Five Star review from Readers' Favorite Swimming on Mars? Not likely. There is water on Mars, but it is frozen solid beneath the surface. In the future, not long from now, that ice will prove invaluable for those that live there. It will provide not just their water for drinking and growing crops, but also their air, their fuel, and their economic ties with Earth. It will also provide a terrifying experience and a grueling fight for survival for two sisters and their classmates. Cas and Ori are among the first children born on Mars. The Generation Mars series follows their adventures as they grow up in an environment unlike any in which children have grown up before. Each book in the series uses a fundamental element of survival as title and jumping off point: Air, Shelter, Water, Food. In book three, Water, the children are touring an abandoned ice mine from the colony’s early years when an unpredictable seismic event traps them in a dark and shifting labyrinth of ice. Escape will require resilience and sacrifice beyond anything they have experienced. Water: Generation Mars, Book Three by Douglas Meredith is a gripping and poignant continuation of the thrilling science fiction saga that has captured the hearts and minds of readers young and old. This installment follows the ongoing adventures of Cas and Ori, as they navigate the trials and tribulations of life on Mars. As they learn and grow, their relentless resilience and unwavering awareness of the ever-present dangers of their new home are both inspiring and humbling. Janet Ivey-Duensing, Director of Education at Explore Mars, Inc., and CEO of Janet's Planet Water weaves together science, worldbuilding, and the kind of social commentary that science fiction has truly been about into a compelling continuation of the Generation Mars series. The complexity of the stories in the series grows with its readers, providing a great way to keep children engaged with the ongoing story and giving a glimpse of what life on the Moon and Mars could be like for them in the future. Dr. Tanya Harrison, Mars scientist Generation Mars: Water is an exciting and thoughtful science fiction read for young, inquisitive minds. This middle-grade sequel is an excellent classroom read to discuss the importance of water on Earth and for future human settlements on other celestial bodies. Rae Knightly, author of Exostar Once upon a time, I thought it might be a good idea to write a story about the first kids on Mars. The idea was to tell a simple story, grounded in real science, about what life would be like for them. I did this, and then I thought maybe I'd like to tell another; in fact, maybe I'd like to tell several. So I set out to write a series. Each book would be similar to that first story: just a short vignette about life on Mars, digestible by early readers. This turned out to be impossible. As I got to know the characters and built out their world, the stories became longer and more involved. And, inevitably, as each story outgrew its predecessor, the stakes for the characters grew as well. From a genial vignette about a child taking their first step on Mars, we now find ourselves holding a book that takes the kids into a terrifying situation while revealing the story of the colony and its relations with Earth; a book that sets up an interplanetary conflict that will be continued in the next; a book with some graphic descriptions of bodily injury; a book in which not all characters survive. For kids!   I say all this to make one thing clear: these books are getting real. Grounded in real science, they must. Mars is not a hospitable place. The children in these books have a good life, but they are living in the harshest place humans have ever lived. Our future in space will be grand, but it will not be easy. Humans build; humans stumble; humans rebuild. That's the story. Douglas D. Meredith is a software developer living on planet Earth with his wife and two daughters. Like any parent, he spends much of his time thinking about the future his kids will live in. Noting the predominance of dystopian fiction and magical fantasy in books for young readers, he decided to write an optimistic, near-future, hard science fiction series for kids. Generation Mars is the ongoing result. He writes recreationally, for now.