Seventeen-year-old Mia Roberts thinks the worst thing to happen is her ex-boyfriend wanting her back. But before her love life becomes the new buzz at Southern High School, Mia gets invited to join the 6th cohort of US citizens practicing to colonize Mars.
After a whirlwind decision to accept her spot on a twelve-member team, Mia is thrust into a short but arduous training program with eleven other high school juniors and no time for ex-boyfriends. None of them know what they're doing. None of them would have said yes if they had.Despite the reservations of these young astronauts and their parents, Red Rock Incorporated, a company desperate to colonize the red planet, makes training to launch seem formulaic and exciting, and their track record is phenomenal With five prior successful missions behind them, this young adult mission is the obvious next step in showing the world that anyone can and should live on Mars.
However, shortly after leaving Earth, a handful of the team, including Trevor, Mia's new crush, begin encountering something otherworldly. Something that changes their bodies forever. As Mia and her new friends struggle to survive the journey to Mars, a bigger secret awaits them upon landing. The mission is nothing like what was promised, and they quickly realize Red Rock's M6 mission was designed for a darker purpose fully disclosed to those in charge. But the planet has its own agenda and a history of terrorizing any species stupid enough to disobey it. Join Mia and these brave teens on a journey of colonization gone wrong as they fight to uncover chilling truths. Fans of The 100 will find a new Martian space adventure in book one of this fantastical series.