Crash Landing

Content levels

Trigger warnings

Positive tags

Hero archetypes

Heroine archetypes

Protagonist archetypes

Tropes

Themes

Synopsis

Eric Crichton and his brother John thought they knew all about space: buy a beat-up old freighter, haul cargo from star to star, and stay one step ahead of the bankers. Easy, right? But when a shady charter lands them a mysterious medical package bound for a newly terraformed world, things go from routine to red-alert in a hurry. A pirate ambush knocks Max Jones out of the sky, stranding the young crew on a wild, storm-swept planet where the weather is only the second most dangerous thing. The “plague” they were supposed to deliver turns out to be a lie, the package hides something worth killing for, and the pirates want it back, along with the kids who carry it. With their sister Maryam fighting for her life in a stasis pod, Eric must team up with a tough colony girl named Daisy, a sharp-eyed heiress who won’t be left behind, and a handful of hard-working settlers who know how to handle trouble. They’ll need every trick they’ve got: quick thinking, faster hands, and the kind of stubborn courage that turns a crashed ship into a fighting chance. Outnumbered, outgunned, and running out of time, the young crew of Max Jones learns the hard truth: in space, no one’s going to come save you—you save yourself. A fast-moving tale of high adventure, daring escapes, and the unbreakable spirit of youth: straight from the Heinlein tradition of boys (and girls!) who face the unknown and come out on top.

Tags

Is Crash Landing appropriate for my child?

Suitable for most readers 13 and up.

This YA space adventure features moderate action violence including pirate attacks, crashes, and combat, but no graphic content. Characters face life-threatening danger and one is critically injured in stasis, but the tone remains optimistic and Heinlein-esque.