Violynne Vivant lives on the planet Lindos. Her parents, both professors disappear while working at an archaeological dig. Violynne is left in the care of her Aunt Madelyn and the butler Einhart. Things go along as usual until one night someone breaks into their house. Their crescent shaped house sits on the shores of Lake Sere. It was designed to prevent intruders from getting in. The only way this could have happened is if Arbiter, the ruler made it happen. Now he wants Violynne, but why? Violynne suddenly realizes her aunt and butler are not exactly who they have portrayed. Now she must try to find out what really happened to her parents since her aunt has been arrested and her butler has disappeared, and she is running out of time.

This was a really great book. It is set on another planet and involves several different alien species. It has all of the high tech gadgets anyone could want like a house that performs to your commands, memory balls and that is just two of them. I think anyone who likes science fiction will love this book. It is definitely a great addition to my shelves at school. ( )

Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

Violynne is twelve years old and living on the planet Lindos. Her parents disappeared a year ago while searching for the lost civilization of the Croon.

She lives in an unique house shaped like a crescent moon with her butler, Einhart, and her Aunt Madelyn. Then one day her house gets robbed, and they get an invitation to go to the capital city to attend the Perpetuity Masquerade Ball. This ball is given by the Arbiter, the supreme ruler of the planet. Violynne doesn't want to go because she thinks that the Arbiter is the one who made her parents disappear.

When they get to the capital city, havoc erupts. Violynne is amazed to discover that her butler and her aunt aren't who she thinks they are, and suddenly she ends up alone and determined to find her parents.

I enjoyed this book immensely. There are great sci-fi names such as the Coil, Raki, Croon, Quashers, Lyrling, Aros, and Arguaylan. There are brilliant sci-fi gadgets, too. They have thoughtbooks, flying cars, houses that can think, time portals, and planet-wide rules and edicts. That makes it interesting, but what makes it real is that you fall in love with the heroine. You hope that she will find her parents because the love between them is genuine.

I have read a lot of sci-fi in my life, and what makes a good science fiction tale is the humanism of the characters. This book had it all. It was a very good story! ( )

This is Susan Maupin Schmid's first book. The writing style is unpolished but shows promise. This could have been a good book; maybe if the characters were more fully developed, and maybe if it had been about eighty pages longer. As it was written the story felt rushed and didn't feel resolved. The descriptions of alien cultures and scenery were lush and thoughtful, but it felt like they were there to add length to the story rather than to embellish it. I hope that Schmid continues to write; she can only get better. ( )