Funny, interesting, and suspenseful... but at times the story seems forced and I wasn't as satisfied with the solution to the puzzle as I could've been. I really liked the non-fiction essays in the "User's Guide to the Universe" and the descriptions of trying to live on other planets (seeing the effects on the characters really gives you a picture of what it would be like to be there). My kids like this series, so if there's ever another book, we'll probably read it.

I picked up this book at a sale some while ago. None of my grandchildren are old enough yet to read it so it's been sitting on the shelf. However, I just felt like trying it now. What fun! It's the second in a series but that doesn't matter (though I will get the first out of the library first when the kids are of an age for them) as the previous story is explained well within the content of this.

George's best friend Annie has to move from England to Florida as her father is working on Homer, the robot sent to Mars. Then Annie sends George an urgent email to come and join her on his holiday - someone has sent a message from Mars, but Annie's father is being exceedingly obtuse and refusing to investigate it.

Throughout the book there are pages of amazing scientific facts and some fabulous photos and illustrations. They're all told at the right level for the children this book is aimed at, and can be read as an immediate aside or later, as they're nicely indexed at the back. Children and parents alike will have a great time!

The 2nd book in the series was as good as the first. I read it aloud with my 6 yr old who LOVES space stuff and we both enjoyed it.

Суперова. Беріть дітям, чи собі, однозначно

This is not as good as the prequel (George’s Secret Key to the Universe): the story is a bit cheesy and might put off some of the clever kids that it is aiming to reach. Nevertheless, I think Stephen Hawking and his daughter did a wonderful job in presenting complicated science concepts (redshift, the Goldilocks zone, M-theory etc.) to children, therewith inspiring them to read on and look further into the subject. The illustrations are gorgeous; the background information is very readable and nicely woven into the story.