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distantplanet's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hannahcomer4d's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
I didn't like any of the characters, I found the plot preposterousness in many places, and there were far too many perspectives, some with so little page time they felt completely unnecessary. Would not recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual violence
strangecandy's review
5.0
Definitely one of my new favorite books. This story jumps back and forth over 300 years starting in the 1873 in America and ending in 2073 on the surface of Mars. The story is about a family and the gradual devastation of the planet due to climate change. The characters were wonderfully built and I felt very vested in their stories. The world building definitely struck close to home (I'm from Louisiana) with part of the story taking place in the "floating city" that was built in New Orleans after catastrophic flooding destroys the city.
Overall an intriguing yet dark look at our world and how it may survive the future if theories of climate change come to pass.
Overall an intriguing yet dark look at our world and how it may survive the future if theories of climate change come to pass.
alishav's review
4.0
Such a beautiful and creative debut. Loved all of the intermingled stories, characters, and timelines. In light of current events and our overall societal climate, I really enjoyed this dystopian yet survivable look at the future.
jerseygrrrl's review
3.0
Ummm... loved the first 75%. Interesting characters, unusual situations, great writing. Then the climate disaster really kicked in. Given how the US is curtailing the EPA, it felt too close to home. As others wrote, the Ojibwa legend is a little cringy.
amandasupak's review
3.0
Rating: 3.5 stars
Number of named characters: 40 (some characters rename themselves later).
A handful of named characters didn’t get introduced until 90% of the way through the book which seemed unnecessary and felt rushed. Overall, there were about 10-15 characters too many in my opinion.
The good:
The writing was beautiful and captivating, and I finished this book quickly. It was fun to put together how everyone was related and how the generations did over the years.
The bad:
The book seems mostly scientific until it includes some supernatural elements without much explanation, which is a bit confusing. I love sci fi, and I occasionally read fantasy, but I do not like a book that has both sci-fi AND fantasy in the same universe. It makes it difficult to tell what is real and what is not. For example, there is a girl walking on mars without a space suit and breathing the “air” without dying, and doesn’t need food to not die?? I was honestly so confused about what the hell was happening. Was she genetically altered? Was Mars terraformed? There was literally no explanation for that. Another example, different family members all have the same reoccurring dream. At first, I thought it was a mental disorder or just some other weird science thing that would be explained later like “genetic memory” or [insert other weird sci-fi concept] here. Because I thought this book was straight sci-fi, I was so confused while reading and it took me a while to realize it was sci-fi with a sprinkle of fantasy.
Other plot issues (spoilers included):
-Suddenly having the ability to get to mars and colonize it with habitat domes in a very short amount of time (~20 years) with other reproductive technology. Ehhhhhhh that seems unlikely.
- If people are living in camps in the wilderness how the hell is there enough infrastructure for two girls to talk to each other when one is on mars and the other is on earth?!
- The ending is unsatisfying. It didn’t explain why everyone was having those dreams. Also it just kind of ends, nothing was really solved. A single girl stuck on mars and that’s it? Okay then
Number of named characters: 40 (some characters rename themselves later).
A handful of named characters didn’t get introduced until 90% of the way through the book which seemed unnecessary and felt rushed. Overall, there were about 10-15 characters too many in my opinion.
The good:
The writing was beautiful and captivating, and I finished this book quickly. It was fun to put together how everyone was related and how the generations did over the years.
The bad:
The book seems mostly scientific until it includes some supernatural elements without much explanation, which is a bit confusing. I love sci fi, and I occasionally read fantasy, but I do not like a book that has both sci-fi AND fantasy in the same universe. It makes it difficult to tell what is real and what is not. For example, there is a girl walking on mars without a space suit and breathing the “air” without dying, and doesn’t need food to not die?? I was honestly so confused about what the hell was happening. Was she genetically altered? Was Mars terraformed? There was literally no explanation for that. Another example, different family members all have the same reoccurring dream. At first, I thought it was a mental disorder or just some other weird science thing that would be explained later like “genetic memory” or [insert other weird sci-fi concept] here. Because I thought this book was straight sci-fi, I was so confused while reading and it took me a while to realize it was sci-fi with a sprinkle of fantasy.
Other plot issues (spoilers included):
-Suddenly having the ability to get to mars and colonize it with habitat domes in a very short amount of time (~20 years) with other reproductive technology. Ehhhhhhh that seems unlikely.
- If people are living in camps in the wilderness how the hell is there enough infrastructure for two girls to talk to each other when one is on mars and the other is on earth?!
- The ending is unsatisfying. It didn’t explain why everyone was having those dreams. Also it just kind of ends, nothing was really solved. A single girl stuck on mars and that’s it? Okay then
bailey_the_bookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Challenging and weird and very, very grim at times. Climate change, reproductive freedom, and so many other issues are right at the surface here. Gorgeously written and hard to put down, but also tough to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Rape, Murder, Pedophilia, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
jedidookie's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0