Reviews

I love that genre storytelling can explore themes that are hard to explore using concrete literal concepts. This book does a lot to explore trauma that abandonment can cause, and the stress of taking care of your family. I'm bummed that the sci-fi elements seem so flimsy though. It's hard to justify someone changing their whole life and leaving their family for over a decade when we know very little about the outside force. I'm not suggesting the book needed more action or sci-fi technology, but there was just very little there to grasp.

eapw9's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

rpych2's review against another edition

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4.0

I’ve been itching for more stand alone sci-fi so I’m so glad I picked this book up. It was very unique and interesting, the plot was different than anything else I’ve ever read. It was sci-fi but it took place on earth in the present day, it had family drama at the center of it, and we only saw actual alien things that would be genre correct for a small part of the story. As a matter of fact, I really enjoyed about halfway through when the story went in a slightly different direction (it would be a spoiler to give it away, so I’m being purposefully vague). It only took me about a day to read because it was short and a bunch of fun, definitely worth a read.

interlibraryloan's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i expected a high sci-fi action packed space opera; i got a low sci-fi family drama set on earth, but i'm not complaining about it at all! saw too much of myself in kass (i have been signed up by my sisters as the designated caretaker when my mother inevitably gets dementia) but also resonated with jakob's search for himself and evie's general loneliness. was this a perfect book? no, but it was satisfying and it left a warmth in my chest halfway between feeling hollow and feeling content, so how about that!

reesethedonut's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

rosalyn's review against another edition

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I don't think I care about aliens...

lawinbehold's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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