Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful light sci-fi story, excellent for kids
Review: I read a lot of science fiction as a teenager and young adult...the best way to describe this book is 'charming'. It is definitely science fiction, but the focus on the lead female adolescent character and how she changes as she explores her environment, makes the book very accessible for younger readers.While the book provides typical thought-provoking content in the plot and situations, the real beauty is watching the lead character change mentally and emotionally from a teenager to a young adult. This is my favorite coming-of-age story...I can't believe it is out of print. Get a paper copy if you can (I've seen it in some used book stores)
Rating:
Summary: Out of Print? ACK!
Review: I, too, can't believe this book is out of print! I wanted to give a copy to a friend (no, I won't give away MY treasure) and couldn't believe it. It's not just for juveniles ... or girls. It is for anyone seeking to understand life.
Rating:
Summary: This collection of gems is back in print
Review: Now available again via the SFBC's 50th anniversary collection's 8 samples from the 60's. (you can check out the image I scanned above)
I'm surprised how many little gems of literary passages can be found in this fairly short work (compared to the few found in today's bloated offerings). My favorite was when the main character Mia found herself waiting in an impersonal public area:
"... To be a stranger in an impersonal room in which there are other people who are not strangers to one another or to the place is to have a feeling of strangeness compounded".
Extremely well done was the way that cultural bigotry is presented as embedded into the Ship's culture (whose residents call the Colonists "Mudeaters") and the Colonies (whose residents call the Shipdwellers "Grabbies")... I found myself asking, "where have I seen this good a presentation of this subject before?"... and it finally came to me - Asimov's Robot Murder Mystery Novels, and the bigotry of between Spacers and Earthmen.
At first I wasn't enjoying the level of detail that was being presented when the "trainees" went down to a planet and constructed a shelter... but, by the time the chapter was over, I thought to myself; "dang - I learned how to build a log cabin!".
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read
Review: One of the best books of the 20th century, this is much more than the coming of age of a delightful character. It is a story of adventure and exploration, not only exploration of unknown physical territory, but also of serious philosophical and ethical questions. In this respect, it could be compared to Edgar Pangborn's "Davy," but the latter considers a much different set of philosophical and ethical questions. The great shame is that both of these wonderful books are out of print.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read
Review: One of the best books of the 20th century, this is much more than the coming of age of a delightful character. It is a story of adventure and exploration, not only exploration of unknown physical territory, but also of serious philosophical and ethical questions. In this respect, it could be compared to Edgar Pangborn's "Davy," but the latter considers a much different set of philosophical and ethical questions. The great shame is that both of these wonderful books are out of print.
Rating:
Summary: Bring It Back
Review: Out of print? Sheese! I read this book when I was in high school, and even then I realized it was discussing more than a very intriguing passage to adulthood of a group of kids on a space ship. Through a very engaging story, filled with realistic human beings, you begin to see that countries and societies must also mature and grow, and a failure to do so can be deadly. This book also points out that isolation at the comfortable "top of the heap" creates jealousy and fear. My first reading left me thinking for weeks and looking at the adult society around me in a whole new way. The news about the Cold War even gained my notice. Science fiction became for me what it really is: a fascinating mirror of our own world which, projected safely into the future, could be starkly honest. As a reader this book was a rite of passage. I've neices and nephews who need to read this book. BRING IT BACK.
Rating:
Summary: A no nonsense story with a point
Review: Rite of passage is extremely easy to read, and never slows down. It doesn't fill pages with useless bits. Every page has a point, every event has relevance. I think it should be back in print because it is very meaningful and should be recognised as brilliant. No Nebula winner should ever go out of print. The novel deals with real world issues such as growing up, while also delivering a hefty punch in the politics/morals department. I wouldn't say it is propoganda, but it does have a strong message to deliver. Read it if you like Orsen Scott Card and Kurt Vonnegut.
Rating:
Summary: A no nonsense story with a point
Review: Rite of passage is extremely easy to read, and never slows down. It doesn't fill pages with useless bits. Every page has a point, every event has relevance. I think it should be back in print because it is very meaningful and should be recognised as brilliant. No Nebula winner should ever go out of print. The novel deals with real world issues such as growing up, while also delivering a hefty punch in the politics/morals department. I wouldn't say it is propoganda, but it does have a strong message to deliver. Read it if you like Orsen Scott Card and Kurt Vonnegut.
Rating:
Summary: Hey publishers! Wake up there!
Review: This book is out of print?!?! This was one of the best books I read in high school. Although the main character is female, aged 10-14 in the story, readers of both sexes and all ages can relate to her coming of age and shaking off the prejudices of her society. Now that my own children are approaching the teenage years, I'd like to own it again. I'm not the only one, I'm sure. I hope someone in the publishing world is paying attention!
Rating:
Summary: Ironically Heinlein-esque!
Review: This gold-plated classic of mature juvenile sci-fi comes from an author who roundly criticizes R.A.Heinlein -- then masterly performs every R.A.H. trick and stylistic turn! The treatment of philosophies of coming-of-age are handled with pure excellence. The social dimensions of the culture(s) include strengths and flaws and never slip out of consistancy. Note to sex-nervous parents: As the young couple enter into adulthood, they do so as adults. Panshin does not titillate, but he does not pretend that sex does not happen (the bane of R.A.H's juveniles).
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