Monica Hughes OC was an author of books for children and young adults, especially science fiction. She also wrote adventure and historical novels set in Canada, and the text for some children's picture books.
Gr 6-10‘In 2092, 13-year-old Walt Elliot, who has grown up in Canada with his aunt, is summoned to join his father on the planet Aqua. Colonel Elliot is responsible for terraforming planets without intelligent life, making them more like Earth so that their resources can be used by colonists. Once on Aqua, Walt finds himself living with a fiercely disciplined, strong, unbending man, with touches of humanity only occasionally visible. The inevitable conflict arises when Walt, exploring an undeveloped area, discovers and befriends the planet's native inhabitants, large telepathic froglike beings who have stayed in hiding underground while observing the work that is gradually destroying their environment. A life-and-death race to save the planet ensues. The amphibianlike creatures are not clearly glimpsed or fully understood, and most of what readers find out about them is what they themselves tell Walt telepathically. The most interesting aspect of this story is not the alien environment or its inhabitants, but the changing relationship between father and son, and the greatest source of suspense is not the predicted giant flood or the ultimate fate of the Aquarians, but the actions of the Colonel when he discovers that the boy has been plotting against him. Hughes gives the Colonel enough humanity to keep him from becoming a total stereotype, and Walt is a likable protagonist whose adventures and growth will keep readers turning pages.‘Lyle Blake Smythers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
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