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A review by rachelbookdragon
The Map of Stars by Laura Ruby
4.0
4.5 stars.
Let me just start off by saying that the audiobooks for this series are fantastic. The voice acting is top notch, giving different voices and dynamics to each character and infusing humor and fun into the story. I want to look up this voice actor and listen to more. My favorite voice he uses is for the robot 'Ohno' as he says his iconic lines "oh no" or "land of kings!"
Now, I knew going into this book, based on the ending of the prior book in the series, that there would be time travel or parallel universes coming into play and that was exactly what happened. Time travel always makes things a bit confusing and is difficult to manage, but I think it was done well enough, but the ending did cheapen the saga of this story a bit for me, hence the slightly lowered star rating. What also dragged it down was the villains being so easily defeated or erased at the end. It felt a little cartoon-y with people popping up to say 'I'm the big bad" and then someone else doing it again after them, like a Russian nesting doll of spineless villains.
Apart from the few things that brought down the story for me, it was a great continuation of this trilogy. The cipher continued to be a fun way to navigate the plot, providing interesting obstacles and characters along the way to create the ultimate end to the cipher (though one has to wonder how the Morningstars knew certain people would be in certain places after changing the timeline).
The main trio of characters continued to grow in their maturity and the side characters are some of my favorites in fiction. Aunt Esther with her never-ending work and travel expertise, Cricket for being precocious, Nine for being a mutant cat, etc. So much fun wrapped into the story, along with great Jewish representation.
Though this series is Middle Grade, it makes important assertions about money and power, justice, climate change, invention, sacrifice, love, friendship, and family. There is great commentary on the erasure of history, race and slavery, women's roles in history, etc. For books geared toward a younger audience, I enjoyed them immensely in my mid-20s because they do have so much to say and do the job well. Laura Ruby's prose is top notch and the jumping back and forth in time is well done.
Overall this series is a 5 star series. It ends on a happy note and has important messages and characters to meet along the way. It has inventive world-building with clever machines and technology and great puzzle mechanics. I would recommend the audiobooks to anyone at any age.
Let me just start off by saying that the audiobooks for this series are fantastic. The voice acting is top notch, giving different voices and dynamics to each character and infusing humor and fun into the story. I want to look up this voice actor and listen to more. My favorite voice he uses is for the robot 'Ohno' as he says his iconic lines "oh no" or "land of kings!"
Now, I knew going into this book, based on the ending of the prior book in the series, that there would be time travel or parallel universes coming into play and that was exactly what happened. Time travel always makes things a bit confusing and is difficult to manage, but I think it was done well enough, but the ending did cheapen the saga of this story a bit for me, hence the slightly lowered star rating. What also dragged it down was the villains being so easily defeated or erased at the end. It felt a little cartoon-y with people popping up to say 'I'm the big bad" and then someone else doing it again after them, like a Russian nesting doll of spineless villains.
Apart from the few things that brought down the story for me, it was a great continuation of this trilogy. The cipher continued to be a fun way to navigate the plot, providing interesting obstacles and characters along the way to create the ultimate end to the cipher (though one has to wonder how the Morningstars knew certain people would be in certain places after changing the timeline).
The main trio of characters continued to grow in their maturity and the side characters are some of my favorites in fiction. Aunt Esther with her never-ending work and travel expertise, Cricket for being precocious, Nine for being a mutant cat, etc. So much fun wrapped into the story, along with great Jewish representation.
Though this series is Middle Grade, it makes important assertions about money and power, justice, climate change, invention, sacrifice, love, friendship, and family. There is great commentary on the erasure of history, race and slavery, women's roles in history, etc. For books geared toward a younger audience, I enjoyed them immensely in my mid-20s because they do have so much to say and do the job well. Laura Ruby's prose is top notch and the jumping back and forth in time is well done.
Overall this series is a 5 star series. It ends on a happy note and has important messages and characters to meet along the way. It has inventive world-building with clever machines and technology and great puzzle mechanics. I would recommend the audiobooks to anyone at any age.