A review by melodyseestrees
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

This story is best described as Cozy Sci-Fi. The vast majority of species' differences in cultures and believes are handled in a respectful manner. A character has a judgment about another species and then reminds themselves that they are holding this other character to standards that weren't made for them. There is one character who is the most unforgiving towards differences. There is not quite a justification for it but there is a reveal that this character had a difficult homelife. 
There is an upsetting but realistic terminal illness scene towards the last 20% of the book where one character is actively dying, the others are pressuring them to forsake their culture in order to live, and ultimately another character forces the choice upon them in misguided well-meaning. This is met with anger and indignation but ultimately treated as a good thing as the healing character decides to stay with the crew regardless of what their culture dictates they should do. 
I do wish three of the characters had been a little more present throughout the whole story but two of them become way more involved at the end of the story. The other one is removed entirely after an event and while I understand why I do wish they had been able to stay. 
The ending of this story is solid enough you could treat it as a standalone, even though it is part of a series.
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