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spaghettii's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
anitaforthewin's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
02.24 - i was engaged the whole time and even though i (roughly) knew how the book ends, there were multiple times i had to pause and take a breather or cheer, or feel my feelings. that’s the mark of a fantastic book
god that was as good as i remembered. I want to start starsight right now.
god that was as good as i remembered. I want to start starsight right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Death of parent
gattolino_nn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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
5.0
I have never read a Brandon Sanderson's book before, but this was recommended to me by an employee at QBD as a beginners sci-fi book and boy was I not disappointed. Being the first Brandon Sanderson book I've read, I must say I understand why people love his stories.
I really liked how this book is set out. As it is young adult it wasn't super heavy on the scientific explanations, but it also didn't brush it to the side and leave it out. I thought it had a really good balance for someone like me who doesn't need much sci-fi and can easily get intimidated by this genre.
I love how all the characters are written in this book. There is a lot more then meets the eye with how they are written. We get to see their strengths and flaws all on display which makes for unique and complex characters. This book didn't have me trying to remember who certain characters are due to being similar in personality or names, instead when I read a character's name I knew exactly who it was.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get into the sci-fi genre, doesn't know where to begin and feels intimidates by some of the classics, and has enjoyed reading fantasy books in the past. This to me felt familiar when reading, but still all new and interesting at the same time.
I really liked how this book is set out. As it is young adult it wasn't super heavy on the scientific explanations, but it also didn't brush it to the side and leave it out. I thought it had a really good balance for someone like me who doesn't need much sci-fi and can easily get intimidated by this genre.
I love how all the characters are written in this book. There is a lot more then meets the eye with how they are written. We get to see their strengths and flaws all on display which makes for unique and complex characters. This book didn't have me trying to remember who certain characters are due to being similar in personality or names, instead when I read a character's name I knew exactly who it was.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get into the sci-fi genre, doesn't know where to begin and feels intimidates by some of the classics, and has enjoyed reading fantasy books in the past. This to me felt familiar when reading, but still all new and interesting at the same time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
annie_arya's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
relaxing
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
snomsongs's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
first brandon sanderson down the hatch and i LOOOOOVED it omg. literal perfection, so upset w myself for not realizing this is a 4 book series and not a trilogy bc i just know i’m gonna eat up starsight and cytonic. thank god for novellas
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Death of parent
rinku's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Skyward was my first Sanderson book and it was so amazing. I’ll admit, I had quite high expectations because of this but those expectations were definitely met.
This book follows the main character Spensa who is brandmarked by the society she lives in because her father fled from a spaceship fight against the Krell that are threatening their society. Through some lucky circumstances, she’s still able to enter the spaceship pilot school where she learns how to defend her society while also trying to figure out the truth behind her fathers’ betrayal and the aliens.
The storyline itself was absolutely amazing and a perfect mixture between funny and dramatic scenes. There were so many amazing twists, and I was constantly worried for Spensa and the other pilots because the world they live in is so cruel and they could die at any moment – and this happens a lot so that you can’t get attached to the characters without getting hurt.
I especially loved the ending with its preceding low point: M-Bot shuts down and Spensa is thrown out of the school because she ejected herself from her spaceship instead of dying with it – amazing scene, by the way. When the Krell later attack, Cobb flies M-Bot to Spensa so that she can fight with it. I was so sure that Cobb would die but luckily, he lived and Spensa saved them all .
Furthermore, Sanderson deals with interesting themes in the story. The society that Spensa lives in is very unjust, especially towards people from lower social classes. People with a high social class pass the test for the pilot school automatically while people like Spensa barely have any chance. I love also how critical the book is towards authorities without being too obvious about this message. Last but not least, the topic of war was depicted quite realistically in its brutality, what it makes with people, and if honour is really everything that counts.
Another thing I appreciate that there was no romance – even though an enemies-to-lovers is a bit teased towards the end. I also quite enjoyed the fights in the spaceships, but I sometimes struggled to see them before my eyes. The pacing was also not perfect since the middle part was a bit slow with many training scenes. It becomes clear though that Sanderson knows his business quite well. His writing style is so amazing; he’s so good at portraying emotions which led to me becoming so invested in the characters and the plot. His dialogues are great as well.
Talking about characters, there were so many that I loved. Spensa was a great protagonist and I always like to read about protagonists who are apprentices and learning something. I was rooting for her so much because she deserves so much better; it’s so unfair how everyone treats her badly for her heritage that she obviously can’t change. She just has so much character development in the course of the story.
