Isabella's Reading Corner: The Final Six

The Final Six

Author: Alexandra Monir

Publication Date: March 6th, 2018

Publisher: HarperTeen

World leaders have called a state of emergency between humanity and the environment. A plan called the Europa Mission is created to send young men and women to terraform Jupiter's moon in the hope of developing a future home for mankind.

Leo is a survivor of a catastrophic flood in Rome that took his entire family. It is one of many recent apocalyptic disasters affecting cities all over the earth. After losing everyone and everything he cared about, he's lost motivation to go on. However, he's been drafted by the European Space Agency (ESA) to train alongside twenty-three other teens at the International Space Training Camp (ISTC). Only six of them will be selected to take part in the mission to colonise Europa. 

Leo believes this will be a chance for him to do something important with his life. While he is excited for the opportunity, Naomi, an American high school student, has a completely different outlook. She has a family and doesn't want to leave them behind, especially her younger brother who she is very close to. She is devastated to have been chosen and horrified by the thought of never seeing them again. 

Picked for her scientific genius, Naomi is particularly worried about the logistics of the trip. She questions a delegate from NASA about the Athena - a previously failed mission to Mars, as well as rumours of intelligent life already existing on Europa. The delegate is quick with assurances that there is no cause for concern and tries to assuage Naomi's fears with explanations that sound rehearsed. There may be more to the Europa Mission than is being revealed. 

There are many diverse characters in the book and they are thoughtfully written. They have unique abilities and skills which make them highly important to the ESA and the mission. Although Naomi and Leo have different backgrounds, they both come from close-knit and loving families. They have an immediate connection and build a relationship that is integral to the narrative.

The story is fast paced and suspenseful. It depicts tragedy, heartbreak and hope amidst cataclysmic events and the high tech setting of the ISTC. The protagonists are in an unpredictable situation and must take dangerous risks which could lead to either dire consequences or the survival of the human race. The Final Six revolves around a profound and currently relevant subject. This is the first book in a series and I can't wait for the sequel!

Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for the ARC provided for review.

From the publisher:

Set in the near future, this action-packed YA novel—already optioned by Sony Pictures—will take readers out of this world and on a quest to become one of six teens sent on a mission to Jupiter’s moon. This is the next must-read for fans of Illuminae and The Martian.

When Leo and Naomi are drafted, along with twenty-two of the world’s brightest teenagers, into the International Space Training Camp, their lives are forever changed. Overnight, they become global celebrities in contention for one of the six slots to travel to Europa—Jupiter’s moon—and establish a new colony, leaving their planet forever. With Earth irreparably damaged, the future of the human race rests on their shoulders.

For Leo, an Italian championship swimmer, this kind of purpose is a reason to go on after losing his family. But Naomi, an Iranian-American science genius, is suspicious of the ISTC and the fact that a similar mission failed under mysterious circumstances, killing the astronauts onboard. She fears something equally sinister awaiting the Final Six beneath Europa’s surface.

In this cutthroat atmosphere, surrounded by strangers from around the world, Naomi finds an unexpected friend in Leo. As the training tests their limits, Naomi and Leo’s relationship deepens with each life-altering experience they encounter.

But it’s only when the finalists become fewer and their destinies grow nearer that the two can fathom the full weight of everything at stake: the world, the stars, and their lives.

You can read my original Isabella's Reading Corner post on The Final Six here.