PODKAYNE OF MARS

Podkayne "Poddy" Fries and her younger genius brother, Clark, leave their home on Mars to take a trip on a “spaceliner” to visit Earth (via Venus), accompanied by their uncle. Narrating the excerpts from Poddy's diary, Emily Janice Card adopts the confident tone of a teenager who aspires to be the first woman starship captain. She talks about her brother with the condescending tone of a slightly older sister who feels the burden of looking out for a sibling who finds her superfluous. In the portions of the story told by Clark, Card smoothly delivers the attitude of one who bears the burden of being smarter that anyone else he knows. J.E.M. 2010 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2009]