Child of Earth

June 1, 2005
In an era when Earth's scientists are opening multiple gateways to parallel worlds, Kaer is a precocious 12-year-old with an unusual dream. Linnea, one of the worlds being settled, is a haven for beautiful, oversize horses, and Kaer yearns to relocate there with her large, multiparent family. To decontaminate settlers and prepare them for crossing the gateways, gargantuan domes that simulate the more promising worlds have been built, and after embracing Kaer's dream, her family begins the arduous process of adapting to life in the Linnean dome. Visions of a utopian frontier paradise quickly vanish as hardships multiply, and learning a new language proves maddeningly difficult. Yet Kaer's family pulls even more tightly together, and the adventure builds when Kaer is given a surprising mission: to visit Linnea ahead of schedule. Gerrold's blending of adolescent space adventure and cultural extrapolation resembles a hybrid of Heinlein's juvenile novels and Le Guin's future primitive world sagas. Readers hooked by Kaer's quest can look forward to the two further volumes of a projected trilogy. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)