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Good, solid piece of science fiction. At first glance, the story is fairly straightforward---young girl's family "wins" a lottery to go to Mars and join the small colony there, but once arrived she finds herself both involved with an older man and at odds with the administrator who makes her a kind of "special project", especially after the girl inadvertently discovers sapient life sharing Mars with the humans---but it subtly veers into the more complex on two (at least) levels.

One is, it transitions from YA to adult as the protagonist grows into womanhood. This is evidenced by the shift in narrative voice. The novel is first-person and the change is both subtle and convincing, which is an enviable achievement.

The second it, this is also a novel about the end of humanity's "adolescence" as the "Martians" turn out to be creatures planted on Mars by a vastly older more advanced race in order to keep an eye on the rapidly evolving humans. Within the span of a few years, Earth must come to grips with the fact that its own internal problems must take a backseat to the fact that we are not alone and that it may be a cold, cruel collection of neighbors surrounding us.

I've always enjoyed and admired Haldeman's deceptively simple approach to complex and compelling scenarios. I'm looking forward to the next volume in the trilogy.