Space Hostages: A Hilarious Intergalactic Quest About Hostile Aliens and Kidnapped Kids for Children (Ages 8-12)

Mars Evacuees #2

by Sophia McDougall

Space Hostages is an intergalactic quest full of humor, adventure, and, of course, aliens that will have you laughing out loud until the very last page! Now in paperback, this is the hilarious middle grade sequel to Mars Evacuees ...the kids will have to save the galaxy all over again. And this time they don’t have any duct tape! Plucky heroine Alice Dare and her friends go on a second journey into space that goes spectacularly wrong when they realize that they are up against a whole new kind of alien. Alice Dare is relieved that at last humans and the alien Morrors are now living peacefully together. But with an influx of too many Morrors, space on Earth is getting a bit tight. To find room for all the Morrors, they’ve begun terraforming a cold little moon in the Alpha Centauri system—and Alice and her friends are invited to the inauguration of the Morrors’ new home!

But once they arrive, the kids are kidnapped by the hostile Krakilluks and must save themselves and the Eemala people in the process.

Genres: Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Space, Fiction, Action

448 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2015

About the author

Sophia McDougall (born 1979) is a British novelist, playwright, and poet, who studied at Oxford University in England.

She is best known as the author of the alternate history trilogy Romanitas, in which the Roman Empire still exists in contemporary times. She is also the author of Mars Evacuees and Space Hostages - sci-fi adventures for children (and everyone else who likes spaceships.)

Reviews

[Noa Seidmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

קראתי בעברית נקרא חטופים בחלל.
במסורת ארוכת שנים, הספר השני פחות טוב מהראשון.
גיבורי הספר הראשון מוזמנים לחנוכת בית של כוכב הלכת החדש של החייזרים מהספר הקודם. בדרך כמובן יש בעיות והפעם הם צריכים להסתדר בלי סרט הדבקה.
הספר חביב, אבל באיזשהו שלב נעשה בלתי אפשרי לעקוב אחרי כל הדמויות החדשות עם השמות המוזרים ושתי מערכות שפה נוספות... פשוט ויתרתי וזרמתי. חביב אבל אפשר לוותר

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, REALLY enjoyed the first book in this series - but this one, I absolutely *LOVED.* It's just wickedly smart and funny and awesome, from the beginning straight through to the end - and it made me want to re-read Book 1, MARS EVACUEES, all over again after I finished, just to get to spend more time with the fabulous main characters and savor them even more!

This time, Alice and Josephine and all the rest are out way beyond Mars, visiting totally new worlds, and the science fictional worldbuilding is just dazzling. The visual imagery is fabulous, and the cultures are so inventive and fun to read about, with SO much wow!-factor throughout - OMG flying brontosauruses! (well, basically) - and yet the depiction of those invented cultures is also incredibly sharp and smart about issues of colonialism, etc. I continue to love the diversity throughout this series, and the sheer intelligence mingled in with all the completely exuberant fun.

I was also hugely impressed, as a writer, with the way that one particular, crucial scene in the book, near the end of Part I, is both very, very genuinely scary AND incredibly funny, both at once. That is so hard to pull off! But it was just perfect. And the dynamics among the kids continue to be wonderful.

My one and only niggle in this entire book is that...well, looking back at my review of the last book, I see that I thought they sounded more like 14-year-olds than the 12-year-olds that they were supposed to be in that book, and fair enough - this time, as I read Book 2 (before re-reading that review!), I kept on finding myself thinking that they all seemed more like 15-year-olds than 13-year-olds to me. But honestly, that is a very, very tiny quibble, and it certainly didn't affect my enjoyment of the book! And since exactly a year was supposed to have passed between books, it shows that their characterization is completely consistent throughout the series. :)

This is one of my very favorite books of the year so far, and I highly, highly recommend it for anyone who likes fun, funny, smart and exciting adventures with real heart. I'm not sure whether it would stand alone, but honestly, Book 1 is so much fun, why would you want to skip it? Read both! You won't regret it.

[Tomer · Rating 3 out of 5]

{2.5 rounded up} A fast, somewhat haphazard book as the first, filled with plenty of action and lighter side, adjusted for the younger side of readers.

[Monica Edinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. A great follow-up on the first also outstanding book. (I ordered this from the UK because I was that eager to read it.)

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has the same bunch of kids as the previous book in the series, Mars Evacuees, including plucky Alice Dare (the main character), her genius friend Josephine, Carl and his little brother Noel, the Morror kid Thsaaa, and...no!!...the snobby bully Christa. They all get on a spaceship to visit the new Morror colony on a planet in another solar system. Alice doesn't necessarily have her parents' permission to go, but she manages.

