Red Rock Redemption : The Beginning

by Penelope J. Bristol

Eleven teenagers embark on a mission to Mars sponsored by Red Rock Inc, a company desperate to colonize the fourth rock from the sun. However, shortly after leaving Earth, a handful of the M6 crew begin to encounter an otherworldly force that begins to change their bodies in unimaginable ways.

As the teens struggle to survive the journey to Mars, a bigger secret awaits them upon landing. The mission is nothing like what they signed up for, and soon, they realize they're stuck on Mars for a darker purpose. But the planet has its own plans and a history of terrorizing anyone stupid enough to try to outsmart it.

Will they unravel the secrets only the adults seem to know and make it back alive? Join these brave teens on a journey of colonization gone wrong as they fight to uncover the chilling truth hidden inside the red planet in book one of this fantastical series.

177 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 25, 2022

About the author

Hello! I’m a middle school teacher trying my hand at writing YA and Sci-Fi drama. First of all, I love books! Imagine a grown woman who devours Kristen Hannah, Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, and Jojo Moyes. Oh my God, I love Jojo Moyes!

My attempts at becoming an author are quite literally a mash up of what I’ve adored in my favorite books coupled with a myriad of life experiences. The Sci-fi obsession started in grade school where I fell in love with Ray Bradbury’s Illustrated Man. So, what you’ve got here is a book/space nerd teacher who’s addicted to audible. I’ve truly wanted to become a writer since my sophomore year of high school. Now that fifty is knocking on my door, I’ve moved on it. Lesson here-stop waiting to create a life you love.

Although I was born in eastern Tennessee, I’ve spent my life moving, first as a child and then as the wife of a USCG C-130 navigator. This gypsy lifestyle, although not always easy, has provided me with lots of beautiful memories and enduring friendships.

My sweet husband and I have three children, two boys, and a daughter. They are the loves of my life-each one as unique and different from the other as fingerprints. Much healing has come from living alongside and loving these four incredible people.

I was born to be a teacher even with the writing bug. It’s a job that feeds my soul and I don’t plan to give it up. I simply enjoy the writing process and I hope others enjoy the outcome. I won’t lie and say I haven’t dreamed of making it a career, but for now, I’m content to write in the summers. What comes of it-time will tell.

My favorite things to do with my spare time are read, write, take long walks, ride my peloton and practice yoga. I used to be a runner but my body retired me early. If you read anything I write about running you’ll see it was an absolute joy of mine. Shout out to any runner readers!

I’ve loved raising my children and now that they’re older, I savor the impromptu fleeting chats with my prickly teenagers. Life certainly moves quickly, and I find myself wanting to go back and relive moments in both their childhoods and in mine. Maybe this is why I’m drawn to writing about young people, they have their whole lives ahead of them.

I hope you enjoy my stories and that life is treating you well. I plan to write more, eat more birthday cake and live well in between. Drop me a line, I’d love to hear from you.

All my best~ Penelope

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was willing to put up with a lot from this author by excusing all the typos and errors in the book due to its pre-publication status. I was completely baffled by the idea that this book was written not only by a woman, but a middle school teacher, and one who has written multiple books before this one. It reads like something a middle school student would have written. I mean, the repeated use of the word “defiantly” in place of “definitely” was a real shock to the system.

And I was even willing to roll with extremely strange character choices out of interest in a completely unbelievable plot just because I was curious to see how it would all come out. I mean, a 16ish year old girl wrapping herself in aluminum foil collecting a soil sample from under her house pretending she’s on mars? I could get behind the idea that she was that obsessed with mars, but then as soon as she gets the chance to go she just immediately checks out of everything and acts like a total nutcase throughout the entire training process? I don’t get that at all. Not to mention that we have an entire crew of completely unqualified children going to mars with only two adults…

But the icing on this shitcake was when one of the students calls her cohorts the R word and there is no negative response from anyone? Completely unacceptable. Hard pass from me there.

[BAM xo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book, so thank you for allowing me to read this.
This book has potential. It's not written well considering the author's academic career.
Despite its many plot holes, and some very loose points that are barely whiffed at, I did enjoy the premise of the story. It just lacks a lot of substance. I feel like it's stuck somewhere between a children's/teens age book. If the book was structured better, and contained more depth, more YA fantasy/sci-fi elements, more world building then it would be a far more successful story. I currently can't place it properly into a category to sum it up. It's only a short story, but I wanted to like it and perhaps could have, had it been able to fill the much needed vibes and had been written more for its intended audience. I did enjoy the idea of space travel itself, I thought that was a positive.
There wasn't enough world building, nor enough vibes for the characters for me to truly enjoy the book sadly. So it's a solid 2* from me.

[Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was kinda creepy! It starts off as the perfect sci-fi novel about a group of teens going to Mars, but it becomes more like a suspenseful horror story the farther into it you get. Really interesting concept and a book I was able to read in about one afternoon. I'll definitely be reading the sequel.

[priya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to voracious readers and Penelope Bristol for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book is definitely interesting. The first kids to go to Mars! how does that work? How will it go? Although Mia herself is kind of annoying, I’m interested in learning more about Trevor’s and Peyton’s backstories and their psyche. However I don’t like that while Mia seems quite frankly either stupid or purposely oblivious, Trevor’s job seems to be to manage her. As if she were a child.

