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electricute's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Colonisation, Classism, and Gun violence
bookish_bry's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
3.5
This book was easy to read and rarely bored me, though it had some flaws. To be fair, part of it may be because I am probably getting out of the age range it was intended for.
It could be a bit repetitive at times, and I often wished it would leave a bit to the imagination. I feel like Joy and Felix's pasts and motivations were often revealed too quickly. There was quite a bit of telling and not showing with the internal dialogue and it left very little to surprise me. Even the plot twists ofFelix's parentage was something I predicted pretty much immediately. I would have preferred the main villain to have been... a bit better cloaked instead of immediately blatantly obviously the bad guy.
Though overall, I do think it was a good book and one I would suggest to someone who likes young adult fiction. Like I said, I was rarely bored. I also appreciate the rather casual lgbt+ representation. In a book that did focus on a heterosexual (though I think Joy is demi and Felix is bi/pan) couple, it's always nice to see lbgt+ relationships just casually in the background.
It could be a bit repetitive at times, and I often wished it would leave a bit to the imagination. I feel like Joy and Felix's pasts and motivations were often revealed too quickly. There was quite a bit of telling and not showing with the internal dialogue and it left very little to surprise me. Even the plot twists of
Though overall, I do think it was a good book and one I would suggest to someone who likes young adult fiction. Like I said, I was rarely bored. I also appreciate the rather casual lgbt+ representation. In a book that did focus on a heterosexual (though I think Joy is demi and Felix is bi/pan) couple, it's always nice to see lbgt+ relationships just casually in the background.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Classism, Fatphobia, Murder, Alcohol, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Torture, War, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
kbairbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
3.25
I don’t normally read sci-fi but this was fun! The romance wasn’t incredible and there was one moment I was uncomfortable but it was sweet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Colonisation
thebakersbooks's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Kindred, set in the same world as author Alechia Dow’s debut but slightly earlier, has the same powerful emotional core and ultimately hopeful tone that made The Sound of Stars an immediate favorite of mine. This is YA sci-fi at its best: light to medium worldbuilding, a beautiful romance, and several (interstellar, of course) journeys of self-discovery.
Early parts of the book where the characters are new to Earth have strong ‘Star Trek: The Voyage Home’ vibes, which was so much fun. I actually preferred the parts of the book that took place on fictional planets, but watching the main characters discover everyday human practices and items was entertaining. Landing on Earth also allows the main characters to grapple with some of the flaws in their own home, delving into issues of economic disparity and colonialism.
And of course, no review of this book would be complete without discussing the central premise: Kindred. A concept designed to combat but not eliminate harsh class divides, the Kindred system pairs each individual with someone born around the same time. They’re mentally linked for the rest of their lives, able to see and feel everything their Kindred does. The two protagonists, Joy and Felix, are an incongruous Kindred pair, and much of the tension in the story stems from their vastly different social statuses and upbringings.
Above everything else, I loved watching a girl who’s always been told to make herself smaller and quieter get attention from hot guys, receive compliments on her appearance and personality from peers, and generally be affirmed in her existence just as she is. This book is undoubtedly a love letter to anyone who’s ever been told their skin’s too dark, their body’s too big, or their laugh is too loud, to paraphrase a quote from Joy.
I highly recommend this book to folks who enjoyed The Sound of Stars and anyone who likes sci-fi that’s innovative but doesn’t have a big learning curve due to super complex worldbuilding. You’ll probably enjoy the book most if you’re a fan of romance, but I’m not especially and I liked it anyway!
content warnings: fatphobia (external and internalized), body shaming and food shaming, colorism, strong themes of classism, themes of colonization, socio-cultural misogyny
Early parts of the book where the characters are new to Earth have strong ‘Star Trek: The Voyage Home’ vibes, which was so much fun. I actually preferred the parts of the book that took place on fictional planets, but watching the main characters discover everyday human practices and items was entertaining. Landing on Earth also allows the main characters to grapple with some of the flaws in their own home, delving into issues of economic disparity and colonialism.
And of course, no review of this book would be complete without discussing the central premise: Kindred. A concept designed to combat but not eliminate harsh class divides, the Kindred system pairs each individual with someone born around the same time. They’re mentally linked for the rest of their lives, able to see and feel everything their Kindred does. The two protagonists, Joy and Felix, are an incongruous Kindred pair, and much of the tension in the story stems from their vastly different social statuses and upbringings.
Above everything else, I loved watching a girl who’s always been told to make herself smaller and quieter get attention from hot guys, receive compliments on her appearance and personality from peers, and generally be affirmed in her existence just as she is. This book is undoubtedly a love letter to anyone who’s ever been told their skin’s too dark, their body’s too big, or their laugh is too loud, to paraphrase a quote from Joy.
