Review: 172 Hours on the Moon

     

Title: 172 Hours on the Moon
Author: Johan Harstad

Series: None
Pages: 359

Publisher: ATOM
Release Date: April 5th 2012 (UK)
Source: For Review
Rating: 4 stars
100 Book challenge: #7

Three teenagers are going on the trip of a lifetime. Only one is coming back. It's been more than forty years since NASA sent the first men to the moon, and to grab some much-needed funding and attention, they decide to launch an historic international lottery in which three lucky teenagers can win a week-long trip to moon base DARLAH 2-a place that no one but top government officials even knew existed until now. The three winners, Antoine, Midori, and Mia, come from all over the world. But just before the scheduled launch, the teenagers each experience strange, inexplicable events. Little do they know that there was a reason NASA never sent anyone back there until now-a sinister reason. But the countdown has already begun. 

172 Hours on the Moon was a wonderfully written book, full of suspense, fascination and mystery. From the very beginning I was intrigued by the plot and the further I got through the novel, the more secrets there seemed to be. Anyone who loves mystery, space and a touch of fear factor will really love this one!

The plot was so fascinating. I love Space and the idea of teenagers venturing up to the moon really attracted me to this book. From the start there are hints that things aren't quite right with the intentions of the trip and there is a slow drip drip of information throughout the novel. However, it seems as though when one question is answered, two more are formed. I loved the suspense and mystery and this aspect held my attention whilst reading.

I liked all the main characters. Mia was probably my favourite, though. I felt attached to all of them, despite the 3^rd person narration. The back stories of these characters really shaped them and allowed the reader to connect to them.

I knew the book looked a little sinister and the idea of things going wrong in Space is terrifying but I wasn’t expecting how eerie the book was. I definitely had trouble reading it at night before I went to bed.

Overall, I really really enjoyed 172 Hours on the Moon. I recommend it to those who are interested in Space and love a good mystery with a splash of scary thrown in!