Original Title: Darlah - 172 timer på månen
Note: I read a Dutch translation of this book; and yes, I'm complaining about said translation
Another Note: Lots of spoilers ahead. Please Beware!
I wanted to read this book for ages. The story seemed so promising, but for me it was a big disappointment. Really, I wanted to like it, but I couldn’t. For multiple reasons. It may contains spoilers from here on.
First, and there is unfortunately no chance for me to check out the original Norwegian book, but the Dutch translation was just rubbish. Seldom I’ve seen books with more grammatical errors, sentences even an 8-year-old would not construct (because he would know it wasn’t correct) and sometimes words or even verbs were missing. Besides all things that were obviously wrong and really annoying, the correct sentences tended to be staccato, which I don’t really like to read either. But I know that that is more personal.
Second, the story is weak. Okay, they decide to send CHILDREN to the moon without any realistic or simply good reason. I don’t mind, I’m willing to go along with that. After all, people do stupid things and I don’t mind a little mad/dystopian twist. Then the children who – surprise, surprise – happen to be the chosen ones, although it is obvious from the start that Norwegian Mia is the most important of the three. Just before take-off, she asks her parents not to come and look when they send her into space, while at first her parents were the ones who wanted her to go… (And wouldn’t you mind the fact that you hadn’t seen your 16-years-old child for 3 months by then?) And last, when ‘Mia’ returns, why is she doing it? There hasn’t been a reason why the doppelgängers would like to take over the world or anything? I don’t need a story to answer all the questions but now it just looked like a bad horror movie I once saw but can’t remember what it was called. Anyways, in the end, all the characters had died and the doppelgängers were ready to take over planet Earth. Sounds familiar, huh?
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