The trip doesn't go as planned. They are intercepted by a ship of an unknown type of alien, who say the Morror planet is theirs and demand it back, with reparations. Alice, Carl, Josephine, and Thsaaa end up stranded on still another planet, with the sometimes annoying but nicely upgraded teaching robot Goldfish. They have to figure out not only how to rescue the others and get home, but also how to fix the situation with the aliens. Plus Alice needs to figure out why Josephine has stopped being very friendly to her.

There's much more to the plot, but I'm not giving spoilers. Like the previous book, this one is light and funny, but also has a lot of adventure and problem solving. Oh, and the ship they are on, the Helen of Troy, is an AI who is programmed to be in love with her captain, who is Christa's father. Helen is an excellent character!

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Well-Balanced, Modern, Old-School Space Adventure

Back in the 1960's when I was a middle grader reading middle grade sci-fi, (they called it "juvenile fiction" then, which seems a bit dismissive), one of my favorite authors was Robert Heinlein. "Have Space Suit - Will Travel", "Tunnel in the Sky", "Citizen of the Galaxy", "Between Planets", "Farmer in the Sky" - books like this melded space adventure, alien contact, exploration and settlement of other worlds, teamwork and community, space technology, and multi-cultural lifeform coexistence. At the time, this was the bread and butter of forward thinking youth sci-fi. It's not so common now, when we find much more fantasy, magic, time travel, paranormal, quantum speculation, and military sci-fi. That's where the Sophia McDougall books come in.

This book is the sequel to "Mars Evacuees", and both books are tremendously imaginative and entertaining modern variations on the space adventures I lapped up. Of course, 60 years on, (really?), the genre has been tuned up considerably. Our heroine is smart, snarky, a little angsty, and strong-willed. The ensemble of heroes is more diverse. The space tech is considerably more imaginative and varied. (Heinlein was celebrated for anticipating the cell phone.) Aliens aren't just gray and lumpy with big eyes. In fact, more care and attention to detail is lavished on the many and varied alien life forms and sentient technology than is devoted to the human characters. Everything is bigger, smarter, flashier, more surprising, and funnier than in the old school.

It's worth commenting that somewhere along the line humor has been allowed into the genre. Entertaining though they were, the old school books were serious, maybe even a bit ponderous, and comic characters and amusing banter was not that common. Now, and especially in books like this, (but also consider series like Percy Jackson), wit and deadpan humor, sly commentary and funny dialogue are all part of the mix.

This is all to the good. Not to go on and on, but my bottom line is that this new style - that marries humor, excitement, personality, adventure, insight, creative world building and free imagination - makes for a wonderful, entertaining and imagination firing reading experience. This is good for any "plucky kid", whether from Mars or not.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

[Tani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worthy successor to Mars Evacuees! I was worried that I might not enjoy this one as much. I'm always kind of weird about middle grade books, which is why I don't tend to read a ton of them. But no worries! I loved this! I made it about 40% of the way through and then decided that I just really needed to finish the book in one fell swoop. So, I did, and it was totally worth it.

I think that my favorite part of these books is the aliens. McDougall manages to write them as simultaneously different from humans, but also eminently relatable in all the ways that matter. The message of empathy for others has been a huge theme in both of these books, it's one that I'm always happy to see in my fiction, especially in these time. Also, she makes them tremendously fun, with interesting quirks and funny interactions with the main characters.

I also really love the characters. The kids are just great. They manage to be brave and resourceful while still being kids. Sometimes they whine or snap at each other, but in the end they always come through for each other. I like that a lot.

The pacing is also really great in these. There's not a moment wasted - there's always a character growth moment going on, or something being learned, or some action taking place. It makes it really hard to put the book down, which is a very good thing. Both of these books have really reminded me of the joy that I got from reading as a child, and that I still get to this day. I really hope we get to see more of Alice, Josephine, Carl, and Noel in the future!

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book over the summer a few years ago when I was looking for science fiction for middle grade readers. There's only two books in this series, and I entered on this, book 2, then bought the first, Mars Evacuees, because my library didn't have it (although it later subscribed to Hoopla, and it is available there). They're a bit older (2016-ish), so if your library doesn't have them, they'll need to be purchased.

Alice Dare and her friends, including a freezing, tentacled Morror named Thsaaa, are back on Earth and back in school. The Morrors are using Antarctica to live on and global warming isn't an issue. She wrote a book about her first adventure, but with all the peacefulness spreading around, Alice, daughter of a fighter-spacecraft pilot, is just itching for her next in-space adventure. She doesn’t have long to wait.

She's invited to the Morror planet to accept her accolades for bringing an end to the war between Earth and Morror, along with her friends, Carl, Noel and Josephine (although she hasn't heard from her in a while).

