Each book in this series will follow a similar format.

The novel Ticket to Orbit: Alpha City 2050 is the first young adult adventure story in a series.  It takes place in space and in the near future.  The story follows the mishaps and adventures of a group of teenagers who are living on an orbiting space city.

It has short action-packed chapters that are specifically geared toward the attention-deficit and easily distracted reader.  The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level is rated at grade six.  The vocabulary is fairly basic except for a few scientific terms that are necessary to explain how the space station or equipment operates. It was written with the boy reader in mind but, because there are also many female characters, would be appealing to young girls as well.

The characters range in age from 12 to 15 so that teenagers who have difficulty reading will be able to identify with the characters and not feel as though they are reading a book about children.  The book is filled with fascinating fact-based information about space and space travel as well as many life lessons. Some issues that the characters in the novel must deal with include:

            -abandonment
            -friendship development
            -environmental concerns on Earth
            -big business involvement in scientific discovery
            -the joys and dangers of invention
            -family relationships
            -hidden secrets
            -the future of space exploration

The novel is the first book in a series that will continue the adventures of these teenagers as they move between the space station, Earth, and all points in-between.

A fully reproducible Teacher's Guide has also been written to accompany the novel.  The guide will be expanded with each additional book.  Some sample activities from the Teacher's Guide include:

           -a science experiment with garbage and composting
           -creating a cartoon based on a scene from the novel
           -journaling
           -discussion questions
           -a NASA internet research project
           -a time capsule activity

The Teacher's Guide was written to help teachers by pointing out some key areas of exploration within the novel itself.  It addresses the strands Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking and Inquiry, Communication, and Application by asking the students to consider greater issues, find out more information, present their information creatively, and use their knowledge for greater exploration.  The guide was written by two English Teachers and a Child Therapist.

Both authors would like to see this book in the hands of non-readers in hopes that it would spark their interest in further literacy.