The Lion of Mars

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Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.

Blast off with New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning Jennifer L. Holm's out-of-this-world new novel about a kid raised on Mars who learns that he can't be held back by the fears of the grown-ups around him.

Bell has spent his whole life — all eleven years of it — on Mars. But he's still just a regular kid — he loves cats, any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don't have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It's up to Bell — a regular kid in a very different world — to uncover the truth and save his family...and possibly unite an entire planet.

Mars may be a world far, far away, but in the hands of Jennifer L. Holm, beloved and bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish, it can't help but feel like home.

"The characters are endearing, the story is compelling, and the book has a positive but not didactic message....A delightful space adventure." Kirkus Reviews

"The plot and setting are elegantly simple, yet the story proves completely engaging, driven by a charming cast of gentle characters and, more so, by Holm's lean, measured prose." Booklist (Starred Review)

"Peppered with such intriguing scientific details as the pervasive nature of Mars dust, Holm's absorbing speculative novel is...rendered with a keen sense of place grounded by identifiable sociofamilial relationships." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Life on Mars is pretty standard.... until a mysterious virus hits. Don't miss this timely and unputdownable novel from the bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish.

Bell has spent his whole life--all eleven years of it--on Mars. But he's still just a regular kid--he loves cats and any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don't they have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It's up to Bell--a regular kid in a very different world--to uncover the truth and save his family...and possibly unite an entire planet.

Mars may be a world far, far away, but in the hands of Jennifer L. Holm, beloved and bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish, it can't help but feel like home.

Jennifer L. Holm is a New York Times bestselling author and three-time Newbery Honor recipient. She is a cocreator of the Babymouse series (an Eisner Award winner), the Squish series, and the Sunny graphic novels, which she collaborates on with her brother Matthew Holm. Visit her online at jenniferholm.com.