PG16- Starship Troopers (v,some b)
PG13- Tunnel in the Sky (v), Orphans of the Sky (v)
PG- Podkayne of Mars (slight v), Citizen of the Galaxy (slight v,some b), Have Spacesuit- Will Travel (some v), Between Planets (some v), Time for the Stars (some v), Red Planet (slight v)

Juveniles

Starship Troopers was made into a movie several years after Heinlein's death, so he had no control over the outcome. From what I hear (having refused to watch it after reading plot summaries), the movie has almost nothing in common with the book. Therefore, please be certain the book you pick up is the original, not one based on the movie. The movie compilation is a graphic novel created by Gordon Rennie, Paolo Parente, Jan Strnad, and Tommy Lee Edwards.

That being said, let me recommend this novel highly. It was one of the most poignant of Heinlein's jueveniles, and one of my personal favorites. It stars Juan, a boy who signs up for the military with his best buddy. They live in a society where only those with military service can vote or hold office, so there is every reason to join. But instead of a classy, high-tech assignment, he gets stuck in infantry. It seems to lack all the glory until he hits boot camp, when glory becomes the last thing on his mind. After months of training to become a man (which involves much more than just bulking up, though I don't agree with even Heinlein's more 'enlightened' view), he finds himself out on real missions, dropping onto enemy planets in his high-tech infantry armor. But Earth itself is soon under attack, and whatever glamour the military once held is gone forever. Now, the game is only about survival against a race that risks almost nothing in its fight to wipe out humanity. There is a strong West versus East undertone, and some of the plot involving Juan's family and later parts of the book are not quite believable, but I can see why this has become a classic. Don't read it if you are a pacifist- you'll only get upset.

This is a test. This is only a test. If it had been the real thing, you would be stranded out here forever... except that you are. Heinlein is pretty good at those "survival in the wilderness" books, and Tunnel in the Sky is a nice, thoughful read. While not my favorite, I would certainly read it again. In it, classmates taking "wilderness survival" are all packed off on their final exam- a few days on a remote, uncharted planet by way of a dimensional tunnel. Sounds great, but no one ever comes to pick them up. In a world where the only civilization is in their minds, who is more dangerous to these explorers- the unknown or themselves? And if they build a world with their own hands, can they walk away from it? Nice plot twists and great research, but definitely intended for young adult readers. Older readers might find the dialogue a bit dull or the plot somewhat predictable.

Certainly one of Heinlein's most endearing stories, Podkayne of Mars is a young girl on her first trip to Earth (via Venus) with her uncle and little brother Clark. Her parents are busy with infant triplets, and she wants to learn to captain a starship anyway, so she seizes the chance. But her genius little brother doesn't have her innate honesty or her love of people, and he lands them in trouble almost as soon as they arrive at Venus. From there, Poddy is thrust into her uncle's political problems and her brother's antics, all the while trying to save everyone around her at terrible danger to herself. Though this was written for young adults, the writing style, characterization, and theme are strong enough that even adults should like it. I especially recommend if for young adult girls. I have also picked up a special spoiler- the original ending that Heinlein wrote before the editor made him change it.

If you've read more than a handful of his books, you know that slavery is a big topic for Heinlein. His only juevenile that deals with it is Citizen of the Galaxy, about the slave-boy Thorby, who is bought by a strange beggar. Though his life of poverty seems normal at first, something is different about his master. When he finds himself free and heir to an incredible fortune that everyone wants a piece of, Thorby becomes an expert on what freedom really means from every angle. Appropriate for 9-12 year-olds, though possibly disturbing.

Don is a Venusian at heart. Though he doesn't understand the message, he knows he must deliver that package to Mars. But as he begins his voyage Between Planets, he discovers that things are much more complicated than he thought, he can't really trust the people around him, or expect any help. He lands on Venus as it's being invaded. What looked like a simple courier mission turns into a game of deadly espionage in which Don gets the chance to prove he has the instincts and the determination to play the game, or he gets to die. A nice story with a clear perspective and nice characters. The plot lacks a little in places, but makes up for it in others.

