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It's a great title. I like that you took a familiar phrase and changed it just slightly so that it doesn't quite sound right - it instantly intrigued me. Like, why 'from' not 'to'? I initially guessed it would be about people on Mars, and... well, I guess I was partially right. The actual exact meaning behind it is so sweet and I love it :D
Your cover is a little different, but then I suppose your book is too and so it fits. It's cute, and does fit your book well, what with the cartoon-like picture as well as the space-y feel and Mars red. It gets the sci-fi elements across while also generally looking great.
Summary
I think it sets the story up really well. The quote at the beginning is cute and ties in well with the title, then you have a paragraph which is short but pretty much tells us everything we need to know about the story, and then you go into a little more detail about the unique style of the book. Which I'm really glad about, because that immediately peaked my interest.
One small thing: I'm not entirely sure why, but 'things discovered' doesn't quite sound right to me. Maybe it's the word 'things'. It just didn't quite flow as well as the rest of the summary. Perhaps try something else here? Like 'horizons widened' or 'discoveries made'? Though this is really me nitpicking - it's really not a big problem. It just stood out to me.
I really think the fact that you can make such a short summary so effective is really great. We have our character, the setting (Mars xD) and stakes, as well as something personal - wanting to see her son. I must admit, I was a little dubious when I saw the way the story would be told, but it didn't take long for me to get into it.
Hook
I like how you don't start with her going to Mars. You build it up, and add a little mystery - we don't actually find out about the project her boss is talking about in the first chapter until later on. It allows us to get to know our characters before we then see them separated.
Right from the get-go, I was hooked. In fact, the whole book had a fantastic way of compelling me to keep reading. You made me care about the characters so quickly and I wanted to know what was going to happen to them.
So... I guess I don't have much to say about the hook. Good job. I'll go with that.
Characters
I was so impressed by how easily you managed to get character across through letters and texts, with the occasional dialogue. We literally only see Em in text conversations and yet I feel like her personality shone through clearly. I also think it's really clever how you showed her increasing worry through the unread text messages - it immediately made my heart ache for her. She seemed so lovely but Fay being away just sort of broke her, it seemed.
Fay herself just seems like an amazing mum, as well as very strong-willed - I mean, you don't get put on such an important mission to Mars without being a truly determined individual and she really seems that way. I was really rooting for her the whole time!
Even Sarah and John, who we don't get to see much at all, were such characters. In that phone conversation with their boss the three of them really felt like a team. I just... aw, I'm sad now.
Writing Style
Writing an entire story in this way can be quite a risk, as we miss lots of story depth, yet I think you did a great job with it. It's really clever how you use all these different communication methods to convey the story.
One thing I particularly liked was the emotion you managed to put across with just a few written words. I really felt for those characters. Jack's letters felt realistic, and it was heart-breaking to see him not understanding what had happened to his mum and just wanting her to come home. Poor kid. I was praying that you'd be nice and have something good happen xD
There's not really much I can say other than that. I don't really have any issues with the way you write this style. Grammar was also pretty much perfect, though the only thing I will say is to not use commas at the end of the phone call dialogue. Just use a period. In an ordinary narrative, commas are only used when the dialogue is followed by a dialogue tag, and since none of yours are, I think periods would allow it to feel more polished.
Plot
Considering how short this style makes your chapters, I thought it might feel a little rushed. But it didn't. The pacing felt about right. You provided insights into how different characters were coping and feeling all the way through, and it kept me reading the whole time.
I like the tension you introduced about midway through, just after the accident. There was such a rush of emotion there - it all happened so suddenly, which feels realistic as it must be sudden for the characters too. Then you introduced this new, mysterious perspective - you didn't tell us straight away what had happened, and I really liked that. It was so intriguing and I was desperate to know if things were ok.
I found it quite funny how the astronauts spent so much time watching TV. It shows how much more advanced technology must be in that they didn't need to be doing things around the spaceship and also how they'd managed to put electrics in. Very cool. Plus Space Skype made me laugh, though it's a smart idea and a good way for them to be able to keep in contact. I really hope we will be able to do all this in 30 years time xD
I think the only slight issue I had with the plot was the ending. It felt somehow... dissatisfying, I guess? It's probably a good thing that you left me wanting more, but maybe it needed just another chapter or something. I want to know if Fay made it back safely or what happened to Selena. Was Fay able to contact Earth somehow? I just want more - though that does show how good it was and how well I've connected to the characters.
Overall Thoughts
I'm sorry about how short this review was. It's mainly because I had barely anything negative to say and I just generally enjoyed your book. You've done such a good job despite using a more unusual style. It's really paid off.
If you ever write those bonus chapters, I'll definitely be giving them a read! You have achieved the Pup stamp of approval. Very well done. :D
