Choose your own Adventure 3- Space and Beyond by R.A. Montgomery

Choose your own Adventure 3- Space and Beyond by R.A. Montgomery
Young Adult Sci-fi Adventure
ISBN: 1-933390-0350599
131 pp.
Suitable 12+

Readers Annotation: You the reader have many choices to make in this world of galaxies, planets, and time travel, which in the end determine your fate.

Plot Summary: You are able to make your own choices in determining your fate. It all starts with your place of birth. You can either choose to be born on the planet Kenda or Croyd. Either choice has their pros and cons but they both have issues where you need to make a choice in how to survive. You can choose destinations such as earth, creatures to travel with such as space circus performers, or travel back in time such as the dinosaur age if that suits you as well. Some choices end in a dead end or even worse, death. Some will continue in other choices such as asking for assistance or switching to full energy aboard your ship. Some choices are ethical such as helping other and some are downright awful such as being a pirate and living off stealing. There are many different storylines, 42 to be exact, in this fun-packed sci-fi fiction novel.

Critical Evaluation: There is nothing more refreshing than choosing your own adventure. You choose your own fate. Though a storyline may be a brisk five pages, some may extend to 20 or so. Even so, chances are that you will hit a dead end and then you will have to backtrack and start a new adventure. The language in the book is short and sweet and it nicely tells you if you're dead; almost in a humorous light-hearted way. Since you the reader are the one making the choices, the word "you" is used quite a bit. Interesting drawings complement the dialogue on some pages, giving you an idea of what's going on. The best part perhaps is that each choice has their pros and cons, albeit different, so you really are balancing those in your decision making. Though this book lacks depth and seriousness, it carries an important theme that each choice creates a chain-reaction of different events to occur and sometimes you have to prepare and embrace the life that you didn't plan.

Author: R.A. Montgomery has hiked in the Himalayas and climbed mountains in Europe, scuba-dived in Central America, and worked in Africa; he is a very active man. He graduated from Williams College and attended graduate school at Yale University and NYU. He is one of the most prolific writers of the Choose Your Own Adventure Series, which started in the late 1970s.

Montgomery also has interests in macro-economics, geo-politics, mythology, history, mystery novels, and music; he is a well-rounded person. He lives in France in the winter, travels frequently to Asia, and calls Vermont home. He also has two grown sons, two granddaughters, and a wife who is a noted author. Perhaps the reason for writing the adventure series is that he believes that the new generation of people under 15 is the most important asset in our world.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Space exploration
2) Decision making
3) Time travel
4) Space creatures

Challenge Issues: There are challenge issues present in this book.

Why Included: I think that the idea of choosing your own adventure is pretty neat, not to mention that it was a light read.