The Winds of Mars

by Helen Mary Hoover

When rebel forces strike against her father, the all-powerful president of Mars, teenage Annalyn finds her comfortable existence turned upside-down and her life threatened from unexpected sources.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1995

About the author

http://www.orrt.org/hoover/

Over the course of her twenty-three-year career as a writer, H.M. Hoover won eight awards for her writing, including three Best Book for Young Adult designations from the American Library Association and two Parent's Choice Honor Awards. Another Heaven, Another Earth received the Ohioana Award in 1982.

H.M. Hoover lived in Burke, Virginia. Her last published work was The Whole Truth - And Other Myths: Retelling Ancient Tales, in 1996.

Hoover changed her pen name to H.M. Hoover before Children came out because there was already a children's author named Helen Hoover.

Reviews

[Tiuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish H. M. Hoover’s works would be optioned for film or tv series today. They are so much richer in character and plot than most stories, even this one (which isn’t one of my favorites of hers) deserves 5 stars just for its unique storytelling and charming MC. (My favorites are Rains of Eridan, The Lost Star, and This Time of Darkness.) But even if it was translated into film, they would probably butcher it, so it’s probably just as well.
I do wish poor Annalyn hadn’t ended up quite so alone by the end of this book…I guess she does still have her robot…named after the Mother Goose nursery rhyme Hector Protector.
And thus I end my review:

Hector Protector was dressed all in green;
Hector Protector was sent to the Queen.
The Queen did not like him,
No more did the King;
So Hector Protector was sent back again.

Not sure exactly how that correlates to the robot Annalyn’s mother sent her…but hey, it’s a creative nod to an old rhyme. Who am I to question it?

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

SF w/ political intrigue for bold 'tweens. I do like Hoover's work, and appreciate that she doesn't baby things for her audience.

[Sam Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Hoover classic! Fascinating sci-fi world and good portrayal of the negative and positive aspects of human character and the possibilities of selfless courage.

[Tan August · Rating 4 out of 5]

For young adult science fiction, this really cannot be beat. I've read this book at least twice if not more just because I liked the characters and concepts so much. It's interesting and a light and quick read. I highly recommend.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

H.M. Hoover’s futures always seem to be outright dystopian, or tinged with dystopia, and this, her last book, is no exception. Annalyne Court is a child of privilege - the daughter of the President of Mars; but conversely he is a father she has rarely seen and never actually met in person. As her tale unfolds (a tale she tells us herself), we start to see that Mars isn’t an equal society (Hoover was obviously concerned with climate change, inequality, technology’s boons and burdens, and business class vs. democracy, themes she explored again and again in her books). There is an Elite running the show, and then everyone else. Through a series of politically charged events that lead to warfare (sound familiar), Annalyne discovers the truth about Mars, herself, and her family. This isn’t Hoover’s best work - that would be The Shepherd Moon in opinion - but she is such a strong writer of science fiction, always making the reader not only think (hard) but compare and contrast a future (distant or not so) with our own present. Even now, she remains a prescient author.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this from the free shelf at Greenwood Reading Center while doing StarQuest this past summer, 2024. (StarQuest was a challenge to visit all 48 libraries in our library system, and I did it!)

This is a good, solid middle grade sci-fi novel about a future where we've settled Mars. There's politics and corruption and advanced tech, and also a cool protector robot.

[Lora · Rating 2 out of 5]

This last-published book of Hoover's is probably my least favorite of hers. I'm slowly making my way through a re-read of her books, excepting the two or so I don't own. Some of them are very well done coming of age stories. This one didn't meet those expectations.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is familiar to anyone who knows 20th century history. Its setting on Mars makes it an exciting read.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved HM Hoover’s books when I was young, and I still love them now

[Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pro: female protagonist.
Con: literally everything else.

This is just... rushed. Raw. Half baked. Too many politics in too few pages. Characters act with no rhyme or reason other than it quickly, significantly, advances the plot. Hector Protector (ok, it's a cute name) is a walking, talking, deus ex machina. What are the limits of his abilities? No idea! Why does he do things? To protect! But he's never really seen "protecting" anyone, for any reason, just being sort of a proto-internet and for-n-good-reason financial advisor to Annalyn.

Boring, droll, do not bother.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annalyn Court has grown-up in an elite, rich community on Mars alongside her many half-siblings and in the shadow of her father, the president. When she and Evan (one of her half-siblings) enter the elite military academy to train as presidential bodyguards, questions about her father suddenly arise for which Annalyn has no answers, a brimming conflict between the elite and the rest of Mars grows, and then, abruptly, everything changes.

When I re-found this book in the library today, I was thrilled. I only vaguely remembered the plot, but I did remember loving the book as a child. When I re-read it this afternoon, I wasn't disappointed. If anything, the story only became better with age, but it was the world Hoover created that really stood out to me. You know those books you wish you could live in (or at least visit)? Harry Potter was one of those for me, and this is another. But it's not just the world itself that is fascinating -- the characters are compelling and fully fleshed out, the plot is fast-paced, and Hoover raises ethical and moral questions which are still relevant nearly 20 years after the book was first published.

The Winds of Mars isn't perfect (Annalyn seemed older than her seventeen years, and I found the plot to be fairly predictable -- but I read it before and am now an adult reading a child's book), but it is so much fun to read. My only disappointment is that it seems to be out of print, so I can't assign it as summer reading for my students. Luckily there are many used bookstores on amazon.com that are selling it for a decent price, so I will at least be able to obtain a copy for the classroom library (and perhaps a second copy for my personal collection ;D).

HIGHLY recommended.

--

Teacher's Note: Perfect fit for fifth graders. Nothing inappropriate.

[Cws]

JAR5-Hoo

[Teaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Winds of Mars i havent read it yeet

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series. Told from a different protagonist's point of view. I view this book unabashedly through rose-tinted glasses.