All of the side characters were amazing as well, first and foremost M-Bot, the speaking ship that Spensa is repairing. I also loved Cobb so much, he’s the perfect mentor figure. The reveal that he was the one who killed Spensa’s dad was quite shocking and I can only imagine how hard it was for Spensa to get to know this. The rest of the cast is relatively big with a team of ten pilots which I always like but it was a bit hard to remember the different characters.
After Skyward, I’m so hyped to read the next book or maybe finally get invested into the Cosmere universe. Here, I had everything that I love about Sci-Fi/Fantasy books: a great female protagonist that is learning something, amazing side characters and an intriguing story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Classism
Moderate: Animal death
aralakh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Bullying and Violence
cuteasamuntin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-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
4.0
I really enjoyed the ride the first time through. My second read was less enjoyable, but I think that may be due to a mix of coming straight off reading Mistborn Era 2 and Stormlight 4 and trying out the audiobook version (far too peppy, in my opinion). Overall, a good YA science fiction story with the requisite cranky AI, interesting and varied supporting characters, a well-developed protagonist, cool worldbuilding, and of course, Doomslug.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and War
theespressoedition's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to absolutely love Skyward, I really did. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I can't say that I hated it - or even really that I truly disliked it, but I just never truly found myself enjoying it.
To start with, the protagonist is one of the most unlikable characters I've ever read. Her entire motivation in life is to not be "a coward" and she defines cowardice as practically any sort of softness, emotion, or basically anything that isn't absolute bull-headed perfection. That irked me right off the bat. My hope was that maybe there would be some really excellent character development throughout the book. She witnesses some of her friends die even though they weren't "cowards" and she watches others succeed even as they are "cowards." Yet, throughout the entire book, she never seems to back down on this standpoint. By the end of the book, I never wanted to see the word coward again - and here I am, having to write it a million times in this review just to make that point.
It felt like there was very little actually occurring during this book, despite how many words there were. It was a lot of descriptions of things without as much plot as I'd hoped for. Towards the 70% mark, the pace began to pick up, and it ended on an interesting sort of "cliffhanger" (I use this word lightly here because I wasn't on the edge of my seat in anticipation or anything, it's just an open ending with intrigue to get you to pick up the next book). I was grateful for that change of pace because I was really bored up until that point.
I hear a lot of people say that they love the fact that there's no romance in this book - and I get it, I do, because sometimes YA romance is just way too much. However, for me, because I had zero interest in the lengthy, descriptive nature of everything else, I missed romance - a lot. If a plot doesn't thrill me, I rely on the romance to at least hold my interest and this book had neither. Or... too much plot and no romance? I don't know. It was a weird story.
In the end, I basically thought to myself, "okay, so I'm intrigued enough to grab the sequel, but I don't want to read it after a book I LOVED because I'll really fall into a slump." So yeah, that's where I'm going with this series.
To start with, the protagonist is one of the most unlikable characters I've ever read. Her entire motivation in life is to not be "a coward" and she defines cowardice as practically any sort of softness, emotion, or basically anything that isn't absolute bull-headed perfection. That irked me right off the bat. My hope was that maybe there would be some really excellent character development throughout the book. She witnesses some of her friends die even though they weren't "cowards" and she watches others succeed even as they are "cowards." Yet, throughout the entire book, she never seems to back down on this standpoint. By the end of the book, I never wanted to see the word coward again - and here I am, having to write it a million times in this review just to make that point.
It felt like there was very little actually occurring during this book, despite how many words there were. It was a lot of descriptions of things without as much plot as I'd hoped for. Towards the 70% mark, the pace began to pick up, and it ended on an interesting sort of "cliffhanger" (I use this word lightly here because I wasn't on the edge of my seat in anticipation or anything, it's just an open ending with intrigue to get you to pick up the next book). I was grateful for that change of pace because I was really bored up until that point.
I hear a lot of people say that they love the fact that there's no romance in this book - and I get it, I do, because sometimes YA romance is just way too much. However, for me, because I had zero interest in the lengthy, descriptive nature of everything else, I missed romance - a lot. If a plot doesn't thrill me, I rely on the romance to at least hold my interest and this book had neither. Or... too much plot and no romance? I don't know. It was a weird story.
In the end, I basically thought to myself, "okay, so I'm intrigued enough to grab the sequel, but I don't want to read it after a book I LOVED because I'll really fall into a slump." So yeah, that's where I'm going with this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and War
amgbgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Death of parent