Aoleon The Martian Girl

Gr 5–7—This sci-fi adventure story starts out with several interesting, if somewhat familiar, elements: Gilbert Sullivan discovers "circle makers," aka Martian visitors, in his family's field and is taken aboard a UFO (albeit willingly) and goes on a trip to Mars where he discovers a blue-skinned race of Martians and befriends the titular Aoleon. Unfortunately, though LeVasseur clearly details the inner workings of the spaceship and is adept at describing the astronomy and technology, there is not enough development of plot or character motivation. For example, readers may wonder why the protagonist makes a "prayful wish" to escape his home and parents when the only evidence of his unhappiness is a slim reference to his parents arguing. Gilbert is soon revealed as a chosen one, and he and Aoleon are tapped to save the beleaguered planet from an evil dictator and an artificial intelligence device that controls the government. The author is clearly invoking Orson Scott Card's works, "Harry Potter," Star Trek, and other classic science fiction tales. This novel, however, lacks the depth of character, plot development, and world-building that are hallmarks of those other great works. As the story continues on for another 400 pages in subsequent parts, it's possible these shortcomings are overcome in later installments. Computer-generated, 3-D illustrations provide an interesting partnership to the spaceships and Martian landscape.