Book Review: Red Rain by Aubrey Hansen

Official description from Aubrey Hansen's website: 

Government regulations said they had no choice. 17-year-old Philadelphia must stay on Earth in the care of complete strangers while her father is sent against his will to Mars. When a benevolent official gives her the opportunity to accompany her father, Philadelphia knows she must keep her head down or be sent back to Earth. But when a search for her deceased brother’s Bible leads her into a hallway that isn’t supposed to exist, Philadelphia is faced with a question she doesn’t want to answer – the choice between returning to Earth or destroying it.

   Red Rain is an well written book. I read it twice (as I like to do with all books: once for the excitement, the second time to catch everything I missed). This book almost made me cry, in fact (the first time, not the second).
   The characters are well developed, and Hansen was able to pull at my heart every time a character had to make a hard choice. This book was good sci-fi, but it is mainly (in my mind) a drama. It merely uses Mars as a backdrop for a display of family, sacrifice, and hard choices. The only thing I would change is not to have the ending quite so rushed, but that's just a personal opinion.
   I recommend this book to anyone who likes science-fiction and even to people who don't. If you want a story with strong characters and ethical dilemmas, check out Red Rain by Aubrey Hansen.

Annoying Pacifist Alert!: I had a one grievance with the ending of this book. I won't give any spoilers, but there was a spot at the end when the villain is being taken away in chains. Philadelphia watches him leave, then thinks about all the people whom she should be praying for. At that moment, the author could have stuck in a small line about her praying for the villain. It's a small qualm, but had that happened I would have found the book a small bit better.

There's the end of my second book review! Maybe there'll be more to come in the future. Who knows? (Well, I suppose I do...)
Note: I don't own the rights to the cover picture or to the description taken from Aubrey Hansen's website.