Earth Girl

Some 700 years in the future, the people of earth have devised a method of instantaneous interplanetary transport that has allowed humans to colonize vast sections of the galaxy.  And though most people can travel this way without incident, a few – including our protagonist Jarra – have a congenital malfunction that means almost certain death if they attempt it.  Thus, Jarra is labeled “handicapped” by her galaxy-hopping society and condemned to remain on earth.  And while such a life is not necessarily unpleasant or unfulfilling, Jarra resents her limitations and sets out to prove that she’s as good as anyone by enrolling in a prestigious university’s archaeology program.

 

This book is all kinds of fun.   Jarra is a daring, energetic, and likeable protagonist (the only resemblance she bears to the moody emo girl on the book’s cover is perhaps hair color) and her archaeological digs make for fascinating reading, with lots of cool space technology and believable fellow students from a variety of cultural backgrounds involved in the action.   I particularly loved the premise that the arts and humanities in this future world are so highly valued that one of Jarra’s fellow students can say, without a hint of irony,  that he’s going to become an artist because it pays so well.

 

A little hard science, a little space opera, and just a touch of romance.  Give it a try.