Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
This is a wonderfully compelling book that celebrates scientific exploration and discovery through the lens of the main character, June Reed. We meet her first at 12-years old when she's dealing with the death of her beloved uncle, an engineer and literal rocket scientist. She's a smart, driven student-turned-astronaut who manages better with machines than she does people, but still learns how to make friends along the way. While most of her educational and career path has been motivated by pure curiosity and a need for understanding that never runs out, June also exhibits a driving need to help others and do the right thing.
I loved the varied pacing in this book—some times you're learning how to breathe deep in an underwater training exercise and other times dealing with a frenzied and intense outer space emergency. The story is set in a not too distant future where space travel has evolved a bit beyond where we stand today—but still hasn't gone so far as to have large colonies of non-scientist humans living easily on moons or other planets.
A fascinating read!
I loved the varied pacing in this book—some times you're learning how to breathe deep in an underwater training exercise and other times dealing with a frenzied and intense outer space emergency. The story is set in a not too distant future where space travel has evolved a bit beyond where we stand today—but still hasn't gone so far as to have large colonies of non-scientist humans living easily on moons or other planets.
A fascinating read!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cool concepts. Like the characters. Plot is good. Execution is a little sloppy. Felt rushed and disjointed at the end.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review.
For some reason, I really loved the cover of this book. You never see pink associated with astronauts! The figure seems to be falling away from the cover and beckoning you in.
So I was fine with reading this slightly alternate history. I wasn't sure about when the book was set, but it seemed a bit retro. However, in this book a new pink planet has been found and crewed ships have just begun exploring the solar system.
At the beginning of the book, this manned exploration team has fallen out of contact. June, the main character, lives with her uncle. Her uncle is a brilliant scientist who developed the fuel cell that the exploration ship used. This uncle has also been teaching June how to think like an engineer, or an inventor. He encourages her to take things apart to see how they work, to think through alternatives until she hits an obstacle and then either find a way around that obstacle or find an entirely different path.
This uncle has recently died and June's aunt and cousin don't seem to be kindred spirits to her the way her uncle was. In short order, June is shipped off to the boarding school at the base for aspiring engineers and astronauts.
So far, so good. I don't love reading books that bring you all the way from childhood through the adult main character's life. To me, it seems like a waste of time and a good author could start you where the action is and allow the reader to learn backstory later, as necessary, and more organically to the plot. But I could get through a bit of backstory to get to the good part.
But more and more time with June as a child! What did she eat at the cafeteria. How did she learn to scuba dive (which seemed suspicious to me; the kids learned in a pool and then "dropped weight" in order to rise. But scuba divers don't drop weight when they're diving, they increase the amount of air in their BCDs.) Did June make friends. More and more of this. It was all so... mundane.
So I skipped ahead. And even in space, time is given to June brushing her teeth (and not in a exciting space way). To what June is eating. To her learning how to deal with people. To June continually focusing on the immediate problem and not understanding the larger situation, in which she might be putting people in danger by dealing only with the immediate problem. It still felt... mundane. None of the wonder of space. Just immature people misunderstanding each other again and again.
So, the novel wasn't really about space. It was about a young neuro-atypical woman who leverages her strengths but doesn't understand her weaknesses. And no one tells her how to. This is literary fiction dressed up with a science fiction ribbon. And I've got a short tolerance for books like these because rarely is the science aspect up to par.
For some reason, I really loved the cover of this book. You never see pink associated with astronauts! The figure seems to be falling away from the cover and beckoning you in.
So I was fine with reading this slightly alternate history. I wasn't sure about when the book was set, but it seemed a bit retro. However, in this book a new pink planet has been found and crewed ships have just begun exploring the solar system.
At the beginning of the book, this manned exploration team has fallen out of contact. June, the main character, lives with her uncle. Her uncle is a brilliant scientist who developed the fuel cell that the exploration ship used. This uncle has also been teaching June how to think like an engineer, or an inventor. He encourages her to take things apart to see how they work, to think through alternatives until she hits an obstacle and then either find a way around that obstacle or find an entirely different path.
This uncle has recently died and June's aunt and cousin don't seem to be kindred spirits to her the way her uncle was. In short order, June is shipped off to the boarding school at the base for aspiring engineers and astronauts.
So far, so good. I don't love reading books that bring you all the way from childhood through the adult main character's life. To me, it seems like a waste of time and a good author could start you where the action is and allow the reader to learn backstory later, as necessary, and more organically to the plot. But I could get through a bit of backstory to get to the good part.
But more and more time with June as a child! What did she eat at the cafeteria. How did she learn to scuba dive (which seemed suspicious to me; the kids learned in a pool and then "dropped weight" in order to rise. But scuba divers don't drop weight when they're diving, they increase the amount of air in their BCDs.) Did June make friends. More and more of this. It was all so... mundane.
So I skipped ahead. And even in space, time is given to June brushing her teeth (and not in a exciting space way). To what June is eating. To her learning how to deal with people. To June continually focusing on the immediate problem and not understanding the larger situation, in which she might be putting people in danger by dealing only with the immediate problem. It still felt... mundane. None of the wonder of space. Just immature people misunderstanding each other again and again.
So, the novel wasn't really about space. It was about a young neuro-atypical woman who leverages her strengths but doesn't understand her weaknesses. And no one tells her how to. This is literary fiction dressed up with a science fiction ribbon. And I've got a short tolerance for books like these because rarely is the science aspect up to par.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to this book on audible, and therefore didn’t have to put up with the lack of punctuation that some have complained of. Overall, I found the story delightful, but lack luster. A quick and easy listen that had a different perspective than the typical, but never dug bellow the surface. Overall, an enjoyable but light read.
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The idea of this book was really cool. I love Jane Eyre and making it into a science-fiction story is cool! The book just left a little to be desired for me. Maybe it was that putting it into a more modern tone of voice made me realize how weird Jane Eyre is, but the book just didn't have the same "umph."
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No