What do you think?
Rate this book
Air: Generation Mars, Book One
There are four fundamental things humans require for survival: air to breathe, shelter to keep our bodies safe, water to drink, and food to eat. Take any of these away and we cannot survive for long. Shelter, water, and food, we must put in some effort to obtain. We take air for granted because it’s always there, wherever we go. But what if it wasn’t? What if we had to put effort into obtaining and managing the air we breathe, just as we do for everything else? Welcome to life on Mars.
The Generation Mars series is hard science fiction scaled for kids. Sisters Cas and Ori are among the first children born on Mars. The series follows their adventures as they grow up in an environment unlike any in which children have grown up before.
Following the introductory book, Scratching the Surface, each book in the series uses a fundamental element of survival as title and jumping off point: Air, Shelter, Water, Food.
In book one, Air, the sisters learn about the air they breathe and about what can happen when things go wrong.
The Generation Mars series is hard science fiction scaled for kids. Sisters Cas and Ori are among the first children born on Mars. The series follows their adventures as they grow up in an environment unlike any in which children have grown up before.
Following the introductory book, Scratching the Surface, each book in the series uses a fundamental element of survival as title and jumping off point: Air, Shelter, Water, Food.
In book one, Air, the sisters learn about the air they breathe and about what can happen when things go wrong.
- GenresScience Fiction
156 pages, Paperback
Published October 9, 2020
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 4, 2022
Cas and the rest of the 3rd-grade class are going on yet another trip onto the surface of Mars, while Ori and the other children are in the Observation Dome. Unbeknownst to both groups, a window on one of the doors of the secondary pressurization lock is weakening, and has been slowly leaking air for a while. All of a sudden, it finally gives way and the Observation Dome suffers a mass depressurization. Frightened by the loud noise of the alarm, Ori follows the standard plan and doesn't see the rest of her class going to a different area because it's closer. Ori's teacher also doesn't notice that Ori has become separated from the group.
Outside, Cas's team is continuing their trek to their destination when they get word of the depressurization. With a large dust storm happening covering almost the entire surface of Mars, everyone in the group is attached to a rope to make sure that everyone stays together and no one gets lost. However, as soon as Cas hears about the depressurization, she unclips from the rope and begins walking back toward the Observation Dome. Although she can't see anything, she uses the navigation system in her HUD to know where she's going, which works until the navigation system goes out in the middle of her trip.
This was a good story about some of the things that are very real dangers for people living on Mars. While it's a little difficult to imagine young children (Ori is about 6 Earth years and Cas is about 8 Earth years old) behaving in the way that Ori and Cas do at some points in the book, I would imagine that the behavior wouldn't be that out of the ordinary for children who were born on Mars and were, therefore, used to different things and different levels of danger. The author also did a really good job of illustrating sibling dynamics, both helpful and disruptive, in this book.
Speaking of illustrations, there were more great illustrations in this book, just as in Scratching the Surface: Generation Mars. Though the ones in this book are in black and white, as opposed to color, they are still detailed and fitting in with what's happening in the story.
Finally, as the book is designed to be educational for children, the "Sally's Notes on Air" at the end of the story are awesome. There's a lot of information there, some of which might be difficult for kids to understand at first. To help with that, the narrative voice in the story actually instructs readers to read the Notes before things start to go wrong in the story, which will help the children understand a little more just how bad the situation really is. Then, with the Notes being at the end of the book, the reader can re-read them after finishing the story and should be able to understand even more of the information then. It's a great way to get kids interested in (or keep them interested in) Science, too.
I look forward to reading the next book!
Outside, Cas's team is continuing their trek to their destination when they get word of the depressurization. With a large dust storm happening covering almost the entire surface of Mars, everyone in the group is attached to a rope to make sure that everyone stays together and no one gets lost. However, as soon as Cas hears about the depressurization, she unclips from the rope and begins walking back toward the Observation Dome. Although she can't see anything, she uses the navigation system in her HUD to know where she's going, which works until the navigation system goes out in the middle of her trip.
