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Journey Between Worlds

sylvia engdahl james mccrea ruth mccrea

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Eighteen-year-old Melinda Ashley never wanted to go to Mars. She had her life all planned out - marry Ross and become a teacher. but when her estranged father convinces her to take an interplanetary vacation, she finds herself tempted to leave behind her comfortable existence on Earth. Mars isn't at all what she expected, and when she meets Alex Preston, a second-generation Martian colonist, she finds herself on a surprising new path. Sylvia Engdahl's classic novel has been revised and updated by the author to reflect new discoveries and research about Mars.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,1970

This edition

Format
240 pages, Hardcover
Published
May 18, 2006 by Putnam
ISBN
9780399245329
ASIN
0399245324
Language
English

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About the author

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sylvia engdahl

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Sylvia Engdahl is the author of eleven science fiction novels, six of which, including the Newbery Honor book Enchantress from the Stars, are YA books also enjoyed by many adults. Although she is best known as an author for Young Adults, her most recent novels, the Founders of Maclairn duology (Stewards of the Flame and Promise of the Flame) and the Captain of Estel trilogy (Defender of the Flame, Herald of the Flame, and Envoy of the Flame) are adult science fiction and are not appropriate for readers below high school age. For FAQs about them and more, visit her website.

She has also written a nonfiction book, The Planet-Girded Suns: Our Forebears' Firm Belief in Inhabited Exoplanets, of which updated and expanded paperback and ebook editions were published in 2012, and three collections of her essays. Most of the nonfiction books listed under her name were edited, rather than written, by her as a freelance editor of anthologies for high schools.

Engdahl says, "I never listed more than a few of the books I read here and now the list is so outdated that i have removed all but a very few that are still among my favorites, plus ebooks I produced for my mother and for my friend Shirley Rousseau Murphy. For current lists of good books on the subjects I care about, please visit the Opinion section of my website."

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.3 / 5.0, 31 votes)
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31 reviews All reviews
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DastardlyPickle
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I like the idea this book presents. That maybe sitting still and not wondering what’s around the river bend isn’t any greater a plan than jumping head first into adventure. I feel like this this story could have been strengthen by removing the secondary romance completely. Maybe it’s because of when this was written but Mel’s almost single minded focus on what constitutes “dating” takes away from the meaning of the story. So many times she’s so worried about if being friends with a boy means they’re dating, but oh they haven’t kissed. And to that point I hate how every choice she makes is a result of people bullying her into things “because she’s so shy” it really takes away from the message of you should learn about other perspectives before you judge them when the first reaction to someone not agreeing with you is animosity.
Good bones but really falls short where it matters
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GlobalDemand
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Wonderful Book of Dreams and Ideas

I like this book and the author’s other books because it is about how the protagonist faced change. It seem like she was going to do what she did all along. I enjoyed reading this book.
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zmsboss
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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In Which Some Books Are Not Bad, But Also Not That Good:

http://thebookfix.wordpress.com/2013/...
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elementkg
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Well that was kind of terrible. And as a fan of Heinlein juveniles, it didn't have to be. Sure it was apparently written originally before 1969 and only marginally updated. But the action of the main character, a young lady who really lived to attach herself to some guy, was just plain annoying. Which was too bad because the back text of the rest of the book, dealing with the motivations behind colonizing Mars were almost as good as I would have expected from Engdahl. Though to be fair some of the technology missteps were jarring as well.
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NonMii
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Bought this because I met the author on MySpace and liked the cover. Yes, they say never judge a book by a cover, but there you go.

I started reading this but only got to chapter 5 or so before putting it down. While it was well-written and fun, I didn't really like the anachronistic attitude the narrator's love interest had towards women in general and her in particular. I felt this dated the book, even though I read the author's note which said the book had been re-edited to make it more current.
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Xyls
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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when I was young, I was obsessed about Space! - I found it in my middle school library and I fell in love. This is a great read :)
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moonbeem37
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Fun read, sweet YA novel. The author is a bit didactic, but it's an engaging read and has good values and heart.
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CobraSpear
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This takes place in a future where Earth has started colonizing Mars. It's still experimental, so most people on Earth don't ever expect, or want, to travel to Mars, and future funding is tenuous. Melinda has always planned to marry her high school boyfriend and live on the Oregon coast. But her father is going to Mars for several months, and he wants her to go with him, so she puts her plans on hold.

There have been people on Mars long enough that children born to the first homesteaders are now grown, but Melinda doesn't see that the Martians might consider Mars their home as much as she feels Earth is hers. She assumes that while Martians might like Mars, they would of course prefer to live on Earth. For most of the book, her paternalistic attitude doesn't change much, despite the best efforts of a really nice 2nd-generation Martian named Alex (I liked him), but in the end her world (planet) view alters drastically.

Sylvia Engdahl brings up interesting issues about the importance of investing in science, and she wants the reader to think about them. I've been a fan of funding NASA for a while, so I had no arguments. She also draws an intriguing picture of what a Martian colony might be like, complete with a trip to Phobos that all kids can take in the 8th grade.
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