I highly recommend this book to folks who enjoyed The Sound of Stars and anyone who likes sci-fi that’s innovative but doesn’t have a big learning curve due to super complex worldbuilding. You’ll probably enjoy the book most if you’re a fan of romance, but I’m not especially and I liked it anyway!
content warnings: fatphobia (external and internalized), body shaming and food shaming, colorism, strong themes of classism, themes of colonization, socio-cultural misogyny
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Classism and Colonisation
courtnoodles's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tw: fatphobia, classism
points awarded for:
- the coverrrrrrrrrrr
- felix
- general acceptance of all walks of life from the mcs
- a hetero romance being at the center, but one mc being pan/bi (felix) and it being acknowledged and accepted throughout
- use of gender neutral pronouns for a new character until their gender is revealed (why doesn't everyone already do this holy shit??)
- the romance literally being the most swoon-worthy thing ever, go dthey love each other so much
- felix being so obsessed with joy i literally crumbled
- joy's instant obsession with taylor swift, same girl
- this is a soulmate au but aliens and wow wow wow
- did i mention felix is the actual best
points knocked off for:
- yeah the sci fi interplanetary stuff was kinda confusing ok ok
- my brain still hurts a bit after a sci fi novel, wow i am not built for this
- the lineage didn't make a whole lot of sense and the reveals were a little left field? idk how to explain it
- SUPER repetitive, like "we need to get off this planet and go home to face our imminent death" was basically how every. single. chapter. ended.
- for it being an entire point that they have no knowledge whatsoever of terra (earth), there were a couple of instances where terms that they probably wouldn't have had exposure to were thrown in, but they were explained other times, idk some inconsistencies
- also felix calling joy demi-ace, like yes she is, but establish that these sexuality identifications exist on your world too instead of like 70% into the book?
- i think this was my first book that mentions the covid pandemic, and oof, i had to stop reading for a minute, yikes
go pick it up though!!!!!!!!!!!
--
It's a soulmate au but aliens and I swooned 9495859 times
Rtc maybe
points awarded for:
- the coverrrrrrrrrrr
- felix
- general acceptance of all walks of life from the mcs
- a hetero romance being at the center, but one mc being pan/bi (felix) and it being acknowledged and accepted throughout
- use of gender neutral pronouns for a new character until their gender is revealed (why doesn't everyone already do this holy shit??)
- the romance literally being the most swoon-worthy thing ever, go dthey love each other so much
- felix being so obsessed with joy i literally crumbled
- joy's instant obsession with taylor swift, same girl
- this is a soulmate au but aliens and wow wow wow
- did i mention felix is the actual best
points knocked off for:
- yeah the sci fi interplanetary stuff was kinda confusing ok ok
- my brain still hurts a bit after a sci fi novel, wow i am not built for this
- the lineage didn't make a whole lot of sense and the reveals were a little left field? idk how to explain it
- SUPER repetitive, like "we need to get off this planet and go home to face our imminent death" was basically how every. single. chapter. ended.
- for it being an entire point that they have no knowledge whatsoever of terra (earth), there were a couple of instances where terms that they probably wouldn't have had exposure to were thrown in, but they were explained other times, idk some inconsistencies
- also felix calling joy demi-ace, like yes she is, but establish that these sexuality identifications exist on your world too instead of like 70% into the book?
- i think this was my first book that mentions the covid pandemic, and oof, i had to stop reading for a minute, yikes
go pick it up though!!!!!!!!!!!
--
It's a soulmate au but aliens and I swooned 9495859 times
Rtc maybe
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Death, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Colonisation, Blood, Violence, War, Alcohol, and Xenophobia
Minor: Abandonment and Cursing
sunlit_music's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.75
I love this book, it's so filled with love, tenderness and warmth. Felix and Joy make each other feel safe and loved, and there's so much mutual pining and gentleness. This is a book about love - love between parents, love between friends, and romantic love - how love between Felix and Joy survives and wins.
Alechia Dow writes about grief, depression, racism and classism with sensitivity, tact and understanding. This book is an underrated gem. If you haven't read it yet, please do. You can buy the audiobook online on google play or from booktopia, or the book depository website. You can even ask your local library to order it in.
I keep wanting to yell, "Joy loves you, Felix!" He's so oblivious and so sweet.
My favourite Felix lines:
- "Technology doesn't do enough on this planet." (Felix commenting on brushing his own teeth).
- "I have to moisturise my own skin." (Felix!!! *rolls around laughing*)
- "Joy dresses to fade into the background when she is too beautiful not to be in the spotlight." (Awww.... *heart melts*)
- "I let my face fall into her hands." (Aww...)
- "I give people my sad eyes. That normally works on guards and people who don't want me to have fun." (Felix is too hilarious!)
My favourite lines from Joy:
- "Here, things are different. Here, I can just be Joy."
- "Sarah...is not privy to my inner thoughts. Which is nice." (Relatable!)
- "I've never seen him do something he doesn't want to do for this long." (Joy, on Felix).
World building - The world is set in the future, on different planets, including earth. All the different planets have distinct cultures, landscapes, technology and traditions. I like how the world building is believable and well told, and it's refreshing and fun to see earth from the eyes of characters who don't live on earth.
