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A review by bamboobones_rory
Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel by Julian K. Jarboe
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was SO GOOD.
Absolutely incredible speculative fiction, comparable to Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild" collection- different, but similar in social commentary, reflective slice-of-life tone, and genre subversion. Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel also feels so relevant to now, cause it paints a dystopian capitalist future on runaway tourism and housing crises, where transness and queerness is normative and catered to by companies but little has changed for equity in class and race (so right now-2023- but with space colonies and cool tech).
Gentrification and tourist towns are still found in this world- even when land slips into the rising sea, rich hipsters still gentrify it. There is a commodification of religion, identity, and personal growth- new age cures are still abound, housing is still scarce. Workers are being pushed to the moon, on a race/class strata. Anyone who has grown up in or near a tourist area or worked in a tourist town/a job that caters to the wealthy might really enjoy the bitterness in the book about that. 90% sure the island in the title story is supposed to be like Martha's vineyard or something. The class rage and trans rage is really shining through in this collection and I absolutely related to and loved it.
Absolutely incredible speculative fiction, comparable to Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild" collection- different, but similar in social commentary, reflective slice-of-life tone, and genre subversion. Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel also feels so relevant to now, cause it paints a dystopian capitalist future on runaway tourism and housing crises, where transness and queerness is normative and catered to by companies but little has changed for equity in class and race (so right now-2023- but with space colonies and cool tech).
Gentrification and tourist towns are still found in this world- even when land slips into the rising sea, rich hipsters still gentrify it. There is a commodification of religion, identity, and personal growth- new age cures are still abound, housing is still scarce. Workers are being pushed to the moon, on a race/class strata. Anyone who has grown up in or near a tourist area or worked in a tourist town/a job that caters to the wealthy might really enjoy the bitterness in the book about that. 90% sure the island in the title story is supposed to be like Martha's vineyard or something. The class rage and trans rage is really shining through in this collection and I absolutely related to and loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse