A review by withlivjones
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I knew I’d enjoy this just because it was written by queen of cozy sci-fi Becky Chambers, and I was not disappointed. I loved the interactions between the four characters on board the spaceship, how they all have quite different personalities (in particular, how they deal with adversity in very different ways) but they still work so well together and they’ve become each other’s family on this long journey. There’s a lot of science talk but it’s explained in a way that’s pretty understandable, and I enjoyed Ariadne’s down-to-earth narrative voice. A lot of really interesting questions are brought up about the ethics of space exploration and studying extraterrestrial life. I wish the ending weren’t quite so ambiguous, but I suppose it fits with the format of the story. 
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