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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thos was a short but entertaining read. Pendt is a sympathetic heroine, and I really liked all the space-empire elements of the story. I will be excited to read future books in the series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I almost gave up on this book before completing part 1 because it is bleak, but thankfully I persevered. While the first portion of the book is a slow and painful isolating experience, it expands and becomes a much lighter read after the opening. From there it becomes an easy, interesting read that sets itself up for a sequel. A good young adult entry featuring youths of different types finding each other in an interesting, unique, tough universe.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is one of those books that you think about for months afterwards. I fell in love with Pendt and Fisher. Would love to read more books in this world.
Excellent read. This book combines science fiction with fantasy elements in an expert way, and the plot, content, and pacing are so unlike what you typically see in YA from either genre.
Listened to this on audio. The production value was superb, with subtle music and sound effects expertly scoring this story's narrative.
The LGBT content,
Listened to this on audio. The production value was superb, with subtle music and sound effects expertly scoring this story's narrative.
The LGBT content,
Spoiler
a trans character, was so expertly woven into the story that it took me longer than it should have to even recognize that there even WAS a trans character. Fisher is never specifically identified as such, and as a reader you can only pick it up based on knowledge that only those with a Y chromosome can access the gene lock.
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I got through 63% of the book and could not keep going. The first half of the book you see what life is like on a merchant ship and its terrible for everyone involved. At 5 years old we meet the main character where everything is so tightly rationed that the ship compares your usefulness against your caloric intake. She is basically tortured for the next 13 years of her life bc she has the wrong kind of magic while her cousins and mother's bodies are sold off as "contracts" to produce more children against their will for the space ship. She escapes and is instantly placed in another contract which involves getting her pregnant to "save" her. Its a big mess. There is apparently a trans character but after looking through other reviews it is not very good representation.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
This book is cool. I was looking for a quick sci-fi read that wasn't too tense, and this was perfect. Problems were solved with minimal suspense, there wasn't a lot of jargon or hundreds of planet names to remember, and it was generally an easy read. If you're looking for hundreds of pages and suspense, this isn't the right choice. I enjoyed the author's style and liked that it was somewhat conversational. I'm invested in the characters and I'm hoping for more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying, Medical content, Trafficking