I have to say that this book was quite a disappointment to me. It's a fairly enjoyable read but it lacks the usual Connie Willis cleverness and wit. I was really excited when I bought this since I'd been waiting for a new Connie Willis book for a *long* time and what disappointed me most here is that this is not a novel but a short story (and a very short one too, it took me about an hour to read it!). I later found out that this book was actually targeted at 12-15 year olds?! I really don't know what to think about this... Is the publisher desperate? Can't Connie Willis write a full book anymore? Her next book, The Winds of Marble Arch, is coming out in September but it's (again) a collection of short stories, some of which have already been published in other collections... I'm not a huge fan of short stories but I'm a Connie Willis one so I'll probably give this next book a try, despite my low expectations...

From Publishers Weekly:
Some high school kids would do anything to be an IASA space cadet, but not Theodora Baumgarten in Willis's cheerfully tongue-in-cheek SF novella. "There's no air, you're squashed into a ship the size of a juice can, and it takes years to get anywhere interesting. If you... aren't killed first by a meteor or a solar flare or a systems malfunction." But somehow, without submitting an application, Theodora is accepted to the Academy. Soon, she's green with space sickness aboard the Academy space station (named, appropriately enough, the Robert A. Heinlein), learning the ropes with a class of robust, gung-ho cadets. Getting out will require solving the mystery of how she got into the Academy in the first place, but it might have something to do with the annotation "D.A." in her station records. Willis (Inside Job) turns a cherished SF theme completely inside out.

Surprise! I saw this book on your wishlist and thought it would make a nice little RABCK before the Holidays:) Happy reading!

Thanks for the lovely wishlist surprise and the bookmark and L'Aquarium card!
Sorry you waited so long for the JE, but the book arrived after I'd already left for my holidays, and my internet connection while away was often slow or simply non-existent. Looking forward to reading it. Ta! :D

A fast read, though a bit simpler than I expected from Willis. At times infuriating, as I don't see how one could not extricate oneself from a situation like this from the word go. Enjoyed it none the less. :)

Off to Canada, as part of collectorkerri's
First Sentences VBB, Round 10.
It's a bit on the thin side, but I hope you'll enjoy it. :)

Thanks so much for sending this one - it looks fun!

Taking to the February meet up for the "Rachel's books" theme! While not hers, it does fit the theme! This novella was laugh out loud on the train funny in several places. :)

To the finder:
Calgary has an active group of BookCrossers that meet to swap books and discuss book crossing every second Saturday of the month at 11am at Cravings Market on Fairmount Drive SE. We always love to meet new crossers, so please join us any time you like!

Picked up this book at the Calgary BookCrossing February meet-up. I just finished a book by Connie Willis so I thought I would check out more of her work.

After reading "The Doomsday Book", this was a disappointment. I do realize that it's a YA book and I shouldn't have expected a huge, complex plot, but even by YA standards, this book is sad. The plot sounded interesting, but there's hardly any meat to the story. It's over and done with with minimal fuss. If the book had been longer with more detail, I think I would have liked it more.

Passing on this book to the next reader at the Calgary BookCrossing March meet-up.

picked up at March 12th meeting

back with me to send on out again.

Taking to the Extra December meet up - Dendritic Trees is home!

To the finder:
Calgary has an active group of BookCrossers that meet to swap books and discuss book crossing every second Saturday of the month at 11am at Cravings Market on Fairmount Drive SE. We always love to meet new crossers, so please join us any time you like!

I've grabbed this from the Calgary Bookcrossing Meeting. It looks both exciting and dainty, so it should make a great plane book for my trip back home.

I picked this up expecting a serious book. Its actually humour and it is HILARIOUS. I loved it. The author has also done a wonderful job of giving Theodora an authentically teenage voice, without it becoming distracting or annoying.

This was completely hilarious.

Its a very short book, but its got really interesting world building and Theodora's a really compelling character.

I'm taking this back to the Calgary Bookcrossing Meeting.

Picked this up at the Calgary BookCrossing December mini-meeting.