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A review by caidyn
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
adventurous
hopeful
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
4.0
I'm happy to say that I enjoyed this more the second time around!
I received this from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!
3.5/5
This is not a bad book! I just didn't like it as much as I wanted to! Which makes me very sad!
So, this is going to be a short review because I don't have much to say about the novella.
For the record, novellas aren't my favorite thing in the world. I'm also not too huge on short stories. But, I do love Becky Chambers and thought that if anyone could bring me over to loving them, it would be her.
And this isn't bad. A group of four people -- Adriane, Elena, Jack, and Chikondi -- leave the Earth for a space mission. They're going out to explore space, but they have to sleep for decades before that, to wake up and have no idea what has happened. Does the Earth still exist? Is anyone keeping track of them? Are their families alive? Those questions because, most likely, they won't be going back.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was that Chambers wove diversity into this without a problem. Chikondi is on the page ace -- Adriane mentions that he's not interested in sex whatsoever -- and there's definitely a romantic relationship between Adriane and Elena. I really enjoyed that because it's not all the time that I get to see it confirmed that a character is ace.
But, the plot is hard to decipher. It reminded me of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which was, to me, a bunch of character studies going towards a very clear event/place. Each chapter in that was different and built up a new character or relationship. And this is a lot like that, but it doesn't have the same space to make me attached to the characters or world. This book isn't even 150 pages and is only five chapters. That's not a lot of space.
So, while I enjoyed it, it felt as if it could be stronger. I think that on a second read, I would like this book better, but it left me feeling unsatisfied. I wanted more to it. I wanted to know more and get really attached to the characters. That just didn't happen.
I received this from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!
3.5/5
This is not a bad book! I just didn't like it as much as I wanted to! Which makes me very sad!
So, this is going to be a short review because I don't have much to say about the novella.
For the record, novellas aren't my favorite thing in the world. I'm also not too huge on short stories. But, I do love Becky Chambers and thought that if anyone could bring me over to loving them, it would be her.
And this isn't bad. A group of four people -- Adriane, Elena, Jack, and Chikondi -- leave the Earth for a space mission. They're going out to explore space, but they have to sleep for decades before that, to wake up and have no idea what has happened. Does the Earth still exist? Is anyone keeping track of them? Are their families alive? Those questions because, most likely, they won't be going back.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was that Chambers wove diversity into this without a problem. Chikondi is on the page ace -- Adriane mentions that he's not interested in sex whatsoever -- and there's definitely a romantic relationship between Adriane and Elena. I really enjoyed that because it's not all the time that I get to see it confirmed that a character is ace.
But, the plot is hard to decipher. It reminded me of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which was, to me, a bunch of character studies going towards a very clear event/place. Each chapter in that was different and built up a new character or relationship. And this is a lot like that, but it doesn't have the same space to make me attached to the characters or world. This book isn't even 150 pages and is only five chapters. That's not a lot of space.
So, while I enjoyed it, it felt as if it could be stronger. I think that on a second read, I would like this book better, but it left me feeling unsatisfied. I wanted more to it. I wanted to know more and get really attached to the characters. That just didn't happen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death