Mars Awakens: Volume 1

Kids from rival Martian colonies must come together to fight for survival in this thrilling middle-grade space adventure

Raised in rival colonies on Mars, each long ago abandoned by Earth, Dee and Holt have been brought up to hate even the idea of each other. But when a mysterious object crash-lands on a far-flung plain, they are both sent to investigate and their fates intertwine.

Together they must battle epic storms and deadly bioclouds while unpicking the web of lies they have been told about their planet. Will their bond be strong enough to withstand the arrival of a mysterious invader that threatens to end life on Mars forever?

Timely and compelling, Mars Awakens is the unputdownable first book in a duology offering a window into our future.

H.M. Waugh is an environmental scientist, writer and educator with a long-term love of wild places and high mountains. This has led to icy feet and sunburnt cheeks in magical countries like New Zealand, Nepal, Bolivia and Switzerland. She has studied dolphins in New Zealand and rare plants in the Wheatbelt, and worked in mining and construction projects across Western Australia. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching school and community groups about science and the environment.