Shatterworld [Hardcover]

Lelia Rose Foreman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1995 | Age Level: 10 and up

Fearing nuclear holocaust, a group of pacifists leave Earth in search of a new planet where they hope to live peacefully according to God's will.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-A thousand light-years from Earth, a small Christian colony's struggle to survive on a relatively hospitable but devastated planet is complicated by the discovery of intelligent, crablike sea creatures. Rejoice Holly, 12, is the first to meet them; as she watches humans and "hexacrabs" grope past potentially dangerous misunderstandings toward friendship, her burning ambition to study astronomy puts her in conflict with her parents and community leaders, who are trying to create an agrarian, nontechnological society. Foreman integrates both science and religion into the story in consistent, believable ways. Before the colony's arrival, the planet's surface and atmosphere had been radically changed by a giant meteor strike, and when another meteor is discovered on a collision course, Rejoice's avocation is validated; with thought and prayer she comes up with a feasible way to avert the catastrophe. Despite some simplification, the cast is believable; whether two-or six-legged. Most individuals have a past, personality, conscience, and priorities. Spiritual issues and concerns are central to, but rest lightly on, this predictable, yet well-knit story.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-7. Twelve-year-old Rejoice Holly wants to become an astronomer, but the life her parents have chosen at a neo-Puritan farming colony on a planet called New Earth doesn't appear to offer that option. When Rejoice discovers intelligent natives (ocean-dwelling hexacrabs) and a dangerous asteroid threatens the colony, her options expand. The hexacrabs are not always made interesting and individual characters. More appealing are Rejoice and her older brother, who struggle to find their identities in a world determined by their parents' religious choices. Foreman allows the children a full range of angry responses and portrays adult characters as distinctive in personality though similar in religious belief. She's created a world in which a unifying faith coexists with complexity. Mary Harris Veeder

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 162 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802850979
• ISBN-13: 978-0802850973
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,008,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Should be a Classic, March 17, 2007

By 

Dar Scott (Albuquerque) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shatterworld (Hardcover)

In this Christian SF novel, a strict pacifist Christian colony learns about surviving on a distant planet and about finding God's will and accepting that. This especially applies to Rejoice Holly, a girl who wants to be an astronomer, but finds that doesn't fit with her community's needs.

Though this is written for pre-teens and young teens, the novel would be great for mid-high discussion groups and has the charm and wisdom that allows it to be enjoyed by people of almost any age. This grandpa likes it very much.

Though this is science fiction, those who love fantasy and historical fiction can enjoy it, too. It is quite readable. It is a book of ideas, in a gentle form for kids, but it is not condescending. Foreman homeschooled her kids and seems to have a respect for the ability of children to think and to have opinions.

Questions that might be pondered: Is pacifism right? Is it OK? How can we use discernment in changes in the practice of our faith? How do others worship? Are there really aliens? How do they relate to God? Why do we submit to our parents?

This is a wonderful first novel. I am amazed and shocked that this is not considered a classic. This light should not be hidden under a basket. I recommend that folks run out and get several copies before the exploding cult following starts snatching them up. (You can sell the extras for big bucks later or give them to nieces or grandsons.)

I would love to read the sequels and even more would love to read about other colonies in Foreman's universe. Learning of those colonies would expand our vision of the breadth of possibilities and tune our discernment. Hah! If Lelia Foreman took to writing political novels or books about talking mice, I'm sure I'd try those, too.

When I give 4 stars, it counts like others' 5 stars; this book is recommended. My fives are rare. And I was so close to giving five...