Cute, but far too short, story about a girl who is accepted as a cadet without having applied to the international space academy.

More of a YA book than anything else. Disappointing when compared to her other books. Very short -- more like a novella. ( )

Space cadet Shanghai surprise.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/09... ( )

Connie Willis has done it again! D.A. is a short novella jam packed with fun. Theodora Baumgarten has been accepted to the IASA space academy despite the fact she never applied and, unlike nearly all her peers, she has no desire to go. The quick little story moves along at the relentless screwball pace I've come to love Connie Willis for.

Not only is this a great story, the book itself is lovely. Subterranean Press has a reputation for quality and they do deliver. ( )

D.A. is the story of a girl who becomes a space academy cadet, one of the most highly coveted college options on the entire planet, without even applying, and in fact very much not wanting to be one.

This is really a novella, and intended for a young-adult audience. The writing is good. You can hardly expect less. But the story is fairly predictable, the life lessons anything but subtle, and above all SHORT.

If the heroine weren't blatantly orders of magnitude smarter and more competent that every other character, I think D.A.could be fleshed out to a very interesting full-length novel. But as it is, it just doesn't work for me.

(amended with some additional background) It turns out that this was part of a larger collection inspired by the 50s TV show "Space Cadet" and playing on all its clichés and themes. In that context I'm sure this story would play much better. But I'm still disappointed with it as a stand-alone piece. ( )