Tunnel in the Sky

The first half is pure survival: unfamiliar predators, hunger, weather and the danger posed by other students. Rod survives through caution and a bit of luck, then finds allies, including the tough and capable Jack and the cheerful Caroline. As more stranded young people join together, the story shifts into a study of how a community forms, from first rules and elections to arguments about leadership.

Heinlein clearly wrote the book partly as an answer to darker castaway stories. His teenagers make mistakes, but they also cooperate, marry, farm and build. The politics are fascinating, especially when a smooth-talking student challenges Rod's leadership, and the ending raises real questions about growing up and returning to ordinary life.

Some attitudes and gender roles feel dated, and the science of the gates is simply taken for granted. As a thoughtful, still exciting adventure it has aged better than many of its peers. Young readers will find Rod an easy hero to root for, because he is neither the strongest nor the cleverest, just the most stubborn and fair-minded. About 224 pages in the Del Rey paperback.