Thank you to the Write Reads team and the BBNYA team for inviting me to join this blog tour and for providing me with a copy of this book to read during the competition. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ghosts of Mars is a fun middle-grade book full of friendship and adventure. It follows 13-year-old Eva, who is the first human born on Mars. Eva has a habit of getting into trouble and breaking the rules. She’s bold and determined, and when her Dad is in danger, she’s willing to risk it all to try to save him.

I enjoyed the premise of this book. I don’t read a ton of books set in space, so this was a nice change of scenery for me. I enjoyed the world-building and seeing how humans have managed to live on Mars and learning about their base. I also liked some of the technology on the base. I also enjoyed the concept of the Ghosts of Mars, I thought it was unique, though there were a few things that left me a bit confused. I think a bit more detail could have helped, but overall it was a great concept.

I had mixed feelings about the main character, Eva. I thought she was clever and resourceful, but there were too many instances where she acknowledged that her actions would have consequences, but then continued to carry on recklessly. I understand that she’s relatively young, but she was a bit too self-centered at times for my liking.

I liked the group of friends in Ghosts of Mars. I’m a fan of books where a group of friends team up and go on an adventure, especially if it’s a dangerous and ill-advised adventure. I liked that the group all had their strengths and I enjoyed seeing them work together to try to save the day. I also loved Thunderbird, the AI system, that helped Eva and her friends along the way, and I especially appreciated Thunderbird’s sarcasm.

This book was full of action-packed scenes. There were lots of dangerous moments, and also moments where I was wondering if Eva and her friends were going to get caught. This made the book a very quick read as it jumped from one action scene to another. If I remember correctly, some of the dangerous moments were a bit dark.

Another thing I appreciated about this book was the type 1 diabetes rep. Eva is a type 1 diabetic. She’s upset because everyone tells her that this condition means she’ll never fulfill her dream of being an astronaut and exploring different planets and she’s determined to prove them wrong. I like seeing books, especially middle-grade books, with rep like this.

Overall, I thought Ghosts of Mars was a fun read. There were a few minor things that I didn’t love, but it was overall enjoyable. If the author decides to write another book starring Eva and her friends, I will definitely check it out.