Zero G by Dan Wells
This is actually a funny story. I picked this story because I got to pick two free Audible Originals and the summary was interesting enough. However, the vocabulary, plotline and, the overall tone seemed to feel “elementary” to me. Looking into it, you know, after finishing the book, I realized why I felt that. The book was meant for an elementary crowd. Middle schoolers, actually. Haha!
Yeah, I’m still laughing over that but, I have to admit, it was still a good book. Or rather, Audible Original. It’s amazing, really. I got to listen to a kid’s book like I was in grade school, all over again. A really REALLY good one.
Zero G followed the misadventures of Zero who accidentally woke up 2000 years earlier than he was supposed to. Actually, some context is needed. Haha!
Zero is the youngest kid in his family and also the smartest with an affinity for science and technology. You know? Typical kid stuff. Now, him and family, along with 20,000 people, aboard a spaceship that was heading to a new planet so they begin colonizing there. This makes me think about Mars, truthfully. Anyway, the coordinates are set and everybody is put in a stasis chamber because the journey is over a century long. This makes sense because people can keep their true physical appearance without the real issue of time. Plus, it’ll protect them from the crushing speed and gravity of the ship All well and good…until Zero’s pod malfunction. Talk about bad luck.
No, wait, it gets worse. Zero can’t get the pod working and now he has to deal with a group of space pirates who wants to redirect the ship into a planet that’s heavy on the idea of slave labor. So, we have pirates that want to loot the ship, enslave its inhabitants and wreck havoc before the ship reach top speed and them all – including Zero. It’s safe to say that Zero have no choice but to stop them as crazy as that idea sound to the young kid. Oh! As one could imagine, a sense of stealth was required in order for the young protagonist since *ahem* the space pirates don’t know that he’s the only one awake.
A game of cat and mouse ensued between the two parties. And Zero proved to the readers that he’s great at thinking on his feet. Especially when he has to deal with a crazy psychopath among the group. He even managed to make friends with the youngest pirate and convince her to switch sides after showing her their true colors. It was quite a rollercoaster for action and suspense. And, if I like, I can guarantee you that kids will enjoy.
Of course, it ends on a happy note with the pirates’ defeat, Zero making a new friend and the ship making it to its destination without harm. Yes! Yes! Yes! This Audible Original gets an A+ because it proves that the suspense genre works well for kids.
