https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3104175.html

This is a YA book taken from the template of Heinlein's Tunnel In the Sky; a group of young people are stuck on a planet together and have to make the best of it. I had acquired it because the viewpoint character is charged also with looking after his autistic cousin, who turns out to have magical rapport with the local aliens (yep, Disability Superpower); together they unravel the deadly plot of the evil capitalists (apology for spoilers). It's harmless enough, not great literature. ( )

This is a really interesting book about a group of kids who *think* they are training to be colonists on a new planet with their families -- only to discover when they get there that their families aren't coming, and they've more or less been handed off to something that's half slave labor, half reform school for the unwanted. The kids struggle to get along with each other, to protect their siblings and friends in the group, and in the end, to defeat the evil plans of the people running the program.

This book is not only an interesting, fun read, it is also thought-provoking in a lot of ways that would be great for use in a 5th-7th grade classroom. The book touches on issues related to bullying, disabilities, protecting the environment, what "alien" means, communicating and relationships with people who are very different from you, etc. ( )