Orbital Resonance — John Barnes

SOMETIMES THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE A PLANET IS TO LEAVE IT BEHIND...

Melpomene Murray's concerns are those of any teen-ager: homework, friends, dates. But Melpomene lives on the Flying Dutchman, an asteroid colony located thousands of miles from an Earth almost destroyed by disease, war, and pollution. She and her spaceborn classmates are humanity's last hope, and Mel's just starting to realize how heavy a responsibility this is. Her parents and teachers have trained her from birth to lead mankind into the future.

What they never realized is that Melpomene might have plans of her own...