Space Ranger

A great adventure/detective story for young adults that has stood the test of time remarkably well in some ways...less well in certain other ways.This was my first time reading this book as an adult. My 12 year old self loved this book (though not as much as [b:Second Foundation 29580 Second Foundation (Foundation #3) Isaac Asimov https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417900922l/29580.SX50.jpg 64823] - I had taste even back then). I was a bit worried as to how it would read to an adult with a bit more scientific knowledge.Well it was great! While clearly intended for a younger audience, this was a fun adventure with a good detective-style mystery and a hefty dose of science thrown in.Dr Asimov intended to teach science through these books, something my younger self absolutely loved. Of course since the time of writing our knowledge of the solar system has been radically transformed. That said, this first book, which is set on Mars, has aged remarkably well. In fact the description of a Martian dust-storm beats [b:The Martian 18007564 The Martian Andy Weir https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg 21825181] under the table.What has not aged quite so well are certain social details. While there is a mention of a ‘sister' and a mother, no female actually appears in the book. On the other hand there are plenty of cigar/pipe smoking men puffing away. Who knows? Perhaps the distant future resembles the 1950s?Did I enjoy this book? Absolutely!Would I suggest this to a youngster today? Possibly... but only after a chat explaining a bit of 1950s culture to them.Would I like someone to write a similar interplanetary romp with more that 0% of the characters being female? Absolutely! (Seriously - how do they reproduce in the future? Mitosis?)What this book did bring home to me was the gap that I find in SF books. I find plenty of books for little kids. I find plenty for teens of ages 14+. I don't find much for ages 10-12ish when young people have the reading ability and interest to deal with big concepts - but perhaps not the maturity/interest to deal with some of the harsher topics dealt with in much of YA literature.Books like Space Ranger were aimed at that demographic and aimed to be “improving” - which was great in that it got people into science, however now I'd like to see a new wave of “improving” books for the younger reader, promoting the idea that gender has utterly nothing to do with one's ability to save the universe with science.Goodness knows we need young scientists to save us all.