I agree with the review on the cover (though I hate it when books have reviews on the front cover) that this story is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. However, that trilogy might be my least favorite of Lewis' and I like this book even less. It was boring and Kate was annoying. Don't be rude to people who risk their lives to help you!

Barron created some alien species, but there was some confusion as to how much they knew of our planet. If I recall correctly, Ariella has not heard of Earth, but she says at one point "On your planet, you might call it...", which wouldn't make sense if she doesn't know anything about Earth. There was also an explanation of rings as being bracelets for fingers, but how could Kate expect her alien friend to know what a bracelet is if she doesn't know what a ring is?

The characters can also, at times, read each other's minds and I wasn't sure when exactly that was possible and for whom, so that got confusing.

[SPOILERS BELOW]
One of my pet peeves in media lately is when death doesn't mean anything within a story because the supposed dead character comes back. That occurs more than 3 times in this book, so I also don't believe for a second that the grandfather is really dead in the end. Then again, all of the other "deaths" were also poorly written, in my opinion. Like, the characters were out of sight for two seconds and immediately presumed dead. Whereas, the grandfather was actually seen dead. So maybe that's legit. But I still don't trust it. And I won't continue the series to find out what happened. Anyway, I want to clarify that I don't always hate it when there are false deaths, but when it's overused, it's really annoying. I'm lookin' at you, Marvel.
[END SPOILERS]

I'll end on a positive note by saying that I really like some of the names in this book, like Ariella and Trethoniel. ( )

What ages would I recommend it too? – Twelve and up.

Length? – Two day’s read.

Characters? – Four primary characters.

Setting? – Fantasy, alternate dimensions.

Written approximately? – 1990.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Yes. Confusion. Was the story a dream, or not? It would be fine if it is.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? Clarify confusion. ( )

This sci-fi book borders on fantasy. It combines scientific knowledge with some esoteric aspects of crystals, the power of the heart, snow flakes, etc. Kaitlyn wants to hang out with her grand-father (a scientist), he is always busy in his lab. The help of Orpheus & Morpheus (two large butterflies) assist Kate & her grandfather defeat the Voice & the Darkness who are consuming the sun for energy.