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hailstorm9 's review for:
Defy the Stars
by Claudia Gray
I read the Firebird series and I loved Claudia Gray’s world building and plot, so this book was actually at the top of my to-read list. Since I’ve been reading more and more sci-fi, that made me even more excited for this book! And it did not disappoint... for the most part.
While I usually try to stay away from spoilers in my review, I cannot talk about this book without a few spoilers, so just be aware of that from this point on...
The world that Gray has created in this book is just stunning. Four planets that sustain life and are all connected by these controlled black holes. Each planet has different characteristics and houses different types of people fleeing from a destroyed earth. The world building was my favorite part of the story and I really how each planet played into Abel and Noemi’s plan.
Noemi is a pleasant character. She’s tough, a solider who’s ready to sacrifice herself because she thinks herself less than everyone else, but I did like the small character development she had during the story, where she gained a little more self-worth. Definitely one of the least annoying female heroines in a YA book.
Abel is a great character by himself. Part machine and part human, I really enjoyed watching him struggle through his programming and human feelings. I enjoyed how awkward he was because he’s the brilliant machinery capable of understanding jokes and feelings and sarcasm.
I don’t like that he falls in love, and that’s where this story loses a star. You start the book and it’s in two different perspectives, Abel’s and Noemi’s and it’s a YA novel so you know how it’s going to happen. She falls in love with the robot and he discovers he can love. While you understand Abel is incredibly human, in the back of your head you remind yourself that’s he’s also a robot... Noemi of course struggles with that too, which makes it a very realistic transition, I still just have a hard time getting past the fact he’s a robot.
The relationship aside though, the plot was super fun and I was rooting for Abel and Noemi the whole time. I wish Victoria and some of the other secondary characters were in the story more, but I’m guessing they’ll play a bigger role in the next novel. I hope to also see more of Genesis in the next book as well, since that was the one world we didn’t get a good look at. I can’t wait to see how everything is wrapped ip in the final story of Abel and Noemi.
While I usually try to stay away from spoilers in my review, I cannot talk about this book without a few spoilers, so just be aware of that from this point on...
The world that Gray has created in this book is just stunning. Four planets that sustain life and are all connected by these controlled black holes. Each planet has different characteristics and houses different types of people fleeing from a destroyed earth. The world building was my favorite part of the story and I really how each planet played into Abel and Noemi’s plan.
Noemi is a pleasant character. She’s tough, a solider who’s ready to sacrifice herself because she thinks herself less than everyone else, but I did like the small character development she had during the story, where she gained a little more self-worth. Definitely one of the least annoying female heroines in a YA book.
Abel is a great character by himself. Part machine and part human, I really enjoyed watching him struggle through his programming and human feelings. I enjoyed how awkward he was because he’s the brilliant machinery capable of understanding jokes and feelings and sarcasm.
I don’t like that he falls in love, and that’s where this story loses a star. You start the book and it’s in two different perspectives, Abel’s and Noemi’s and it’s a YA novel so you know how it’s going to happen. She falls in love with the robot and he discovers he can love. While you understand Abel is incredibly human, in the back of your head you remind yourself that’s he’s also a robot... Noemi of course struggles with that too, which makes it a very realistic transition, I still just have a hard time getting past the fact he’s a robot.
The relationship aside though, the plot was super fun and I was rooting for Abel and Noemi the whole time. I wish Victoria and some of the other secondary characters were in the story more, but I’m guessing they’ll play a bigger role in the next novel. I hope to also see more of Genesis in the next book as well, since that was the one world we didn’t get a good look at. I can’t wait to see how everything is wrapped ip in the final story of Abel and Noemi.