The Countdown Conspiracy by Katie Slivensky

My name is Miranda, and I’m the American cadet training for an international mission to Mars. However, Esteban and I were attacked on our way to the Antarctic training site; why would anyone want to kill us? As time has gone on, it seems apparent that we were not the targets; I am the one the assassins want dead. I'm trying to immerse myself in training, but the classes are really hard. I've never struggled with anything before. We've started practical exams in the spaceplane, and I'm feeling better actually doing something. The first exam was interrupted by an exploding helicopter outside the hanger, but I thought the new exam would go well. All of the cadets felt ready, but none of us expected the simulation to be so real. Now, our lives depend on focusing on our individual strengths and working together as a team. 

This book is a finalist for the 2017 Cybils Book Award in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction. It was a science fiction version of six talented kids facing problems created by world conflict. Miranda was a robotics expert who experienced failure for the first time in her life. The other characters had their own special talents, and their support for Miranda varied over time. Miranda's self-confidence wavered, but I liked how she was able to persevere. The conflicts grew throughout the plot until the characters found themselves fighting for their lives. They were forced to set aside their differences and self-doubt in order to work as a team. The hero supporting the efforts was Ruby, Miranda's hand-built robot. It became her sidekick, kind of like a loyal dog. The spidery bot was able to perform difficult and dangerous tasks the humans could not, and made a human-like sacrifice in the end. The book addressed world politics and the fragility of maintaining peace. This was a central focus to the plot, and the action and mystery made it especially entertaining. It's definitely worthy of being considered the outstanding speculative fiction novel of 2017.