Books like Countdown

I thought that the book Countdown by Ben Mikaelsen was a good book. It tells the story of a young boy named Elliot who is chosen to be the first junior astronaut in space. Meanwhile Vincent, a young Maasai boy from Africa, is figuring out how the world works. While Elliot is in space his job is to talk on a radio. He gets in contact with Vincent everytime the space shuttle is passing over Africa. The boys talk about what way of life is correct and argue because they are so different. When Vincent lands in the space shuttle the boys meet each other and talk about how they would like to learn each others way of life.Elliot is a normal boy from the United States. He can’t believe he was the first junior astronaut chosen to fly in space. He goes to Houston, Texas for nine months to train for his flight. Vincent lives in a Massai tribe in Africa. He is made fun of for not being able to kill a lion. He proves to his father there is more to life than just the Massia's way of life.This story takes place in modern day. The setting switches back and forth from the space shuttle and the tribe where Vincent is living. The setting is very important because the whole purpose of the book is to show that people can still get along with each other even if they have very different ways of life.The theme of this book is that people can still live peacefully and get along no matter where they are from. Elliot and Vincent grew up in very different families and on opposite sides of the world. They would argue at first but eventually got to know one another and got along with each other.I would recommend this book to young adults of either gender as it tells a good story.I would give this book a 4 out of 5 star rating.