Starswarm (Jupiter)

Really enjoyed this book, right up until the ending, which felt super abrupt and as if the author just gave up and moved on to another project. Or maybe had to get the book in the mail to the publisher and didn't have time for another word. :(

Still, it's a really interesting world with cool alien life forms and interesting characters. The main character is "Kip", an orphan living on a colonized world with his Uncle Mike. The most interesting alien life form on this new world is the starswarm, some kind of complex aquatic plant that can be seen making lights blink under the water of the lake near Kip's outpost. There are other starswarms elsewhere too, both fresh water and salt, but the outpost is studying this one as it appears to be one of the oldest. The colonists in Kip's outpost are interested in research as well as just surviving, but most of the world is owned by a large multinational corporation focused on profit, and as the company's desire to exploit the planet for profit conflicts with the researchers' concerns to study the native ecology, politics ramp up, and before you know it Kip and his friends are accused of sabotage. I won't get into more details in case of spoilers, but it's an interesting adventure centering around Kip and his immediate friends that reminded me a bit of the spirit of early Heinlein but with somewhat more sophisticated writing and ecological ideas.