Reviews with content warning for Medical content - To Be Taught, If Fortunate

The book and its descriptions of their discoveries sparked a magical feeling in me that I haven't felt since I was a child: Of looking up to the sky and wondering what's out there.

The focus is on the characters and their mindset. It shows the curiosity of scientists and how different a stressful situation can influence people. I loved the diversity of planets and what was on them. A planet doesn't have to be an oasis bursting with flora and fauna to be mesmerizing.

I loved the mindset of the crew, that they were observers, not colonizers. I wish OCA was real. I don't think there's a book with a more fitting title than this one.

The story felt a lot longer than it was, in a good way. It felt very full without feeling rushed or too fast paced. There was a moment just before the ending that I can imagine to be dull to someone without a (bio)chemistry background, but the narrator acknowledges that and it makes use of its dullness to make the ending even stronger. I really liked the ending.

The reason that I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that the characters did not all feel feel fully rounded. The quirks and parts of the personalities which were described were strong and interesting. I think what I would've liked to see was a little less predictability in the three side-characters personalities.

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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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cookiecat73's review

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adventurous informative reflective 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

4.75

Loved this!! I had a couple of nitpicks, but overall I thought it was great, the main thing I want to be different is that I would have liked it to have been longer, it didn't even need to have extra plot thrown in, I just liked reading about these characters and this world

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lynxpardinus's review

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adventurous emotional reflective

4.5

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karmapen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Listened to this as an audiobook during a road trip and it kept me engaged the entire time. I don't think that this will be enjoyed by all since for a sci-fi it focuses more on the crew and slice-of-life moments, rather than the planets they explore, and the discoveries they make.

It does bring up the topic that there is a lot to be said about the ethics of science and experimentation. I think it all can be boiled down into something along the lines of having good intentions does not inherently guarantee that anyone/thing remains unharmed in the end or even in the midst of the process. This is true for the scientists themselves and/or their subjects.

Becky Chambers has done an excellent job of making distinct and memorable characters that feel real because the book runs the gamut of human emotions. There's quite a bit of existential dread, and it can be rather heavy at times, but it also has it's moments of fun, enchantment, excitement, joy, and happiness.

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thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

If you told me you hate Becky Chambers’ books because you found them boring I’d probably just say “fair enough.” This is essentially slice-of-life sci-fi, and I suspect (know, really) that that is not going to work for a lot of people. However, I personally absolutely love the way Chambers crafts characters and builds worlds. Something about her books just feels so comforting and cozy to me. They feel familiar even though I’ve never read them before, and I can’t help but love them. This book in particular I didn't like quite as much as The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, but I chalk that up mostly to this being a novella and me not having as much time with the characters. Effectively ,this is not a book for everyone (it's kind of slow, and it's much more concerned with theme than with plot), but it is very much for me.

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brittni_in_ink's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book deserves so much more attention! I was really moved by the story of this crew going out into space and facing the challenges of each planet they visit. The narrative structure is solid from beginning to end, and the idea of changing humans to suit other planet environments is fascinating to see play out. The book feels like a response to the popular portrayal of the lone space explorer/survivor as seen in works like The Martian - Chambers' story is about a collective effort to learn about other planets, with the highest priority being leaving the alien environments as untouched as possible. The crew dynamics are engaging, although not the key component of the story. There's trans, bi, and asexual rep, which was wonderful to see. This was definitely one of my favourite reads this year.

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