I am a big fan of Cidney Swanson's writing. She does such good character development that regardless of location or topic you will love her characters. It's a prequel of sorts to the Saving Mars series but you don't have to have read those to enjoy this book. This takes place in the near future where colonization on Mars has already been established and it introduces the first 'tourist' to Mars. I will say that the use of a teacher going to Mars actually brought up some anxiety in me that I didn't realize was there. When I was a child I did witness the space shuttle carrying the first teacher turned astronaut explode live via a TV, in a classroom setting, back in the 1980's. Despite this anxiety I dealt with, it really is such a lovely story and I look forward to reading the continuation of Penny's tale as well as finding those prequel gems that will continue to appear that ties into the Saving Mars series. Again, you don't have to have read that series to enjoy this one but I do like the gem used in this book (a certain ship is used) :) Yes I recommend this book for anyone interested in space travel, good character development and writing. ( )