By Hena Khan, David Borgenicht, Robert Zubrin
Chronicle Books, $12.99, 208 pages
ISBN 9780811871242

The Worst Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure #2 – Mars! is a new adventure in reading. Not only is the young reader a character in the book, but he or she also guides the action. Do they want to explore the Mars frontier with a “borrowed” vehicle? Turn to page 81. Or head back to base with a valuable discovery? Turn to page 116. With each scene, there’s a new choice to be made and a new twist.

The format of this book makes it an ideal choice to encourage reluctant readers. After all, what fifth grader can groan “lame story” when he’s the one calling the shots? And in order to offer readers plenty of choices, this book is chock full of action and excitement: fires, broken equipment, missing astronauts … You can’t resist finding out what disaster they face next.

Not only will students read it once, but this book will get taken out again and again — especially if readers fail in their mission (to make it to Mars and back safely). Who could resist starting the story again, wondering “if I had made a different decision here … or here, maybe I would have made it”. Welcome to endless stories in one book!

Reviewed by Jodi Webb