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joana_stormblessed's review
3.0
"Hm."
That is my first thought about this book.
When I started the book I was absolutely hooked and adoring it! We're following a mix raced autistic Dutch girl and the book is set in the Netherlands. I was so excited because I didn't know this about the book. I'm married to a Dutch guy and so I knew almost all the places that were mentioned in the book and I recognized the diversity that truly is representative of this country.
This book is centered around an apocalypse as a comet is coming towards Earth (it's set before the comet, during the event and after) and Denise and her drug addict mother are trying to flee to their shelters when they end up helping someone and end up on a generation ship. This is a big deal and a huge secret. They cannot tell anyone.
As the ship is preparing to leave Earth, Denise is worried about finding her sister Iris and won't stop at anything to get to her.
First things first, I loved the diversity in this book!!!!! As I've mentioned, Denise is a mix-raced autistic girl and I absolutely loved reading from her perspective! It's not a perspective I've read about enough and it was incredible to be in her mind. I cannot vouch for the rep, but since this book is ownvoices for the autistic rep, I trust the author. The audiobook narrator was also incredible at interpreting Denise!
Iris, Denise's sister is also a mix-raced trans bisexual girl! THANK YOU!!!!
We also have gay, Jewish and Muslim characters in this novel.
My issue with this book, which is also why it took me 2 moths to listen to it, is that nothing happens. Sure there's the comet but it's a very short moment. And then nothing happens. At first you're intrigued and i was honestly imagining something similar to the movie Passengers with it being the same type of ship but nope. Honestly it's way too long for what "happened". There's not really a plot, since you just follow Denise trying to convince the captain of the ship to let her and her family stay aboard.
If you're expecting this to be a space book, it isn't.
All in all the book was okay, which would equal to 2 stars, but because of the diversity and the setting I gave it 3 stars.
That is my first thought about this book.
When I started the book I was absolutely hooked and adoring it! We're following a mix raced autistic Dutch girl and the book is set in the Netherlands. I was so excited because I didn't know this about the book. I'm married to a Dutch guy and so I knew almost all the places that were mentioned in the book and I recognized the diversity that truly is representative of this country.
This book is centered around an apocalypse as a comet is coming towards Earth (it's set before the comet, during the event and after) and Denise and her drug addict mother are trying to flee to their shelters when they end up helping someone and end up on a generation ship. This is a big deal and a huge secret. They cannot tell anyone.
As the ship is preparing to leave Earth, Denise is worried about finding her sister Iris and won't stop at anything to get to her.
First things first, I loved the diversity in this book!!!!! As I've mentioned, Denise is a mix-raced autistic girl and I absolutely loved reading from her perspective! It's not a perspective I've read about enough and it was incredible to be in her mind. I cannot vouch for the rep, but since this book is ownvoices for the autistic rep, I trust the author. The audiobook narrator was also incredible at interpreting Denise!
Iris, Denise's sister is also a mix-raced trans bisexual girl! THANK YOU!!!!
We also have gay, Jewish and Muslim characters in this novel.
My issue with this book, which is also why it took me 2 moths to listen to it, is that nothing happens. Sure there's the comet but it's a very short moment. And then nothing happens. At first you're intrigued and i was honestly imagining something similar to the movie Passengers with it being the same type of ship but nope. Honestly it's way too long for what "happened". There's not really a plot, since you just follow Denise trying to convince the captain of the ship to let her and her family stay aboard.
If you're expecting this to be a space book, it isn't.
All in all the book was okay, which would equal to 2 stars, but because of the diversity and the setting I gave it 3 stars.
bargainsleuth's review
4.0
April is Autism Awareness Month, and since two of my four kids are considered autistic (when they were younger, I was told using the term autistic was offensive, now I’m told that saying having autism is offensive and quite frankly, it all depends on who you talk to as to the correct terminology), I thought I’d read or listen to some books where autism was a central factor, whether it be non-fiction or fiction. On the Edge of Gone is a speculative fiction novel set in the not-so-distant future with a comet barreling toward earth. (Coincidentally, I started listening to this book the day the news was reporting on the ginormous comet was heading toward earth, but don’t worry, it’s going to fly past us.)
I really felt for Denise, the biracial teen with her junkie mother and transgender sister, and the plight they faced. Denise has a hard enough time navigating the world with her autism, and holy crap, a comet is going to hit the northern hemisphere soon, Her totally unreliable mom and currently absent sister are no help. They’re currently near Amsterdam, and there are shelters set up, but her mom keeps dragging her feet getting to the shelter. Instead, on the way to the shelter, they run across a generation ship, a massive spacecraft that is meant to fly off to another inhabitable planet like many other ships that have already left.
Just because there’s a spaceship in this story does not mean that this book takes place in space, or is, in fact, super science-fiction-y, which is what I liked about it. I like sci-fi that is grounded in current reality. This book has all the elements of a survival story. The autism plays a part of Denise’s character development, but I didn’t feel it was central to the story. She’s “high-functioning” (I know some people say you’re not supposed to say that anymore, but that’s the term our family uses) and proves useful to the generation ship and others.
