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pinkhyxteria's review
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Misogyny and Homophobia
Minor: Blood, Violence, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia
corriejn's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Confinement and Gaslighting
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Cancer
Minor: Vomit, Blood, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Sexual content
augustar14's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Murder, Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Medical content, and Transphobia
schnaucl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
And the embryo reveal up just as I was thinking and the point of all this is...? since two men obviously can't reproduce. Although I suppose if there's cloning technology maybe there is a way. But the point is, sending only two people who we've already seen will probably die early deaths from radiation poisoning to raise a bunch of embryos on a completely unknown planet just seems like too fragile a hope to pin the survival of humanity on.
I did like the rest of it though. It was genuinely shocking when they were murdered the first time, and when they murdered the rest of their clones.
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Cancer
Minor: Sexual content, War, and Xenophobia
56bumblebees's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
planetesastraea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Ambrose's point of view gives us a funny, light-hearted and candid introduction to this world. He's silly and dorky and impetuous at times, which makes the story even sharper as Ambrose's different experiences of the world shape him.
I've always loved stories that repeat themselves- let it be through repetitive flashbacks, dreams, or even tales of reincarnation.
Schrefer uses this tool with great skill, some obvious foreshadowing details making the subtle, discreet ones even more delightful as the story unravels.
I didn't know what to expect of this book except "two boys in space fall in love". I certainly didn't expect the dark and twisted turns, the profound questioning of existence, and what makes a life worth living.
It had a lot more in store than I thought and I can't say I was disappointed.
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: War, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, and Xenophobia
mswarning's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Homophobia, Suicide, Sexual content, Sexism, Cancer, Vomit, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: War, Confinement, and Death of parent
princessrensa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
If I had to describe my interest level while reading this book, I would say that I was initially...interested, but not super enthralled. Then things picked up and got super intriguing, dark, and mysterious. Then by the end, my enthusiasm tapered off a little bit. I have mixed feelings about the ending but overall I think this book was a really fun experience that was very well executed. I almost kind of like that so many people are mistaking it for a YA romcom in space because I feel like the book itself wants you to believe that it's going to be that, until it isn't. That being said, I can understand how that could turn people off at first if they can't make it through the initial set-up. I will say that I found Ambrose kind of annoying at first, as some other reviewers did.
So, our premise: Ambrose and Kodiak are two astronauts from rival nations who are embarking on a joint mission to save Ambrose's sister, Minerva, who was supposed to be the first spacefarer to settle Titan. Ambrose was initially told that this would be a solo mission for him, so the presence of Kodiak is surprising. And over time, other things begin to seem suspicious. Ambrose and Kodiak begin to wonder whether they can trust OS, the operating system of their ship, and what's really going on back on Earth.
I don't <i>think</i> it's spoilers to say that OS was giving me HAL vibes from Space Odyssey: 2001 (a movie I watched most of on an airplane and have embarrassingly never finished). OS actually might have been my favorite character, and the mystery of what its true intentions were and whether or not it could be trusted definitely kept me invested in the story.
Worldbuilding! Just because our two leads are leaving Earth behind doesn't mean we can't talk about worldbuilding. Here we have an earth where the three major powers are the countries of Demokratia and Federation and the company Cusk, which is run by Ambrose's emotionally distant mother. Ordinarily, when sci-fi stories decide to massively reduce the number of countries in the world because ~it's the future, I find it tends to be lazy worldbuilding. I thought it worked alright here, though. It seemed like the point of the two countries was less to make the author's job easier and more to illustrate the unnecessary enmity that Ambrose and Kodiak have been brought up on either side of, so I was okay with it as a storytelling device. Also, Federation and Demokratia kind of remind me of Athens versus Sparta in how they're set up, which I thought was fun? Federation prides themselves on being intellectual, tolerant, and general fans of equality and wokeness, while Demokratia is initially characterized as this country where harshness and strength are valued above all else (Demokratia did also remind me of the Soviet Union, and I suspect that was intentional). But as we eventually learn, it's not quite simple as Ambrose and Kodiak have been brought up to believe, and the connection they build demonstrates that they are far more than their differences.
I do also have some thoughts on the plot and the ending but there's pretty much no way to discuss them without spoilers, so here goes. Tons of spoilers for the plot and ending follow in this spoiler tag, so please don't click through if you haven't read the book, unless you don't plan to.
Okay! So overall, I really liked this book. Was it really unusual for a YA sci fi book? Definitely, and in a really fun, spooky way. Do I think it's mis-marketed? I'm not sure I would go so far as to say that it is. But I'm glad I read it, and I'll definitely be recommending it from now on.
Moderate: Death
Minor: Homophobia
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Medical content, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Cursing, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Biphobia, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and War
pro_basil's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: War, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual content, and Cancer
Minor: Gaslighting and Vomit