Except Alice's Dad is dead-set on her NOT going, not even leaving Earth. He gets sick right before the ship takes off, and Alice decides to go on her own, without him. Ooof. Quite a blow.

The kids -- all of them -- are reunited with the Goldfish teacher AI aboard the sentient Archangel Planetary Ship, Helen. Helen's in love with its Captain, Rasumus Trommler, although his tween daughter, Christa, is singularly unimpressed. Dr. Muldoon is doing experiments on the ship, but the kids aren't terrifically knowledgeable about that.

Tensions over Alice's book and how she portrays her friends rise just in time for Helen to be attacked, this time by another alien species, the Krakkiluk. Helen is trespassing in their territory, and they're insect-like and ruthless. To prove they're serious, they flush Carl out the space lock. It isn't long before Alice, Lena and Goldfish follow. Their only chance of survival with no oxygen tanks on their space suits is a controlled entry into the planet's atmosphere below. So they don't burn up. Can Goldfish do it? Can they?

Up on the Helen, things are not as they seem. Trommler may not have Earth's best interests at heart, starting with his plan to hand over Dr. Muldoon to the Krakkiluk. The Krakkiluk haven't been exactly honest, and on the planet, Alice and Lena and Carl start to put things together. But the air is not exactly breatheable -- it is, but it'll kill them in about a week. So they better get off planet, and fast.

I won't say how the rest of it unfolds, just know, when it was over I was bitterly disappointed there isn't another in the series. And I ran out and bought the first one, as my library STILL isn't doing ILLs (inter-library loans).

Enjoy!

Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?

Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/

[Emily P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. I think this is going to be a fairly long review for me. In retrospect, it's probably not, but anyway.
I want to begin with talking about the first book, Mars Evacuees. That was one of my FAVORITE BOOKS EVER. I loved the witty humor and the characters and everything. It was such a charming read. I picked up Space Hostages with excitement. I loved the first, so I had to read the second. I knew it wasn't going to be as good. I knew that.
So really, I wasn't disappointed.
I want to begin with what I liked. The goldfish, for one. The goldfish is always portrayed as the exceedingly cheerful teacher robot that is always positive. I was thrilled at the return of the sunny robot obsessed with math. It really lightens the mood, and the upgrades Josephine gave the robot just made it better. Second, Helen. I absolutely LOVED Helen. She was so sweet yet so in love with the traitorous Captain Trommler but her kindness to her passengers was just amazing. Never before has there been such a wonderful ship to ride as the Helen of Troy.
I'd like to speak of some of the stuff that came out of the blue. The whole thing, really. The Krakkiluks were just there all of a sudden. How did the Morrors not know that they were settling in an already claimed territory? That seemed a little fishy to me. Also, Trommler's betrayal. I can see how he could have gotten in touch with the Krakkiluks, but you'd think others would also be getting the radio signals or something. I don't know. Just some thoughts.
I'm running out of steam. I don't have stamina for long reviews.
I did love the Eemala and Yaela and that adventure. I think it was really interesting how she portrayed the alien planet. I enjoyed the descriptions of all the plant and animal life. It really brought it to life.
I also like the addition of Noel's point of view. It was kind of fresh to get out of Alice's head and into someone else's. Noel's innocence is very sweet, and I very much like Thsaaa as it is.
So, all in all, I congratulate Sophia McDougall on another good book. It wasn't quite the stuff of Mars Evacuees, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

[Stven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good space-faring adventure with adolescent protagonists. After I read Sophia McDougall's previous book, Mars Evacuees, I commented that I hoped she would write another science fiction novel in this vein, but totally unrelated to Mars Evacuees. So here we are with what goodreads calls "Mars Evacuees, #2." Which, frankly, is a disappointment. But at least the kids from Mars Evacuees are off on a completely different adventure.

The characters are fun, the story is good, and the science fiction inventiveness perks along at a brisk pace and with a suitable degree of intriguing detail. I'd have been happier with fewer switches of narrator and a little more thoroughly sensible explanation of the denouement. But I finished with a positive response to the book and would read another in the (*shudder*) series.

[Jasmine]

Oh my word, Sophia McDougall should write MG forever, what a good story this was. Adventure! Aliens! Humour! Friendship!

Also, I really appreciated how in the first book, they defused a war by actually talking to the other side, but this one makes the point that some wars are legitimately wars of aggression and you can't solve it by being friends with them, they will just crush you with affection. Some violence needs to be resisted in other ways than an outstretched hand. The two books together inform each other so well, while still standing alone well.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful middle-grade sci-fi adventure. Though the second in a series, it explains everything well enough to get the gist. It is largely its own standalone book, with continuing characters.

I particularly enjoyed the languages of the people, and the bits of science sprinkled in, like "whoever thought this information would be useful."

