Review: 172 Hours on the Moon

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
Release Date ~ April 17, 2012
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers ~ Hachette Book Group
ISBN13: 9780316182881
ARC received from HBG Canada for review
Goodreads Synopsis:
It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever.

Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune.

Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan.

Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them.

In this chilling adventure set in the most brutal landscape known to man, highly acclaimed Norwegian novelist Johan Harstad creates a vivid and frightening world of possibilities we can only hope never come true.

172 Hours on the Moon was one book that immediately caught my eye when I came across it, and I was THRILLED when I had an opportunity to read it in advance of the release date.

I haven't read very many horror/thriller books before, so I didn't think this one would be able to scare me. I didn't understand how a book could keep you up at night, burrowed under your blankets for safety, while frantically turning the pages... until I read 172 Hours on the Moon.

Also,  make sure you check out the giveaway at the end of this review because one commenter will win a copy of this book!

1. Well-translated novel:
   172 Hours on the Moon was first published in 2008 in Norway; when I found this out, I was a little bit worried that the writing would be awkward or the translating sloppy. But once I started reading the book, I completely forgot it had ever been translated at one point. It's very well done, and I was thoroughly impressed with the translator, who did an excellent job at keeping the atmosphere of the book while putting it in another language- a VERY difficult thing to do. Don't let the fact that this is translated stop you from picking it up.
2. Suspenseful, creepy read:
   The first thing 172 Hours on the Moon does in the prologue is get the creepy factor going. I started reading this book at night - terrible idea. And the next day I read it while I was home alone - another bad idea. Although there's a gradual build up to the actual events on the moon by giving some background information, the creepiness starts well before the crew's trip into space. And it just doesn't stop! From the very first chapter to the last one, this book is riddled with some scary stuff. But I want to point out that it's all a very subtle kind of scary; it's disturbing, and delightfully creepy but it also isn't the most terrifying thing I've ever read. So if you're hesitant about scary books, I'd still suggest giving this one a try. Also, I couldn't look at the cover while reading (the eyeball one), it just freaked me out too much.
3. Very unique premise:
   Okay, just stick with me here: three teenagers get the chance to go on a trip to the moon. It's a bit silly, and the reasoning behind it isn't solid but then I also realized that vampires in highschools aren't exactly logical or reasonable either. So forgive it that kind of silly idea, because this book has a really great premise going for it. It takes place in space, which is terrifying. Space is so out there and there are so many things we don't understand about it that it makes the perfect setting for this book. And I loved the three different characters introduced, as well as the explanation given for the scary things happening to them. It was pretty disturbing actually, especially the ending. By the way, I think this book has a great ending- one of the best I've read.

I can't accurately convey my love for this book in one little review, but I'll say that I think this is going to be one of the most underrated books of the year. It isn't being talked about very much but it's SO good! Plus, I can say that this one gave me nightmares - a couple nights after finishing it, the evil "things" (I won't say what it is, I don't want to spoil!) showed up in my dreams except I was being awesome and fighting back so it wasn't super scary. But still, I think the fact that they showed up at all says something about the quality of this book and it's ability to stick with you. I can easily say this is one of my new favourite books, and one of the best of 2012.

P.S. You have to go check out this cool website, Hachette created for the book. It's just like the one in the book!
AND more importantly, you must go check out the YouTube they have for the book! They have some SUPER CREEPY video clips to go with it, although they some are a teensy bit spoiler-y because they hint at what happens later on. But it really isn't any HUGE secret.

So this isn't the technical book trailer, but it's the ad they made based off the one from the book. Personally, I love the one showing Antoine's transmission from the moon - but it's the one I'm warning you gives you a pretty good hint of what's to come in the book :) So don't click on this link if you don't want ANY spoilers.

Because I loved this book so much, I'm going to buy this book for one lucky commenter. I'll be ordering from The Book Depository, so it's open to all the countries TBD ships to :) Standard contest rules apply, just comment with an answer this question and leave me a way to contact you:

Would you want to go on a trip to the moon?