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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Medical trauma
Book does begin with a content warning.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
not for me. thats all i gotta say.
I will be honest when I say I expected more action in this book, mostly because it's a YA sci-fi and those tend to have a lot of action-packed scenes. I did like the characters and the plot for the most part, and I found the premise and idea to be very enticing, but some of the scenes were either boring or just...odd...felt not really YA. That said, it's not a bad book by any means, but for those wanting the typical action you'd expect with Star Wars, YA scifi, etc., this book is a little different. So just be warned.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rank and file magic sci fi universe with a healthy mix of child abuse and "things go right for the protag with no issues". Dialogue is sorta dull and uninspired; people rattle off lines taken directly from social justice essays. Those concepts are good and I support them, I just wish the writing had been a bit less cookie cutter.
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
fast-paced
The concept of this book was stunning and I found myself sucked in immediately. Unfortunately the actual story line did not do the concept justice.
2 stars. I listened to the first hour and twenty minutes on audible and I was not impressed. The plot moves way too fast, the character interactions are extremely barren, and I have no reason to care or motivation to move forward.
The plot starts very quickly and doesn’t give you much time to catch up, especially in the beginning when it’s most important. The characters seem interesting enough, but because the plot moves so fast there isn’t time for meaningful character interactions. The relationship between Pendt and Dr. Morunt should have been very interesting and explored on a much deeper level, but it just wasn’t. The magic system seems interesting, but it wasn’t explained very well. The author writes about it as if we have already been told and we’re supposed to know what it means for a Pendt to switch the “code” of her eye color. I do want to give credit to the character arc, though; I never felt lost with what our main character was thinking or feeling, even though I didn’t quite understand the circumstances around those feelings. But that itself was not enough for me to continue on.
After reading other reviews for this book, I just don’t think it’s right for me.
The plot starts very quickly and doesn’t give you much time to catch up, especially in the beginning when it’s most important. The characters seem interesting enough, but because the plot moves so fast there isn’t time for meaningful character interactions. The relationship between Pendt and Dr. Morunt should have been very interesting and explored on a much deeper level, but it just wasn’t. The magic system seems interesting, but it wasn’t explained very well. The author writes about it as if we have already been told and we’re supposed to know what it means for a Pendt to switch the “code” of her eye color. I do want to give credit to the character arc, though; I never felt lost with what our main character was thinking or feeling, even though I didn’t quite understand the circumstances around those feelings. But that itself was not enough for me to continue on.
After reading other reviews for this book, I just don’t think it’s right for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
This author came highly recommended to me by a friend who'd read their Ahsoka novel. It didn't disappoint. I like very much how grounded and real living in space and on a space station was in this book. It wasn't overly burdened with technical jargon and your understanding of the science of space travel wasn't an obstacle to enjoying this book (though I do love a good number crunching, physics explaining space adventure). I really appreciate how the magic system in this book was a portal into a discussion on bodily autonomy and choice. I also appreciate how the magic system itself wasn't overly complicated because I feel as though the point of the book wasn't the magic but the people and the choices they made with their abilities. In the end, despite the setting, this book was about the choices people make given their circumstances and I really enjoyed it.
Things I Liked:
Things I Liked:
- Typical gender roles were swapped or abandoned altogether. This was a refreshing romance and action/adventure story because of that.
- The magic system was not overly complicated nor was the technical jargon overbearing. This let me see clearly the characters behind the decisions.
- The action of the book was driven by the choices of the people in the story - there were politics, economic systems, etc in the book but those things served as the backdrop against which people acted.
- There wasn't anything about the cruelty or the romance present in the book that was gratuitous. The book was an engaging read that I didn't feel the need to take a "break" from because while the themes were hefty, the manner in which they were presented didn't knock me on my heels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Trafficking
Minor: Child death, Grief
This book is set in space and the characters in it (in the beginning) are on a ship where the line between cruelty and survival blurs and in some cases disappears entirely. Because of the manner in which they operate their ship, there is a hyper-focus on food intake. Each crew member's food intake is carefully rationed and controlled to ensure survival but nothing more. Food allotments are controlled to the gram and harsh punishments are exacted for hoarding, wasting or spoiling food.