Taking Off

reimagining The Days Surrounding This Unforgettable Event In History, Readers Are Brought Back To 1986 As The Astronauts Prepare For The Challenger Mission, And Christa Mcaullife Trains To Be The First Teacher In Space. When A Teen Named Annie Meets Christa, She Is Fascinated By Christa's Courage. Truly Inspired, Annie Is Determined To Make It To Florida To See The Challenger Launch, A Trip That Will Forever Change How She Thinks About Herself And Her Secret Desire For Her Own Future. Although She Is Devastated When Tragedy Strikes, Annie Honors Christa By Following Her Own Dream, Despite The Obstacles. Bringing In Her Experience As A Nasa Engineer, Jenny Moss Weaves A Moving Story That Recaptures The Inspiration Teens Must Have Felt Years Ago As They Watched Christa Mcauliffe Reach For The Sky. publishers Weekly it Is 1986 And Annie, A Timid High School Senior, Lives In Clear Lake, Tex., Where Astronauts Are Training For The Next Flight Of The Challenger Space Shuttle. Annie's Possessive Boyfriend Wants To Get Married After They Graduate; Her Mother Wants Her To Go To College; And Annie, Whose Secret Dream Is To Be A Poet, Is Paralyzed With Indecision. Through Annie's Best Friend Lea, The Daughter Of Nasa Parents, Annie Meets Christa Mcauliffe, The First Participant In The Teacher In Space Project. Mcauliffe Inspires Annie To Start Making Her Own Choices, The First Being A Road Trip To See The Challenger Launch With Her Father And His Young, Handsome Co-worker, Who Soon Has Annie Rethinking Her Current Relationship. Motivated By Mcauliffe's Bravery, Annie Pushes Past Her Fears To Take Her Future Into Her Own Hands. Moss (shadow), A Former Nasa Employee Who Helped Train Crew Members For This Challenger Mission, Makes Mcauliffe Perhaps Too Idealized A Figure, But Teens Should Relate To Indecisive Annie, And Moss's Depiction Of The Effect Of The Shuttle's Destruction On Annie Hits Hard. Ages 12 Up. (jan.) In 1985 in Clear Lake, Texas, home of the Johnson Space Center, high school senior Annie Porter struggles with her desire to become a poet, but her resolve to pursue her dream is strengthened when she meets Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to go into space.