Farmer in the Sky

Heinlein essentially retells the American homestead story on a moon of Jupiter, and it works remarkably well. The practical details of making soil, building shelters and growing crops in a hostile environment are fascinating, and Bill's growing pride in his own land gives the story a satisfying arc. Heinlein makes the hard physical work feel heroic rather than dull, and the colony's makeshift engineering is described with obvious enthusiasm.

The book is also about family. Bill struggles to accept his stepmother and stepsister, and their gradual coming together is handled with understatement. A serious disaster in the second half tests the whole colony and brings real loss, handled with restraint, and Bill's response shows how far he has grown. The adults are portrayed as capable but fallible, and Bill learns as much from their mistakes as from their advice, which gives the story an honest, grown-up feel.

The science is dated in places, and the Scout-camp tone of the early chapters may feel old-fashioned. Some readers find the ending abrupt. For anyone interested in what settling another world might really involve, it remains thought-provoking, and it won a retrospective Hugo Award. About 221 pages in the Del Rey mass-market paperback; some printings list 224.