Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl

genre: young adult science fiction

Elana is from an advanced society that has created an interstellar organization that helps protect younger worlds from being invaded by other, not quite as advanced, civilizations.  When she sneaks onto a mission to a medieval world on the brink of a disastrous colonization, Elana's presence creates the kind of turmoil that is hard to undo.  But try to undo it she does, along with two other agents, and together they create a plan involving the native man Georyn, whose real belief in magic and superstition might just be the key to everything.

OH my goodness this was a surprisingly great read.  There is so much depth beneath the story, which is interesting in and of itself. Teens are introduced to some pretty intriguing topics in a way that's really accessible - the idea of colonizers viewing native populations as "lesser than" or that anyone who is less technologically advanced is somehow beneath you.   I loved how often Elana is forced to recognize that one individual's choice, even just ONE choice, can have implications for better - or especially worse - that you could've never imagined.  There is a sweet romantic plot and I liked how we got to see the story from both Elana and Georyn's points of view.  The way that the author took a situation and could show it from both of their perspectives, which are so very different (i.e. magic vs science), was masterfully done.  I loved the father-daughter relationship here and I loved the idea of there being endless worlds to explore.  Just a lot of stuff I liked, apparently.

I would love to hand this to a teen and see what they can take away from it - and it would be a great introduction to science fiction for teens who think they don't like the genre.