Reviews

This book! I've never read anything like it. I loved the dual perspectives separated by time and space. The world building! Everything is laid out so it's easy to understand. The characters feel real. With relatable thoughts and desires. Amazing

"Even at your worst, you do not deserve the pain you house."

Content Warnings

aspring's review against another edition

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5.0

so! many! gender! feelings!

this was so good, i loved so much

30something_reads's review

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

A burned-out retail worker stumbling through the grand exit of their womanhood.
A ship and it's runaway passenger traveling through the cosmos in search of a greater purpose.

Told through these two slowly converging storylines, this is a lovely and very cerebral exploration of transness, gender dysphoria/euphoria, and the body finding harmony with its inner passenger.

littlebookterror's review

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medium-paced

4.5

Do you ever fall a little bit in love with a book? I keep circling back to this scifi novella and its story, how much I fell in love with our two protagonists.

I don't even want to reveal much more than the synopsis does but this book has so many beautiful, quotable moments that my digital copy is highlighted like a Christmas tree.

I want to highlight three things.
1. There are strong themes about gender and personhood what stood out to me more was how aromatic-coded the book is. We have two POVs and both their main relationships are non-romantic. Sex plays a role, but so does friendship, parent-child dynamics and adversarial connections. It explores many different relationships and the impact the have on our protagonists.
2. The mirroring and merging of the storylines. Avi Silver got creative when crafting this story! In the beginning, the retail worker and the prince seem to have nothing in common and I was wondering if and how the stories would connect, why we are reading about both of them, I adored how it all comes together. By the end, I was sad that it was all over, I would have happily taken another 100 pages. (Not that this felt incomplete, I just didn't want to let it go).
3. Narration style.
I fucking love it when the narrative addresses the reader and the story is told more like a casual retelling than a limited 3rd person point of view. In here, we have a 1st person narration and a 3rd person narration which also helps distinguish the two leads. The story feels also self-aware in a how it frames conversations and memories and how it interacts with the characters.

It's such a well-structured story.

<i>I received an advanced reading copy from Atthis Arts through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

lysimache's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

reina_le's review

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funny hopeful reflective 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? No

3.5

mar's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

God. I don't think I have the words to describe how this book made me feel other than "absolute gender catharsis." Cried so hard I got a headache. I think I need to be sent out into the vacuum of space and rotate in silence thinking about it for a couple days. 10/10 would recommend

(A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)

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