A review by felinity
Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

5.0

When the final exam arrives, everyone in the class has to survive for 2-10 days in an unknown location. That can't be too hard, right? Except that it's been far longer than that and they haven't been recalled, so now the test is far more than short-term survival: they have to build themselves a civilized society.

This was the first Heinlein book I read, and it still remains one of my regularly reread favorites. Survival, the beginning of a new colony with all the pains and joys it brings, the transition from youth to adult, and familial interactions... everything you'd want and expect from Heinlein (minus some of his more adult themes).