In 1977 a mysterious signal is detected on Earth – a signal that, impossibly, comes from the moon. It is a signal coming from a place where nothing should be alive. The signal is found again more than forty years later. NASA decides to hold a competition in which three kids selected from billions will go on the trip of a lifetime – a trip to the moon. Is this competition for publicity or for something else? Perhaps this trip is to find out exactly who, or what, the signal is.
172 Hours on the Moon will hook you from the beginning, after all, who wouldn't be excited to from Norway, hopes this will be her band's ticket to fame, Midori sees the moon as the only way to get out of the “Japanese Trap,” and Antione, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible. The author, John Harstad, has a way of creating such suspense that the book is impossible to put down. The book has a kind of subtle horror that in way makes in even more delightfully creepy.
However, this book is a horror. It is not recommended for anyone under thirteen. While I personally loved the spine-chilling aspect of the book, younger readers will most likely find it frightening. Older readers will probably relate to the teenage characters better anyway.
172 Hours on the Moon is the best sci-fi I have ever read, and I am surprised it isn't up there with the other bestselling books like Harry Potter and the Hunger Games. Any brave teenager will thoroughly enjoy this book but may never think about the moon the same way again.