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orugsito's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
nkz21752's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
scurvotron's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Abandonment and Colonisation
zsabella's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I think 2024 is the year I fully realize that I’m deeply fond of speculative, character-driven science fiction. I loved how the vanished birds gives off a distinct feeling of negative space and technological minimalism that doesn’t distract from the characters’ interactions. it’s frankly impossible not to immediately buy into every relationship nia has ever formed. simon jimenez writes natural dialogue so easily it feels like reading a transcript of *real people* conversing, arguing, courting, etc. but not at the cost of world building—he can easily evoke beautifully sparse images of futuristic cities, natural environments, and different planets within the universe he’s imagined.
I do think the third act could’ve been a bit tidier and had a less abrupt transition, but it’s a small nitpick in the grand scheme of a heartwrenching story. at its core this is a found family, coming of age cosmic drama that reflects on the figurative and literal power of human connections and what ordinary, but conflicted, people are willing to do to preserve them.
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide
emedaydreams's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
booksandabev's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
librarycard87's review
slow-paced
2.0
Read for a book club, that's the only reason why this wasn't a dnf. How was it so many pages and nothing really happened??
pilardo's review against another edition
2.75
This dragged for me - very character focused but I didn’t really like the characters enough to care. I kept hoping something would happen and while big, universe-scale things happened, I wasn’t invested.
mareru's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
mementomorivv's review against another edition
5.0
What a beautifully heartbreaking story. This brought me so close to tears and that rarely happens to me with books.