As with any survival story, there are moments of peril, and sometimes there are journeys to various shelters and spots where the damage from the comet and ensuing tsunami aren’t as great. There’s tech mentioned in the story, like something sounding like an apple watch or advanced smart phone, I wasn’t sure which, but the book is definitely not tech heavy. Like I said, this is ultimately a survival story, and how an autistic teen reacts in the face of disaster.
Big props for all the diversity in the book; it was refreshing where it seemed to be added almost as an afterthought, and someday in the future, hopefully it will become so normal that it needn’t be mentioned at all.
I really felt for Denise, the biracial teen with her junkie mother and transgender sister, and the plight they faced. Denise has a hard enough time navigating the world with her autism, and holy crap, a comet is going to hit the northern hemisphere soon, Her totally unreliable mom and currently absent sister are no help. They’re currently near Amsterdam, and there are shelters set up, but her mom keeps dragging her feet getting to the shelter. Instead, on the way to the shelter, they run across a generation ship, a massive spacecraft that is meant to fly off to another inhabitable planet like many other ships that have already left.
Just because there’s a spaceship in this story does not mean that this book takes place in space, or is, in fact, super science-fiction-y, which is what I liked about it. I like sci-fi that is grounded in current reality. This book has all the elements of a survival story. The autism plays a part of Denise’s character development, but I didn’t feel it was central to the story. She’s “high-functioning” (I know some people say you’re not supposed to say that anymore, but that’s the term our family uses) and proves useful to the generation ship and others.
As with any survival story, there are moments of peril, and sometimes there are journeys to various shelters and spots where the damage from the comet and ensuing tsunami aren’t as great. There’s tech mentioned in the story, like something sounding like an apple watch or advanced smart phone, I wasn’t sure which, but the book is definitely not tech heavy. Like I said, this is ultimately a survival story, and how an autistic teen reacts in the face of disaster.
Big props for all the diversity in the book; it was refreshing where it seemed to be added almost as an afterthought, and someday in the future, hopefully it will become so normal that it needn’t be mentioned at all.
brookenoelle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
marieintheraw's review
4.0
I think the biggest deterrent for this book and me is that I'm not a big dystopian person anymore.
barnesm31's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed it, I am a fan of science fiction generally but what I gain from books like this is a view point other than my own. I was so grateful for the protagonist who is neuro divergent and it gives me another perspective to understand and hopefully empathize with others. I know a few people who have explained that they are autistic and everyone one of them is different and I no doubt its different for everyone but having the protagonist struggle through a planetary comet strike and still manage to help and explain how much harder that was for them.
Loved the ending which was a wonderful refutation to the sort of "The Cold Equations" thinking I see too often in science fiction. Great work Corinne Duyvis I will need to find more of your work.
Loved the ending which was a wonderful refutation to the sort of "The Cold Equations" thinking I see too often in science fiction. Great work Corinne Duyvis I will need to find more of your work.
kerrythefire's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
4.25
I really liked this different flavor of post apocalypse story (a genre I love). The shorter time frame of the story made it less actiony than some, but it still felt really full because half the story was the plot and half was the experience of the plot through Denise. In some ways, Denise being autistic made the story feel like a really different take on a post apocalypse story and in some ways, the story felt the same as any other post apocalypse story with neurotypical characters... All the characters felt real and believable, which is what makes for the best stories in this genre. And, it makes you think about what it means to be human and what you want it to mean.
mythicaltunes's review
5.0
Never in my life have I read a book with a main character that thought and acted like me. I'm an autistic adult, and have never related to a character more. Denise was so likable to me because I understood her struggles. I've seen some people say the plot or conflicts dragged throughout the book, but there was a lot of internal conflict in there that made sense to me as a fellow autistic person. I read the second half of this book in one night. I can't recommend it more. This book was so intimately and achingly human, and that's what drew me into it. The plot definitely doesn't drag, and this was a heart-wrenching, wonderful, thrilling read.
SPOILERS AND WARNINGS IN THE NEXT SECTION
The mother is a drug addict and there's a scene with euthanasia of cats. That made me tear up. Being an apocalyptic sci-fi book, it does touch on a lot of hard topics, so just know what you're getting into before you read.
SPOILERS AND WARNINGS IN THE NEXT SECTION
The mother is a drug addict and there's a scene with euthanasia of cats. That made me tear up. Being an apocalyptic sci-fi book, it does touch on a lot of hard topics, so just know what you're getting into before you read.
thegreatlesley's review
5.0
I read this for a YA for Adults book club I'm in and it was a wonderful read. Post-apocalyptic settings are some of my favorite for books, video games and TV shows. In this book, it is 2035 and humans learn about an impending meteor strike in 6 months. We follow Denise, a teenager in the Netherlands with Autism, in the immediate aftermath of impact as she struggles to survive and make some really difficult moral decisions.
languagedemon's review
Not in the mood - it’s probably good, but I’m not looking to this topic/style for the character exploration it seems heavy on