LB Teen

172 Hours on the Moon

By Johan Harstad (Hardcover Book, 2012)

It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever. Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune. Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan. Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them.

In this chilling adventure set in the most brutal landscape known to man, highly acclaimed Norwegian novelist Johan Harstad creates a vivid and frightening world of possibilities we can only hope never come true.

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- Format: Hardcover Book
- Price: $17.99 US/$19.99 CAN
- ISBN-13: 9780316182881
- On Sale Date: 04/17/2012
- Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Full Details
Formats Available: Hardcover Book, Trade Paperback, Electronic Book, Audiobook
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Johan Harstad won the 2008 Norwegian Brage Award in the young adult/children's literature category for172 Hours on the Moon. He has also written several novels for adults, including Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?, a Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011 book, which has been published in thirteen countries; four plays; a collection of short stories; and a prose collection. He has been described as "one of the most important [Scandinavian] authors to emerge in the early years of this century." He lives in Oslo, Norway.

A 2013 YALSA Teens Top Ten Nominee
"This irresistible premise is often intoxicating and occasionally downright terrifying.... pretty darn effective." (Booklist).
"Imaginative.... Well-crafted suspense.... Interesting and original." ( Kirkus Reviews ).
"Harstad combines the perfectly paced creepiness of classic Twilight Zone episodes with Battlestar Galactica's chilling portrayal of the vast, unknowable emptiness of space." (Romantic Times).
"Creepy and bleak, Harstad's story is both psychologically and atmospherically disturbing." (Publishers Weekly).
"Original, creepy, intense... 172 Hours is page-turning sci-fi that will stay with readers long after the shocking and heartbreaking conclusion." (School Library Journal).
"Surprisingly creepy.... The novel's strength is its rising tension and skin-crawling conclusion: Scandinavian thriller meets sci-fi horror movie." (VOYA).
"Hard to put down." (Library Media Connection).
"A high-quality piece of meticulously research and realistic sci-fi/horror. This near-future tale falls within the blurry walls of young adult fiction but there's nothing to deter older readers. There are no punches pulled when it comes to offing major characters all the way through, and the final twist is satisfyingly merciless." (The Sun (highest circulating British daily newspaper)).
"I am so excited about this novel. For me, Johan Harstad shows all the commercial appeal of Stephen King and James Patterson, with the lyricism of David Almond. There is a magical quality to 172 Hours on the Moon--it's sparse, economical and both utterly chilling and poignant. I felt as though, literally, a blast of fresh air had blown through the office when I started reading. Wonderful stuff.... this is a novel about love, about humanity, as much as it is about space and the space mission. It is a true coming-of-age story; where the defiance and spirit of adolescence confronts the vulnerability of the human condition."
( Emily Thomas, Publisher, YA Fiction, Hodder Children's Books).
"There's something so exciting and different about this project. It's the type of book that everyone who's read it can't stop talking about. It's just that kind of brilliant, obsessive, unsettling read. It literally gives me shivers to think about."
(Samantha Smith, Editorial Director, Atom UK).
"Harstad's style fits the young adult novel like a hand in a glove... He creates tension that causes even the adult readers to shiver... This is what makes for good reading, no matter how old you are." (Dagens Næringsliv (leading Norwegian newspaper)).
"Johan Harstad's most recent novel brings a new generation with him on the exceedingly scary travel into the big unknown." (Dagsavisen (daily newspaper in Oslo, Norway)).
"[W]hile the world's best special effects in film may cause heart attacks, this works just as well in book form--which says something about how well Harstad writes. DARLAH will provide shivers for young people of all ages." (Stavanger Aftenblad (daily newspaper in Stavanger, Norway)).
"A new masterproof of probably the most talented author in Scandinavian literature. [172 Hours] is addictable, frightening, touching, intelligent and utterly well written." (Standaard der Letteren (popular newspaper in Belgium)).