The City in the Stars

This particular incarnation of the Tom Swift series is a great place for young boys to discover science fiction. The stories are entertaining and do a good job of holding one's attention, plus the author attempts (with varied success) to weave in actual science here and there. I say the books are good for young boys because the protagonist is of course Tom Swift, and the format the adventure-story favored by many young boys, but the character Anita does offer a strong (but almost tomboyish) female role as well.In this story--the first in the series--Tom's spacecraft has an engine accident. When similar problems plague an engine being developed by Tom's father's company for an upcoming mission to Jupiter, Tom must discover who is out to sabotage Swift Enterprises before their actions lead to thousands of deaths.