Plot and pacing - The plot flows smoothly and logically, and is interesting to read. Pacing alternates between being fast in action scenes, and slow in slice of life scenes. But the pace is always appropriate, and never too fast or too slow. The fast pace in action scenes allows me to appreciate the action, and the slow pace in character bonding scenes helps me enjoy and like the character interactions more. I'm always a lover of slice of life scenes, and this book has plenty of them in spades.
Characters - It's the characterisation that's the star of the show. Joy and Felix are both loveable and relatable, and an absolute delight to read about. Their families are interesting too, and their friends are fantastic.
Representation - Joy is a plus size, Black demisexual girl.
Felix is a Black, biracial, and a pansexual guy. There are BIPOC and queer side characters too. Representation is depicted tactfully and naturally.
Voice acting for the audio book - voice acting is phenomenal, and adds even more enjoyment to the book! This book is great no matter what, but the audiobook is fantastic because of the talent and range of the voice actors/narrators. Dominique Moore and Amin El Gamal are both brilliant as voice actors, and sound believable, warm, charismatic and sweet.
Ending - The ending is hopeful, and worth it!
Alechia Dow writes about grief, depression, racism and classism with sensitivity, tact and understanding. This book is an underrated gem. If you haven't read it yet, please do. You can buy the audiobook online on google play or from booktopia, or the book depository website. You can even ask your local library to order it in.
I keep wanting to yell, "Joy loves you, Felix!" He's so oblivious and so sweet.
My favourite Felix lines:
- "Technology doesn't do enough on this planet." (Felix commenting on brushing his own teeth).
- "I have to moisturise my own skin." (Felix!!! *rolls around laughing*)
- "Joy dresses to fade into the background when she is too beautiful not to be in the spotlight." (Awww.... *heart melts*)
- "I let my face fall into her hands." (Aww...)
- "I give people my sad eyes. That normally works on guards and people who don't want me to have fun." (Felix is too hilarious!)
My favourite lines from Joy:
- "Here, things are different. Here, I can just be Joy."
- "Sarah...is not privy to my inner thoughts. Which is nice." (Relatable!)
- "I've never seen him do something he doesn't want to do for this long." (Joy, on Felix).
World building - The world is set in the future, on different planets, including earth. All the different planets have distinct cultures, landscapes, technology and traditions. I like how the world building is believable and well told, and it's refreshing and fun to see earth from the eyes of characters who don't live on earth.
Plot and pacing - The plot flows smoothly and logically, and is interesting to read. Pacing alternates between being fast in action scenes, and slow in slice of life scenes. But the pace is always appropriate, and never too fast or too slow. The fast pace in action scenes allows me to appreciate the action, and the slow pace in character bonding scenes helps me enjoy and like the character interactions more. I'm always a lover of slice of life scenes, and this book has plenty of them in spades.
Characters - It's the characterisation that's the star of the show. Joy and Felix are both loveable and relatable, and an absolute delight to read about. Their families are interesting too, and their friends are fantastic.
Representation - Joy is a plus size, Black demisexual girl.
Felix is a Black, biracial, and a pansexual guy. There are BIPOC and queer side characters too. Representation is depicted tactfully and naturally.
Voice acting for the audio book - voice acting is phenomenal, and adds even more enjoyment to the book! This book is great no matter what, but the audiobook is fantastic because of the talent and range of the voice actors/narrators. Dominique Moore and Amin El Gamal are both brilliant as voice actors, and sound believable, warm, charismatic and sweet.
Ending - The ending is hopeful, and worth it!
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Racism, and Classism
readingthroughinfinity's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I loved the concept of this and I thought the way Joy and Felix's connection played into their romance was lovely. The romance itself is also very sweet and heartwarming to read; both main characters spend a good chunk of the book being quietly in love with each other, but not daring to share their feelings, so there's some top tier yearning in here.
I found the pacing of the middle third too slow and I think the ending was too rushed, but on the whole, I enjoyed this. I would have loved to see more mentions of Joy's aspec/demi identity, as I feel like this was dropped in near the end but not really discussed in much detail. But Joy was a great character and I especially liked the way she challenged people's fatphobia, racism and colourism (the social commentary was woven into the narrative really well, too).
I found the pacing of the middle third too slow and I think the ending was too rushed, but on the whole, I enjoyed this. I would have loved to see more mentions of Joy's aspec/demi identity, as I feel like this was dropped in near the end but not really discussed in much detail. But Joy was a great character and I especially liked the way she challenged people's fatphobia, racism and colourism (the social commentary was woven into the narrative really well, too).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, Body shaming, Classism, Fatphobia, and Kidnapping
Minor: Murder and War
swiftreader's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don’t know why the rating is bad. I wish this was longer though, at least two books but oh well. I have so much to say but I’m def going to have to come back to leave a full review but let me tell you. I was swooning the whole time. Female lead is black male lead is middle eastern decent I believe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, and Racism
One of the leads has a problem with alcohol. Classism is a big theme. Racism is also touched on.chippyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
demi MC, on page
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Body shaming, Classism, Death of parent, War, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, and Infertility