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A review by photogcourt
Satellite by Nick Lake
4.0
Thank you to the publisher (Random House) for providing me with an ARC at the 2017 American Library Association Conference. (It was so awesome chatting with their rep about upcoming YA books!)
I waffled a bit on how exactly I should rate Satellite. I believe I'm at a solid 3.5, but rounding up to be fair. I think Nick Lake has such an interesting way of writing this story, I've described it to a few people as a "quiet suspense." The idea is captivating, and the descriptions are lyrical, but they are also paired with a lot of technical jargon relating to space and physics. Its a noteworthy juxtaposition, however the technical aspect was not interesting to me. I could definitely see how others, who like that, would enjoy those parts. I think it slams together two different versions of a sci-fi/space adventure: the cold, adventure-driven, technical classics and the more modern descriptive, human-emotion driven novels found in YA/Teen. So for that alone, I applaud Lake.
I particularly enjoyed Lake's descriptions of both what it was like to be in space, and of Leo learning how to live with gravity. I think it was a good way to experience what I have always known, and see it from a rare perspective. Lake did an excellent job using the senses (taste, sight, touch, smell, hearing) to reinforce Leo's experience of being on Earth for the first time. It seems elementary, but I truly did like the way he did it.
The pace is pretty decent, some parts seemed slower but that could also be due to the technical descriptions.
For a person to really enjoy this book to its full capacity, I think you would have to be a) very interested in space/technical things b) love great descriptions c) enjoy character development and a lot of philosophical type POV thinking. I don't think every space/sci-fi lover will be into this. I don't think everyone who likes YA "kind of realistic fiction" will like this. It's not a romance, but there are allusions to it, and sexuality. I realize this seems like a narrow category of interested readers, and it is, but I want whoever reads it, to be able to enjoy it! Because I think Nick Lake as an author deserves the recognition, just make sure you as a reader, are ready to be into it.
Perfectly appropriate for teens of all ages content wise, but full comprehension (and ability to enjoy) is probably better suited to 16+.
I waffled a bit on how exactly I should rate Satellite. I believe I'm at a solid 3.5, but rounding up to be fair. I think Nick Lake has such an interesting way of writing this story, I've described it to a few people as a "quiet suspense." The idea is captivating, and the descriptions are lyrical, but they are also paired with a lot of technical jargon relating to space and physics. Its a noteworthy juxtaposition, however the technical aspect was not interesting to me. I could definitely see how others, who like that, would enjoy those parts. I think it slams together two different versions of a sci-fi/space adventure: the cold, adventure-driven, technical classics and the more modern descriptive, human-emotion driven novels found in YA/Teen. So for that alone, I applaud Lake.
I particularly enjoyed Lake's descriptions of both what it was like to be in space, and of Leo learning how to live with gravity. I think it was a good way to experience what I have always known, and see it from a rare perspective. Lake did an excellent job using the senses (taste, sight, touch, smell, hearing) to reinforce Leo's experience of being on Earth for the first time. It seems elementary, but I truly did like the way he did it.
The pace is pretty decent, some parts seemed slower but that could also be due to the technical descriptions.
For a person to really enjoy this book to its full capacity, I think you would have to be a) very interested in space/technical things b) love great descriptions c) enjoy character development and a lot of philosophical type POV thinking. I don't think every space/sci-fi lover will be into this. I don't think everyone who likes YA "kind of realistic fiction" will like this. It's not a romance, but there are allusions to it, and sexuality. I realize this seems like a narrow category of interested readers, and it is, but I want whoever reads it, to be able to enjoy it! Because I think Nick Lake as an author deserves the recognition, just make sure you as a reader, are ready to be into it.
Perfectly appropriate for teens of all ages content wise, but full comprehension (and ability to enjoy) is probably better suited to 16+.