A cute but almost normal adventure story about telepathic twins, Time for the Stars tries to solve the light-speed problem in a new way. Send one twin with the ship, leave the other on Earth. But the twin on the ship will not age, while the one on Earth must inevitably do so.... Some cheesy plot twists spoil this somewhat engaging story, but if you're an avid Heinlein fan, you might find it interesting. A few of the minor characters help disguise the thin setting, but at least the science was strong for its time. Most likely to be enjoyed by the 9-12 range.

Another absolute gem among Heinlein's young adults, Have Spacesuit- Will Travel stars Kip, a young boy who won a spacesuit in a contest. On his first test-run in his backyard, he is taken prisoner, along with the eleven-year-old Peewee (yes, she's a girl, she'll have you know) and the alien Mother Thing. Suddenly he is the man in charge of rescuing them all from a horrible alien species. The story goes through several inventive plot twists (only slightly predictable if you've read a number of Heinleins), and the characters are quite interesting. The dilemma is this: is humanity, by its very nature, a danger to the universe around it? Whether or not there is something worth saving within us, is it possible for us to coexist with other sentients? (Or even ourselves?) The answer, I suppose, depends on your point of view.

Red Planet: Willis is just Jim's pet Martian, no big deal for a colonist kid on Mars. But along with his best friend, Jim discovers there's something strange about Willis, something which has people trying to kill him. Off on an adventure in the wilds of Mars itself, then into the bowels of its cities, Jim will go to any length to save his friend. But can he succeed where adults have tried and failed? This is another classic jeuvenile, like Podkayne. I've never met someone who didn't like it, especially if they were kids when they read it, boy or girl. Willis is every Sci-Fi lover's dream pet, and Red Planet is the ultimate "boy and his dog" adventure. This is especially aimed at the youngest set, 6-8 years old, with easy to follow science and plot, though kids up to 12 would probably enjoy it.

In Orphans of the Sky, the people on the ship do not know that it is a ship. To say so is to admit to heresy. The good people of the ship live near the core, which they feed religiously, because they are supposed to do so. The bad people, the mutants, live in the decks above, preying off the good people. Any baby born to the good people is checked for mutation, and if it is malformed, it is fed to the core. The hero, then, is a boy whose body was not mutated, but his mind must have been, because he questions the rules of his society and escapes to the decks haunted by mutants, even befriending one of them. Though this novel has all the classic earmarks of a traditional Heinlein (man vs. society, fear vs. rationality, etc.), the writing style is much stronger than many of his other juveniles, almost on par with Starship Troopers, Podkayne of Mars, and Space Cadet. This one is short, and perhaps intended as a novella for adults and teens. The dialogue and pacing are well-done, even if the length of the novel does not give Heinlein time to develop some of the secondary characters as well as he usually does.

Bibliography

Taken from Grumbles from the Grave, 1989, Virginia Heinlein, ed. Accurate as of that date. This list is located in the back of the book and is an invaluable tool for figuring out what the letters are talking about.

