly (a nod, as the title suggests, to Robert A. Heinlein's 1957 story "The Menace from Earth"), Cariad concocts a scheme that is somehow supposed to undermine Sidibe's new prominence in the family. Cariad, Sidibe, and two others are to travel to the Sea of Tranquility to leave their marks next to Neil Armstrong's footprint, a mission that proves unexpectedly perilous. The Luna novels feature a complex struggle for power among family-run corporations that have industrialized the Moon; this slight effort will disappoint readers hoping for more glimpses of those elements, as here the tangled dynamics come across as superficial and confusing. Heinlein fans might get a chuckle out of the parallels, but McDonald fans will find the story unimpressive. (Nov.)
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