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thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Genocide, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Xenophobia, Gore, War, and Mental illness
Minor: Bullying, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
librarianlayla's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Jam packed with action, wit and positive representation.
The World building is immense, so much thought has been put into the history and the plethora of cultures. Such a fully fleshed out galaxy really pulls the reader in.
The only reason this story doesn't get the full 5 stars from me is that I felt there was so much information loaded in straight from the go, that some of the connections between characters seemed rushed. I felt some characters didn't get their chance to shine and some relationships were fast tracked so quickly that it didn't feel as genuine as it should have.
But I did really enjoy the book and look forward to the sequel.
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Violence, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Abandonment
chippyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Genocide, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, and Grief
Minor: Police brutality and Transphobia
kassidyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Moderate: Genocide, Child abuse, Confinement, Bullying, Death, Transphobia, and Violence
valpyre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.5 stars
it honestly took me a <i>really</i> long while to get into this book. i am glad i stuck with it -- it has a lot of heart and nuance. i personally found the plot fairly straight-forward (which is not a bad thing!) and for me, that gave it a more childish vibe than i was expecting. i did come to appreciate that as a balance to some of the heavier topics that were dealt with throughout, and i thought it was a fresh tone considering the protag and friends were teenagers. the dialogue throughout was kind of simplistic, in my opinion, and sort of broke immersion for me at times.
i enjoyed the inclusivity throughout the book, because anders showed that having such decency throughout didn't make for a utopia. the book actively confronted some of the more meta features of itself (like the types of alien species represented). i enjoyed and was touched by my listening experience, but i doubt that i'll be continuing the series.
Moderate: Genocide, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Medical content, and Death
Minor: War, Transphobia, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia
kelseyland's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Transphobia
librarianmage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Genocide, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Transphobia, Bullying, and Child abuse
Minor: Confinement and Emotional abuse
tachyondecay'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? Yes
3.0
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Genocide
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Transphobia
obscurepages'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
3.5
The plot was intriguing, but it can get confusing. I feel like the pacing and the writing style could also be better. Fortunately, all the action really makes you anticipate! And I think it was the characters and the world-building that won me over. The diverse cast and their journeys were a joy to read about and I loved learning about the different kinds of aliens, and their customs and culture.
Now that I think about it, this book was also poignant in its own way. It talked about leaving legacies, finding your own self, making friends and creating your own kind of family with your own people. It was beautiful.
Of course, I also love the fact that this was so, so queer. Some of the characters even use neopronouns? I think this is a first I've seen in YA. Overall, a solid read! Exact rating 3.5 stars.
TW: violence, murder, torture (mild), homophobia, transphobia
(Received an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This, of course, did not affect my overall opinion of the book.)
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder, Torture, Homophobia, and Transphobia
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Can I just say before we get started, this is one of the most gorgeous book covers I have ever seen?
Tina has known for most her life that her destiny is out there in the stars--she can feel a beacon inside her, waiting to ignite when she is old enough to be picked up and taken away to her fate. She is anxiously awaiting that day, when she can stop being just Tina and remember who she was before she was cloned into this body. But when she finally does get picked up be a spaceship with her best friend Rachael, nothing is the way she expected it to be, and she is thrown in the middle of an epic space adventure that require all of her skills and knowledge if she wants to survive--but she can't even remember who she used to be.
The concept for this book is so exciting and fun! I knew I was going to love it! A space battle of good vs. evil, reclaimed identities, and old friends and new! I also really loved reading about the diversity of alien life-forms that Anders created in this book. There was no shortage of imagination for the non-human beings in this galaxy. I loved the central message of the Shapers and the Royal Fleet fighting back, and I was so interested to find out what happened to Tina.
I did wish that this book focused less on all the new concepts and vocabulary and a little more on character development. I wasn't as attached to these characters as I would like to be, and though they were all awesome in concept, I felt that they were mostly a little one-note and could have used more development. I also thought the new slang was hit a little too hard. It felt too much like new colloquialisms being forced on me and not enough like my naturally learning them in the new environment.
One of the coolest parts of this book for me was the normalization of introducing yourself with pronouns! Every single character in this book gave out their pronoun the first time they were introduced to someone---no matter what species they were! I loved that! It even included neo-pronouns.
All in all, I really enjoyed this read! It was fun and had great queer representation and diversity. I definitely recommend picking this up when it comes out!
Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Vomit