FARMER IN THE SKY

This delightful outer-space Western, about a family of pioneers on the Jovian moon Ganymede, may have lost something in the half-century since its first publication, riddled as it is with juvenile 1950s slang and dialogue straight out of "Ozzie and Harriet" or "Spin and Marty." But Scott Brick doesn't let the archaic style get in the way of performing the teen adventure for what it is: an entertaining and sometimes educating yarn. Teenager Bill Lerner and his family have emigrated from an overpopulated Earth to one of the moons of Jupiter to homestead a plot of terra formed land. In the process, he uses his talents and ethics as an Eagle Scout (the book was originally serialized in BOYS' LIFE magazine in 1950) to work hard, make friends, and transcend the difficulties of surviving a strange world. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]