This book is a young adult novel in the honor Harrington universe at the time of the planet Sphinx's early colonization. It is a good story about first contact with an alien race and some of the issues around that. It also does a good job of playing to its intended young adult audience.
The one thing I really didn't like about this book is that the main character doesn't fit in with her peers because she is smarter than them and arrogant about it. That would be ok if it was a flaw that she needed to overcome, but in the book it is almost celebrated. Other than this one annoyance though I really enjoyed reading this book, and learning more of the back-story on Sphinx's intelligent telepathic Treecats.
The story follows a teenage Stephanie Harrington from her first encounter with Climbs Quickly(a Treecat) through several issues around first contact. The Treecat perspective on the whole first contact process is very interesting. The communication difficulties that arise because Treecats communicate telepathically and are bad at understanding vocal language in particular is a great concept that really makes you realize how much we take for granted about communication. Through the story the relationship between Treecats and humans is tested several times and the communication barrier is a challenge that must be overcome, but in the end it is Stephanie and Climbs Quickly's courage and devotion that keeps the Treecats from disappearing into the bushes.
This book will appeal to fans of the Honor Harrington series, people who love frontier stories, and young adults searching for a way to fit in. You can purchase A Beautiful Friendship in print or as an e-book at www.amazon.com
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