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A review by dearestdorian
On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis
3.0
The stakes kept dropping.
The most tension this book has is in the first chapter or so, when the main character, Denise, is trying to get her mother to leave their apartment so they can reach their shelter. A comet is coming, the Earth is about to be blasted, and her mother just won't hurry up.
After that, the tension just keeps dropping. The stakes are lower, becoming more personal for the protagonists but also less interesting. After a mad rush to find shelter, it becomes more mundane - "Can she get a decent job on the ship, and be allowed to stay?"
Between all the major events in this book, it could probably be retitled "Assholes Making Bad Decisions".
Denise is the only one who seems to have a bit of sense. She does her best, tries to guarantee safety for herself and her family by following the rules, getting shit done, and making herself indispensable. Other characters jeopardise everybody for personal gain. I know it's human nature to become selfish in a disaster, but it felt ridiculous at times. Even her own family put her at risk.
All that said, this book gets points for other things. It has the most diversity I've seen in a long time, and it's refreshing. Denise is autistic, part-Surinamese and part-Dutch, her sister Iris is trans, there are Jewish and Muslim characters, and Max is chubby.
Because I found this book average at best, along with Duyvis' previous book - [b:Otherbound|16081758|Otherbound|Corinne Duyvis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400621980s/16081758.jpg|21881127] - I may hesitate to pick up another work by this author.
The most tension this book has is in the first chapter or so, when the main character, Denise, is trying to get her mother to leave their apartment so they can reach their shelter. A comet is coming, the Earth is about to be blasted, and her mother just won't hurry up.
After that, the tension just keeps dropping. The stakes are lower, becoming more personal for the protagonists but also less interesting. After a mad rush to find shelter, it becomes more mundane - "Can she get a decent job on the ship, and be allowed to stay?"
Between all the major events in this book, it could probably be retitled "Assholes Making Bad Decisions".
Denise is the only one who seems to have a bit of sense. She does her best, tries to guarantee safety for herself and her family by following the rules, getting shit done, and making herself indispensable. Other characters jeopardise everybody for personal gain. I know it's human nature to become selfish in a disaster, but it felt ridiculous at times. Even her own family put her at risk.
All that said, this book gets points for other things. It has the most diversity I've seen in a long time, and it's refreshing. Denise is autistic, part-Surinamese and part-Dutch, her sister Iris is trans, there are Jewish and Muslim characters, and Max is chubby.
Because I found this book average at best, along with Duyvis' previous book - [b:Otherbound|16081758|Otherbound|Corinne Duyvis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400621980s/16081758.jpg|21881127] - I may hesitate to pick up another work by this author.