Also the structure and writing left things to be desired. For example, the repeated abrupt shifts in POV from Mia to Peyton with no warning whatsoever. Or from 1st person POV to 3rd. Or the inconsistencies, like why does Mia refer to her mom that she’s grown up with, by first name when thinking about her. It’s not explained so that behavior is just odd. I also found the characters’ behaviors sometimes quite odd, as if they weren’t inherent but rather inserted for plot purposes. Because of these, I only ended up reading part 1 of this book.

As I said the story premise is compelling but the execution needed more work. There are hints at a bigger plot which could potentially prove dangerous for our characters. If the reader were in their teens they would likely relate to Mia and Trevor.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will start out saying I found this book by accident and didn’t realize it was the start of a series because “The Beginning” isn’t on the title on Kindle, only on the cover and I didn’t really look at the cover.

In the previous 1 star review, a lot of typos and a slur was mentioned. Those aren’t in the book at more from what I read and searched. It might be in the paperback version but it’s not in the kindle version. The fact it had to be pointed out to be removed sucks but at least it was corrected.

I enjoyed the start of the series. At first I was really concerned how slow the book seems to be moving for a whole book but I really enjoyed the start of this series. I can’t wait for the next one to see how Peyton handles everything.

[Felicia Seay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I am not normally interested in Sci-fi stories, unless they are full of smut. That being said, I was immediately pulled into this story. The author takes you through multiple characters' points of view seamlessly without getting sidetracked from the story. You literally experience each character's emotions like they're your own. The plot twist was intriguing and this is only the beginning, since it's book one of a series. That's pretty impressive, and I look forward to reading the rest of the books as soon as possible.

[Emma M · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded up. I was provided an ARC.

I genuinely enjoyed the idea of the book. I think the concept was interesting enough to make the book worth reading. I also think that this version must have been cleaned up following some of the reviews from 2022.

However, there are some elements that could have been more polished. The relationship building almost happens exclusively during a leap into the future. I would have enjoyed having insight into those moments rather than simply being caught up.

Overall, a fun and quick sci-fi YA read.

[Sarah Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proving a honest review based on complementary copy.

12 teenagers selected to go on space mission to Mars by Red Rock. The selected teenagers are from 6 schools spread across the US. What could possibly go wrong? Peyton is a young teacher that has dreamed of a space mission since childhood. She will accompany them. Typical surly teenagers cooped up on ship for 6 months realize all is not what it seems. What is Red Rock hiding from them?
I believe this story has more to it and would consider reading another edition.

[Emma Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red rock Redemption: The beginning is a fantasy novel by Penelope J Bristol.
I really enjoyed escaping from every day life with this novel.
It was easy to follow with a great story and mix of characters. zi really enjoyed the novel and I highly recommend it.

[Crystal Wrongerahippie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows a group of high school students who travel to Mars. On their journey they discover that they have developed super powers and that the trip has something to do with cancer treatment. I would recommend

[E L]

(I received a copy to review through voracious readers)

This is now one of my favourite books! I cannot wait to get the other books in the series, as I didn't put this book down once while reading it! I would definitely recommend it!

[Stephanie Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book
Good backstory for characters to build on
Cant wait to see how the kids grow on Mars

[Tara Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, sending teenagers to Mars. Look forward to continuing the series to see what’s going to happen

[Caris Riemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really amazing plot idea! The author captured all of the emotions that I would be feeling if I had been on that trip and copied them down. Definitely recommend!

[Amanda Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was well written and i couldn't stop reading until the end. I love the characters as well continue writing will like to read more. I will probably read it again.

[Ashleigh Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast read, quite short. I wish the first book had been a bit longer. But it did have a lot going on in a short book. The characters are varied. It was a solid 3.5 when it took a sudden turn, shocking me, which bumped it up to a 4. Good series start!

[Penelope Bristol]

This book is for ANYONE who loves escaping into other worlds! If you're into YA Lit and Mars, even better. PSA: If you haven't hung out with people under 20 in awhile brace yourself for a hearty dose of Gen Z, paranormal sci-fi with a superhero vibe, DO IT!!

Red Rock Redemption: The Beginning is a contemporary fantasy built upon the backdrop of colonizing Mars. It's the first book in what will become the Red Rock Redemption series!

What I loved most about writing this book was creating insanely different teen characters on top of the necessary adults needed to pay bills, sign off on forms and pilot a rocket into outer space.

In addition, there are multiple female and male protagonists which I intend to fully develop and stretch into a series of books over the next few years.

"What happened here?” Peyton asked, looking down anxiously at the two unknown astronauts at her feet.

"Nothing we can't handle," said Presley as she grabbed Trevor's boot and motioned for Ms. Lawrence to keep the door open.

If you're not afraid of nerdy space adventure and mountains of teenage attitude/colorful language (thanks 11 plus years of teaching middle school), I think you'll love this book! I've also created a collection of AI generated art featuring each character via a link in the back of the book. Enjoy!