Recommend for later-ish middle-grade kids and adults who can identify with what kids are going through.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud to my eleven-year-old over numerous bedtimes. McDougall has a gift for writing accessable science fiction. If you liked Mars Evacuees, rest assured that Space Hostages is even better. I'm looking forward to seeing what the author cooks up next in this or another universe.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, quirky little book. I would certainly start with the first book in the series, though (Mars Evacuees), otherwise I expect you'll be lost.

[Tyler Standish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great adventure! I recommend it to those who love to read.

[Jennifer]

There were at least 3 plot twists that majorly changed the story. Wow. It was a fun space read.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

My opinion of this book is strongly shaped by the fact that I committed to read it out loud with accents, and I didn't realize when I started the first in the series how MANY accents there would be.

Spunky, heartwarming, charming, adventurous, and exciting!

[Sara Gabai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and exciting. Not quite as good as the first book.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ending is very quick compared to the build up, but a good book and thoroughly enjoyed.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun, just like the first. The overall voice of the story -- so unique and fun. Would be great for a car trip audiobook for the family.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

8/10
-Plot:+1
-Characters:+1
-Setting: +1
-Writing style: +.5
-Pacing:+.5
-Originality:+1
-Ending: +1
-Emotional impact:+0
-Overall enjoyment:+1
-Would I Recommend / Reread:+1

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good romp of fast plot, sharp characters, and resonant emotions.

[Stas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't even.
Oh boy, this is SO full of problems.
(I am pretty sure this review is rather a disorganised mess)

To start with : Author, I do NOT need Girl Power at the expense of male characters.

And once again everybody actually Doing Something Worthwhile is of the female persuasion. What even? This is so much more in the face than in Mars Evacuees that it made me re-examine my feelings on that one as well, and put some things for me in perspective. I went all the way to enlightenment of "Ah, so that's what was itching under my skin!"

1) There is still no point of Carl I can possibly fathom.
2) Noel and Thsaaa get to act - but one is a they and the other is still being presented as a kid.
3) Goldfish is still an it.
4) Thus, they do not count as equally male as Carl does.

This book is chock full of females who are (quite pointedly, I think) not having conversations about males. And I am including adults. It rather felt like females were running the world and Making Decisions and generally Being Awesome.
While all the boys were... doing what exactly? Though there is a rather shady paranoid male alien scientist - who cannot even quite count as a developed character.

And I haven't even started on the story yet. Oh joy.
Personally, I knew something was seriously shady with the whole deal from the very first chapter. Then the captain showed up and the deal was up so completely, I even wondered if I should abandon the book for something better.
And I felt so entirely disconnected from the whole book. I simply did not care. At all.

Goldfish was still awesome. And Helen was a complete joy and darling.
Otherwise? Very meh.

FINAL VERDICT : YOU CAN SKIP THIS ONE. READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is funny with cliffhangers on every page!

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic sequel to Mars Evacuees! Alice Dare and the other "plucky kids from Mars" (Carl, Noel, Josephine, Thysaa, and of course Goldfish) have been invited to go back into space to celebrate the opening of a new home planet for the Morrors. This time they are traveling on a somewhat sentient ship called the Helen of Troy out into deep space when things start to go terribly wrong. Full of the same humor, science, and adventure as the first, fans of science fiction will not want to miss this series! I can only hope that there will be a third. Highly recommended for grades 5 & up.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

[Qwerty88 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun.

The first book was also fun, and moved along quickly from crisis to crisis, but ultimately wasn't huge on plot. This book feels much more mature, with emotional resonance and even some relationship ramifications from the events in the first book. Plus Goldfish is great fun.

For an adult reader, there is a late revelation which I felt was very telegraphed earlier. I'm not sure if I would have noticed as a MG reader or not. It didn't hurt the story for me, but it was a fairly obvious gun on the mantelpiece.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent second edition in this series. Not sure if it will keep going or not, but I think McDougall does a fabulous job of writing action packed science fiction that also makes you think. And the kids are truly the heroes, because most of the adults keep messing things up. The Goldfish still rocks!

[Janine Southard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of fun in middle-grade space opera-land. This time around, our heroine starts out by defying her parents (not good form, young lady), but soon pays for it by getting caught in a hostage situation. Also, there are aliens who are only willing to talk to married couples... which doesn't work so well when your main characters are barely aged into double digits.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining, intelligent, and imaginative sequel to Mars Evacuees, but, though satisfying, is just not quite as good as the first book. See my full review here.

Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for the digital review copy.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like others I loved the first book and ordered the second from Britain. What a great fun series, full of diversity, humor, some science and a several complex worlds represented. Lots of stuff to enjoy and lots to think about.