YASID: Years ago I read a “Young Adult” Science fiction story about an
inventor who creates the first “Faster Than Light” technology. This FTL
mechanism created an inertia-less bubble around a person or object and
could propel them to multiples of lightspeed. He first used it for
terrestrial travel and found it to be so fast it was indistinguishable
from teleportation.
In the story, powerful political and financial interests try to stop him
from making his invention freely available to the entire world. Toward
the end of the story, he and his crew use it to travel to a planet
orbiting the star, Alpha Centauri, and make first contact with a
friendly humanoid race who wear what seems to be 1920 style straw boater
hats.
Does this sound familiar to anyone? I would like to know the title and
author. I feel it was by a well-known author of juvenile science
fiction, but I can’t remember who it is."

This is from the Facebook Science Fiction group.

Thanks,
Lynn