Podkayne of Mars

From the author of Friday and Rocketship Galileo comes this classic tale featuring the Grand Master of Science Fictions most remarkable heroine. Podkayne Fries, a smart and determined maid of Mars, has just one goal in life: to become the first female starship pilot and rise through the ranks to command deepspace explorations. So when she is offered a chance to join her diplomatic uncle on an interstellar journey to distant Earth via Venus, its a dream come trueeven if her only experience with diplomacy is handling her brilliant but pesky younger brother, Clark. But shes about to learn some things about war and peace, because Uncle Tom, the Ambassador Plenipotentiary from Mars to the Three Planets Conference, is traveling not quite incognito enoughand certain parties will stop at nothing to sabotage negotiations between the three worlds