Fiction

• "Life Line," Astounding Science Fiction, August 1939. Reprinted in The Man Who Sold the Moon, Baen Books.
• "Misfit," Astounding Science Fiction, November 1939. Reprinted in The Past Through Tomorrow, Ace Books.
• "Requiem," Astounding Science Fiction, January 1940. Reprinted in The Past Through Tomorrow, Ace Books.
• "If This Goes On-," Astounding Science Fiction, February, March 1940. Reprinted in The Past Through Tomorrow, Ace Books.
• "Let There Be Light," Super Science Stories, May 1940 (under pseudonym Lyle Monroe). Reprinted in The Man Who Sold the Moon, Baen Books.
• "The Roads Must Roll," Astounding Science Fiction, June 1940. Reprinted in The Man Who Sold the Moon, Baen Books.
• "Coventry," Astounding Science Fiction, July 1940. Reprinted in The Past Through Tomorrow, Ace Books.
• "Blowups Happen," Astounding Science Fiction, September 1940. Reprinted in The Man Who Sold the Moon, Baen Books.
• "The Devil Makes the Law," Unknown, September 1940 (under pseudonym Anson MacDonald). Reprinted as "Magic, Inc." in Waldo and Magic, Inc., Del Rey Books.
• Sixth Column, Astounding Science Fiction, January, February, March 1941 (under pseudonym Anson MacDonald). Reprinted by Baen Books.
• "-And He Built a Crooked House-," Astounding Science Fiction, February, 1941.
• "Logic of Empire," Astounding Science Fiction, March, 1941. Reprinted in The Green Hills of Earth, Baen Books.
• "Beyond Doubt," Astonishing Stories, April 1941 (under pseudonym Lyle Monroe and Elma Wentz).
• "They," Unknown, April 1941.
• "Universe," Astounding Science Fiction, May 1941. Reprinted in Orphans of the Sky, Ace Books.
• "Solution Unsatisfactory," Astounding Science Fiction, May 1941 (under pseudonym Anson MacDonald). Reprinted in Expanded Universe, Ace Books.
• "-We Also Walk Dogs," Astounding Science Fiction, July 1941 (under pseudonym Anson MacDonald). Reprinted in The Past Through Tomorrow, Ace Books.
• Methuselah's Children Astounding Science Fiction, July, August, September 1941.
• "Elsewhere" ("Elsewhen"), Astounding Science Fiction, September 1941 (under pseudonym Caleb Saunders). Reprinted in Assignment in Eternity, Baen Books.
• "By His Bootstraps," Astounding Science Fiction, October 1941 (under pseudonym Anson MacDonald). Reprinted in The Green Hills of Earth, Baen Books.
• "Common Sense," Astounding Science Fiction, October 1941. Reprinted in Orphans of the Sky, Ace Books.
• "Lost Legion" (" Lost Legacy"), Super Science Stories, November 1941 (under pseudonym Lyle Monroe). Reprinted in Assignment in Eternity, Baen Books.
• "My Object All Sublime," Future, February 1942.
• "Goldfish Bowl," Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942 (under pseudonym Anson MacDonald). Reprinted in The Menace from Earth, Baen Books.
• "Pied Piper," Astonishing Stories, March 1942 (under pseudonym Lyle Monroe).
• Beyond This Horizon, Astounding Science Fiction, April, May 1942 (under pseudonym Anson MacDonald). Reprinted by New American Library.
• "Waldo," Astounding Science Fiction, August 1942 (under pseudonym Anson MacDonald). Reprinted in Waldo and Magic, Inc., by Del Rey Books.
• "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag," Unknown Worlds, October 1942 (under pseudonym John Riverside).
• "The Green Hills of Earth," Saturday Evening Post, February 8, 1947. Reprinted in The Green Hills of Earth, Baen Books.
• "Space Jockey," Saturday Evening Post, April 26, 1947. Reprinted in The Past Through Tomorrow, Ace Books.
• "Columbus Was a Dope," Startling Stories, May 1947 (under pseudonym Lyle Monroe). Reprinted in The Menace from Earth, Baen Books.
• "They Do It With Mirrors," Popular Detective, May 1947 (under pseudonym Simon York). Reprinted in Expanded Universe, Ace Books.
• "It's Great To Be Back," Saturday Evening Post, July 26, 1947. Reprinted in The Past Through Tomorrow, Ace Books.
• "Jerry Is A Man," ("Jerry Was A Man"), Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1947. Reprinted in Assignment in Eternity, Baen Books.
• "Water Is For Washing," Argosy, November 1947. Reprinted in The Menace from Earth, Baen Books.
• Rocket Ship Galileo, Scribner's, 1947. Reprinted by Del Rey Books.
• "The Black Pits of Luna," Saturday Evening Post, January 10, 1948. Reprinted in The Green Hills of Earth, Baen Books.
• "Gentlemen, Be Seated," Argosy, May 1948. Reprinted in The Green Hills of Earth, Baen Books.
• "Ordeal in Space," Town and Country, May 1948. Reprinted in The Green Hills of Earth, Baen Books.
• Beyond This Horizon (revised version), Fantasy Press, 1948. Reprinted by New American Library.
• Space Cadet, Scribner's, 1948. Reprinted by Del Rey Books.
• "Our Fair City," Weird Tales, January 1949.
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