In this first of two books in the Dare Mighty Things duology by Heather Kaczynski, eighteen-year-old Cassandra Gupta is chosen along with sixty-two other young people to compete with each other for a coveted position aboard the next space shuttle, but this isn't any ordinary trip. If successful, those on board this ship, capable of bending space, will travel to a different solar system. Cassandra, from whose point of view the story is told, is the youngest and feels out of her league. However, she's comforted by the fact that she's actually able to make friends, something she's never been able to do in the past, but can she trust the others, or are they using her? And why would NASA want to send someone who has no real training or experience on the most dangerous trip ever imagined? Most of the book focuses on the competition itself which involves survival training and interactions between the contestants. The ending is not only suspenseful but contains a surprise twist which will have readers clamoring for the next book.
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