Between Planets

“Man needs freedom, but few men are so strong as to be happy with complete freedom.”

Mixed feelings. ⠀
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There's this thing when I've read enough books by the same author (3⭐, 4⭐ or 5⭐ books), I really can't help but compare the one I just finished with the ones I liked the most. Hell, I don't even know if it's a good rating method but that's what I do. Does it make sense to you? See, this was a gripping space adventure for me, better than Space Cadet (3⭐), but not better than Startship Troopers (4⭐) or Farmer in the Sky (4⭐). Let's just say Between Planets it's a 3.5⭐ and get on with it already. Sorry for sharing my rating problems.⠀
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Heinlein's inventiveness was certainly ahead of his time. The year was 1951 and there he was talking about mobile phones, self-driving cars and stealth tech. Having read some of his late novels I noticed some backward references like Venusberg and Tycho City, and some other themes that he also develops in other of his books like citizenship, conspiracy and individual freedom. ⠀
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Don Harvey is a fine young boy who needs to deliver a message to his parents on Mars but get caught in the middle of a war of independence between the Republic of Venus and the mighty Earth Federation. One of the few books I've read where Earth is the bad boy. Because he was born in space, with one parent from Venus and the other from Earth, he needs to decide where his loyalties lie. An entertaining and complex juvenile novel about a boy whose courage will decide the future of planetary freedom. ⠀
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Side note: Mr. Darrell K. Sweet got it wrong! Venerian dragons have eight eyes, not six