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A review by tricapra
Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
3.0
OK, so let me start by saying that this was adorable. YA is definitely not my thing and I have a ton of criticism ready to go after this paragraph, but first and foremost, if I was a young teen reading Scifi, I would be so happy to have this. I love Charlie Jane Anders and I think she's set up something lovely here.
Unfortunately, Anders has dumbed down her charming prose in favor of something that feels at times like a parody of tumblrspeak. Maybe this tested well and it's what teens like! However, I was hoping for something more akin to The City In the Middle of the Night, which could've been accessible to teens as it was, without any compromise. I don't know who is failing her here, but I felt that she made her world/prose/book lesser in pursuit of a younger audience, when that didn't need to happen. That aside, there were some issues with pacing and exposition dumps that weren't my favorite.
The cast is super inclusive and I loved that our heroes had relatable mental health issues, and that they spent an appropriate amount of time grappling with adjusting to suddenly being humans in space. The world building was fun and I liked the repeated interrogation of the Royal Army's motives and behaviors.
I'll continue to check out everything that Anders writes, I'll pick up a copy of this for my niece when its released for sure.
Unfortunately, Anders has dumbed down her charming prose in favor of something that feels at times like a parody of tumblrspeak. Maybe this tested well and it's what teens like! However, I was hoping for something more akin to The City In the Middle of the Night, which could've been accessible to teens as it was, without any compromise. I don't know who is failing her here, but I felt that she made her world/prose/book lesser in pursuit of a younger audience, when that didn't need to happen. That aside, there were some issues with pacing and exposition dumps that weren't my favorite.
The cast is super inclusive and I loved that our heroes had relatable mental health issues, and that they spent an appropriate amount of time grappling with adjusting to suddenly being humans in space. The world building was fun and I liked the repeated interrogation of the Royal Army's motives and behaviors.
I'll continue to check out everything that Anders writes, I'll pick up a copy of this for my niece when its released for sure.