The Lion of Mars

The Lion of Mars (2021) is a middle-grade science fiction novel by American author Jennifer L. Holm. (This study guide cites the 2021 Kindle edition.) Holm has received several accolades for her work, including Newbery Honor Awards for her historical fiction novels Our Only May Amelia (2000), Penny From Heaven (2007), and Turtle in Paradise (2011), and an Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers for Babymouse for President (2013).

In The Lion of Mars, her first work of science fiction, Holm imagines the possibility of life on Mars and was influenced by her own family history. Holm’s novel draws from immigration stories to depict the everyday life of a group of settlers in a fictional setting. She focuses on human connections and explores the themes of The Dangers of Isolation, The Importance of Community, and The Driving Power of Fear.

The story follows Bell, an 11-year-old boy who grew up in a US settlement on Mars. He is the youngest of the settlers, which include his friends Trey, Albie, Flossy, and Vera, as well as a few adults: Commander Sai; Meems, a doctor and mother figure; Phinneus, an old farmer; Darby and Eliana, married handyman and engineer, respectively; and Salty Bill, a cook.

The last member of the group is Leo, Bell’s cat. Bell, who has only ever known life on Mars, is fascinated by the grown-ups’ tales about their memories of Earth. Although some of the movies (or “digi-reels”) he watches leave him confused about things such as shoulder pads and restaurants, he loves learning about Earth’s animals and plants. His favorite animals are lions because the settlers’ small community reminds him of a lion’s pride.

Although there are other settlements on Mars—French, Finnish, Chinese, and Russian—the American settlers are forbidden from contact with any of them. At first, Bell, who has only been told that the other countries are dangerous, is very wary of them and is afraid of leaving his settlement. However, one day, some mice hiding in a supply ship from Earth infect the adults from the American settlement with a virus. With the grown-ups incapacitated, the children take charge of the colony. When they receive word from Earth command that the necessary medication will take eight months to reach Mars, Bell and his friends decide to break the rules and seek help from the other settlements.

Bell volunteers to go and, despite his fears, finds himself at the French settlement. There, he is greeted warmly and immediately offered help to take care of the sick Americans. He makes friends with the children from the other settlements and realizes that they are not dangerous, as he had been led to believe.

Throughout the story, Bell learns about an American settler named Lissa, who died in a rover accident a few years earlier. That tragedy is what led Commander Sai to cease contact with the other settlements; a Russian and a French settler were with Lissa the day of the accident and seemingly left her behind to die. Bell eventually uncovers the truth, which is that the others went to seek help and always intended to come back. Sai’s resentment kept him from listening to their explanations at the time, but they all reconcile when they are finally able to have an honest conversation. In the end, the five settlements decide to reconnect and live together as a community, leading to Bell calling them “the pride of Mars” (251).