This was a good story about some of the things that are very real dangers for people living on Mars. While it's a little difficult to imagine young children (Ori is about 6 Earth years and Cas is about 8 Earth years old) behaving in the way that Ori and Cas do at some points in the book, I would imagine that the behavior wouldn't be that out of the ordinary for children who were born on Mars and were, therefore, used to different things and different levels of danger. The author also did a really good job of illustrating sibling dynamics, both helpful and disruptive, in this book.
Speaking of illustrations, there were more great illustrations in this book, just as in Scratching the Surface: Generation Mars. Though the ones in this book are in black and white, as opposed to color, they are still detailed and fitting in with what's happening in the story.
Finally, as the book is designed to be educational for children, the "Sally's Notes on Air" at the end of the story are awesome. There's a lot of information there, some of which might be difficult for kids to understand at first. To help with that, the narrative voice in the story actually instructs readers to read the Notes before things start to go wrong in the story, which will help the children understand a little more just how bad the situation really is. Then, with the Notes being at the end of the book, the reader can re-read them after finishing the story and should be able to understand even more of the information then. It's a great way to get kids interested in (or keep them interested in) Science, too.
I look forward to reading the next book!
September 7, 2022
While we may take air – the oxygen and nitrogen mix we breathe every day – for granted, Cas and her little sister, Ori, 6, don’t. As the first children born on Mars, they may seem like young protagonists for this, but the setup is realistic -- they would certainly have to be knowledgeable about their unique environment and how to maintain it or react in an emergency, especially on a Mars colony.
So when an air leak becomes a gaping hole in the side of the Mars enclosure, losing all air pressure while the two girls are with their school class, even though the sisters are young, they’re trained and capable of doing what they must to survive. The emergency isn’t depicted in a fictional way and is a little intense. What happens is based in hard science and how the girls save themselves is, too.
These books are a rarity in middle grade: science fiction based in science fact.
They’re also a rarity because they’re on a high-interest topic -- Mars colonization -- but they aren’t dumbed down for the middle grade audience / readership. They require readers to have a rather high vocabulary level and complex concept comprehension. At the same time, they’re digestibly short (Scratching the Surface is 58 pages; Air is 122 pages; Shelter is a bit longer at 219 pages) for readers who don’t or won't or aren't ready yet to read a 369-page adult book (Andy Weir's The Martian).
All of which I think are pluses in favor of the series. I loved it and I’m hooked, waiting for the next to publish.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog, The Fabric of Words, for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
So when an air leak becomes a gaping hole in the side of the Mars enclosure, losing all air pressure while the two girls are with their school class, even though the sisters are young, they’re trained and capable of doing what they must to survive. The emergency isn’t depicted in a fictional way and is a little intense. What happens is based in hard science and how the girls save themselves is, too.
These books are a rarity in middle grade: science fiction based in science fact.
They’re also a rarity because they’re on a high-interest topic -- Mars colonization -- but they aren’t dumbed down for the middle grade audience / readership. They require readers to have a rather high vocabulary level and complex concept comprehension. At the same time, they’re digestibly short (Scratching the Surface is 58 pages; Air is 122 pages; Shelter is a bit longer at 219 pages) for readers who don’t or won't or aren't ready yet to read a 369-page adult book (Andy Weir's The Martian).
All of which I think are pluses in favor of the series. I loved it and I’m hooked, waiting for the next to publish.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog, The Fabric of Words, for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
July 1, 2025
4.5 Stars! It certainly expands on the first one and has more scientific information. As well as more high stakes and action. Definitely exciting and good for kids wanting to learn about Mars.
October 23, 2020
This book is aimed at young generations who have their eyes set on Mars. If you want to know what it's REALLY like up there, then this book will prepare you for all the dangers and marvels of the red planet. Put your science hat on and pay attention, there's lots to learn!
I received an arc copy of this book and am giving a truthful review. I highly recommend teachers, librarians and the adventurous middle-grader get this book to start thrilling discussions!
I received an arc copy of this book and am giving a truthful review. I highly recommend teachers, librarians and the adventurous middle-grader get this book to start thrilling discussions!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews