Tag: 5 stars

Book review: Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist

Rach @ Anxious Nachos6 Comments

Title: Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Publication date: 21 May 2019

Genre: Fantasy | Young adult

Page extent: 384 pages

Thank you Emma (the author) and Vicky Who Reads for running the giveaway in which I won a copy of this book.

Missing, Preusmed Dead combines elements of mystery, thriller, contemporary fantasy, romance and a dark, gritty atmosphere to create an intense and heart-racing book about ghosts and lonliness and death.

This book tells the story of Lexi, a girl who can sense when and how someone will die, and Jane, the girl Lexi didn’t try to save. When Jane returns as an angry ghost, Lexi tries to hunt down the murderer to help Jane. They get caught up in a bigger mystery though, as it turns out the murderer has killed before and plans to kill again.

This book was a LOT darker than I expected – which I am SO happy with. It was such a dark, gritty and grim setting and atmosphere. It really felt like we were halfway between life and death, you could sense the ‘wrongness’ in the atmosphere which was so effective in portraying Lexi’s state of mind.

I love the way Missing, Presumed Dead explores mental illness in a fantasy world. It’s so rare to read a book which looks at the mental impact of having magic. Lexi can sense when people will die. If she touches them, she views their death in all the horrifically, gruesome ways it happens. She can’t stand being around people because of it. She can’t stand crowds or friends or anything living because all she can see and taste and smell and hear are their deaths. So she’s lonely, depressed, struggling to find a reason to live. To get away from the constant sense of death, Lexi checks herself into a psychiatric ward when it becomes too much, the only place she can get any quiet. The way Lexi’s mental health is examined is absolutely phenomenal. Emma writes with such intense emotion and I felt a lump in my throat the whole book. It was just so well written and felt so real.

I also loved the mystery/thriller aspect of the book. I was absolutely hooked on the mystery, wanting to find out who or what was killing people. I loved the added creepiness of the paranormal activity. I loved the idea that ghosts are created from the energy of someone’s death – so those killed violently are angry, venegful ghosts. It was such an interesting theory, and seeing how Lexi’s power could interact with the dead to push them ‘on’ was so cool! I loved that the mystery held paranomal elements to it as well, so you were never really sure what was going on.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected – instead, it was a darker, grittier but SO FANTASTIC magical thriller. The portrayal of mental illness was so well done, and the way magic interacted with mental illness felt very unique. Plus, queer girls. Which is the cherry on top of an extremely great cupcake.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley

Rach @ Anxious Nachos3 Comments

Title: Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley

Publisher: Page Street Publishing Co

Publication date: 7 May 2019

Genre: Contemporary | Young adult

Page count: 400 pages

Synopsis: Nate never imagined that he would be attacked by his best friend, Cam.

Now, Nate is being called to deliver a sworn statement that will get Cam convicted. The problem is, the real story isn’t that easy or convenient—just like Nate and Cam’s friendship. Cam challenged Nate on every level from the day the boys met. He pushed him to break the rules, to dream, and to accept himself. But Nate—armed with a fierce moral code and conflicted by his own beliefs—started to push back. With each push, Nate and Cam moved closer to each other—but also spiraled closer to their breaking points.

*The following review may contain non-specific spoilers. And swears.*

Content warnings: brief mentions of suicide, biphobia, homophobia, abuse

Sometimes you read a book which slowly tears you apart, that feels like it was written for you, that feels like as if someone opened you up, took all your thoughts and feelings and put it on a page. That’s Deposing Nathan. It’s an emotionally raw and unforgiving experience, as the characters question religion, sexuality and themselves. In other words: it’s absolutely fucking amazing.

Deposing Nathan opens in a deposition, with Nathan giving a statement about the events which lead to his best friend, Cam, stabbing him. The story jumps between short flashes of the deposition, where we get glimpses of the wrecked relationship between Cam and Nathan, and the events of the past year or so. The past events are narrated by Nate, as if being stated to the lawyer at the deposition. We see how he met Cam, how the two grew close, and ultimately fell in love.

However, there’s a catch. Well several catches. The first, Aunt Lori. I think Lori was fantastically written – Zack manages to capture the perfect balance of someone who at times seems like loving caregiver, and at other times is a darker, more terrifying character, so you’re never really sure where you stand. She is at once both absolutely hateful and yet because the story is told from Nate’s POV, his thoughts and opinions often cloud the view of her, making her actions seem almost normalised. Her behaviour is just so destructive, yet she hides under the cover of ‘protective parent’. That insidious type of character building is absolutely incredible, and the slow descent to realisation is so soul-twisting, for both Nate and the reader.

Cam and Nate are now some of my favourite characters in YA. I really think Zack perfectly captured the despair and angst of teenage years, of the impulsive decisions and heartbreaking questioning of one’s identity. Cam pushes Nate to break rules and try new things, and Nate struggles with trying to please Cam as his Aunt’s claws begins to tighten around his neck.

“It’s a legitamate sexual orientation.”

“Since when?”

“The answer to your question is ‘always’, you asshole.”

What made this book so perfect and yet extremely difficult for me were the discussions around bisexuality. As Cam and Nate both grapple with this, there are some extremely traumatic scenes regarding the validity of bisexuality and its existence as a queer identity. This is something I have struggled with, and still to do this day struggle with. Bisexuality is too often seen as nonexistent by both the queer and non-queer communities; you’re too queer for some and not queer enough for others. I am so appreciative of Cam’s strong belief and surity in his sexuality and in its existence. At the risk of sounding a little cliche, it’s such an important statement to read, and yes, I wish I had had this book as a teen.

“Fine, well, even if you’re only one percent into dudes, it can still count. ‘Bisexual’ is a pretty broad term.”

In addition to the discussions around bisexuality, I really need to commend Zack for the very real portrayal of religion, and how that impacts someone questioning their identity. As someone who grew up in a Christian household, and went through their teenage years struggling with their sexuality, I found the portrayal extremely realistic and extremely raw. Zack has a tremendous ability to be able to tear your heart apart with the strength of his writing – Nate’s self hate, contemplation of suicide, his feeling of complete worthlessness in the eyes of God, is just so honest and so heartwrenching. And whilst I no longer consider myself religious, I don’t think I’ve ever seen myself so represented in a book before.

“Dear God: I don’t know what to do.”

I’ve always seen people praise books for portraying themselves but never really understood how important it actually is. Until you see yourself in a book so thoroughly, it’s hard to understand how important it can be. To see that you aren’t alone, that other people have suffered and feel as you do, and that things get better. Because despite the toxic relationship, despite the despair and anxiety and hate and biphobia in the book, it ends on an uplifting note. It is a perfect ending, not because everything ends happily ever after, but because it doesn’t. Because despite life not being perfect, there is still reason to hope. And I think that’s a message everyone needs to hear sometimes.

Deposing Nathan will twist and tear you, it will gut you and hurt like hell. And it is absolutely fucking phenomenal. It’s features the most realistic portrayal of bisexuality and religion I’ve ever read. It is an unforgivingly brutal tale of two boys who learn what it means to love themselves, even if they suffer to do so.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: Love from A to Z by S.K Ali

Rach @ Anxious Nachos2 Comments

Title: Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali

Publisher: Salaam Reads

Publication date: 30 April 2019

Genre: Contemporary| Young adult

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: A marvel: something you find amazing. Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom used to make together.

An oddity: whatever gives you pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims are.

But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.

When she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.

Fueled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.

Then her path crosses with Adam’s.

Since he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things. Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.

Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.

Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.

Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…

Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

This book is one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve ever read, and I am SO happy I found YA contemporary, which is a genre I haven’t really read in the past, because I cannot praise this book enough.

Love from A to Z is a love story between Adam and Zayneb. Both keep a journal, based on The Marvels of Creation and the Oddities of Existence. Adam focuses on marvels – the things in life that make it worth living. Zayneb focuses on the oddities – the struggles and pains of life. The two meet on a plane, and their lives change forever as their paths keep crossing.

Zayneb is a fighter. Except that’s not quite a strong enough word. She is driven and passionate and determined to right the worlds’ wrongs. As a hijab wearing Muslim, Zayneb faces a lot of discrimination and hate (all based on true events the author has experienced). Standing up to her Islamophobic teacher, Zayneb is suspended from school, one week before Spring break. So, she travels to Doha, to spend time with her Aunt Nandy. On the plane over, she meets Adam. And then she keeps meeting him, and Adam seems different to anyone she’s ever met.

Adam has just dropped out of university. He’s also just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the disease which killed his mum. At 11, he converted to Islam, searching for peace after his mother’s death. He’s calm and serene, yet struggling deeply with the secret of his disease, something he can’t quite tell his father just yet. He travels to Doha, where his family live, on his Spring break, knowing he won’t be returning to university. On the plane over, he meets Zayneb, a stunning woman in a bright blue hijab who happens to be holding the same journal he owns – a Marvel and Oddities.

This is a story about love and strength and justice and Islam and peace. It’s such a beautiful representation of the religion, and I feel almost humbled to have read this book. There is such a strong Muslim voice throughout, which was so fantastic to read and learn about. The growing friendship, and then love, between Adam and Zayneb felt so strong and real and natural and it was so lovely to see how religion guided their relationship. Both these characters had such strong point of views and so distinct voices, and it was interesting to see the two recognise each others flaws, and still move forward. I also thought Adam’s journey to accept his disease and seek treatment was very genuine and thoughtfully written. I rooted for both of them from the very start, their emotions and voice were so clearly written on the page, I felt every emotion with them.

The secondary characters were also very well written – I have a particular soft spot for Connor, Adam’s best friend. It was so lovely to see such a strong male friendship in a book, both of them able to be emotional and open with each other.

Whilst this novel is a love story, it also addresses subjects like Islamophobia and discrimination. I really think this book needs to be required reading for every teen, in the hope it might make people act a little different….and a lot better. The racism that is portrayed is at times subtle and at times throw it your face, and the book showed Zayneb navigating both these experiences and trying to fight against it. She was such a powerful character and her strength was very inspiring to read. There was also such a diversity with the way Islam was portrayed, and I loved seeing the different ways characters’ had come to Islam, from Adam’s conversion after his mother’s death, to Zayneb through her heritage.

Reading the author’s note at the end, S.K. Ali writes ‘I often wondered if all this would seem too incredulous to some readers’ and that really made me think – because S.K Ali is probably right. And it’s awful and people suck that they would think this book, one of the most beautiful and realistic love stories I have read, would seem too incredulous and fake. This book is so wonderful. It deals with pain and love is such an open and insightful way. So please, give this book a chance and fall in love with Adam and Zayneb like I did!

Also I am strongly keen to start my own Marvels and Oddities after reading this book!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Rach @ Anxious Nachos6 Comments

Title: The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Publisher: Skyscape

Publication date: 1 March 2019

Genre: Fantasy | Young Adult | A little science thrown in for good measure

Page count: 375pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 GLORIOUS stars

Synopsis: In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

Despite having only just started this blog, I think this will still be the third time I’ve mentioned The Fever King, because it is incredible. It’s my favourite book of the year so far, it may even be my favourite book ever and I just cannot explain how much I want you to read this.

This book blends science and magic into one unique package: magic is caused by a virus. A virus which just so happens to kill the majority of people who catch it. Those who survive are called witchings, capable of wielding magic. Each witching has a presenting power – these powers are hugely varying from healing to technopathy. But it isn’t quite that easy. Magic is hard. It requires an understanding of the science behind it to wield it effectively. Noam, an immigrant in the nation of Carolinia, has survived the virus and awoken with the power of technopathy. Trying to take down the regime from inside, Noam accepts the minister of defence, Calix Leher’s, invitation to study and learn the science. So Noam ends up under the tutelage of Leher, one of the most powerful men in the country, living with 4 other trainees in the ministry complex.

As Noam trains, he becomes deeper and deeper involved in the fight against the government, and closer and closer to Dara, Minister Leher’s adopted son. Dara and Noam’s relationship is so beautifully and heartbreakingly written. They both have been hurt so badly and yet are so protective of each other, I love every page with them interacting. I did reread the book before I wrote this review, and reading it the second time, knowing what you do about the ending, it really does make their relationship even more intense and beautiful. Their is definitely no instalove here, I really enjoyed the slow development of their relationship. One of my biggest YA pet peeves is instalove, I can just never get onboard, but in The Fever King, the romance is much more developed and it’s really lovely to watch how Dara and Noam’s behaviour changes as they become friends.

Whilst Dara was my favourite character, I very much related to Noam. There were some passages I found very difficult to read because of how much I have felt like he did. These boys are just ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The book deals with some very difficult subject matter – Victoria has a full list of trigger warnings here. The way the story unravels, as you slowly become more and more uneasy about certain characters, feel terrible for liking some of them to start with, slowly fall in love with others, and then get shot through the heart a million times, is just amazing. I found the development of Leher particularly fascinating – he’s such an interesting and complex character and one you’re never quite sure about. Pay attention to the archive extracts which talk about Leher’s previous rise to power, it’s really interesting to re-read these knowing the ending and spot all the things you didn’t notice before.

This is a very difficult book to review without giving too much away because there are some really big revelations throughout the book which drastically alter what I can talk about. All I can really say is that I was absolutely enthalled from the first to the last page, and I want nothing more than to give these boys a farm and some goats.

Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeead it.

Paws out,

Rach + Draco

Book review: Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

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Title: Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Publisher: Dial Books

Publication date: 28 August 2018

Genre: Contemporary | Young adult

Page count: 316 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s about to take his first-ever trip to Iran, and it’s pretty overwhelming–especially when he’s also dealing with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life. In Iran, he gets to know his ailing but still formidable grandfather, his loving grandmother, and the rest of his mom’s family for the first time. And he meets Sohrab, the boy next door who changes everything.

Sohrab makes sure people speak English so Darius can understand what’s going on. He gets Darius an Iranian National Football Team jersey that makes him feel like a True Persian for the first time. And he understands that sometimes, best friends don’t have to talk. Darius has never had a true friend before, but now he’s spending his days with Sohrab playing soccer, eating rosewater ice cream, and sitting together for hours in their special place, a rooftop overlooking the Yazdi skyline.

Sohrab calls him Darioush–the original Persian version of his name–and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab. When it’s time to go home to America, he’ll have to find a way to be Darioush on his own.

This book. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Okay more words. This book is an absolutely stunning portrayal of the struggles of living with depression. I’ve so rarely seen such an incredible portrayal of mental illness, and I cannot express enough how much books like this are needed.

Darius is a nerdy, half-Persian guy who just so happens to have depression. Like his dad. He’s lonely and bullied at his school by your regular Jock Type asshats. But on a trip to Iran, to visit his ailing grandfather, he finds something he’s never had before: a best friend.

The book takes place over just a few weeks of time, as Darius connects with his family in Iran and learns more about his hertiage. We see him struggle to understand how he fits in, both in the US and in Iran. Across the book, Sohrab, a boy from along the street, helps Darius realise he does belong and doesn’t have to change. We see his relationship with his family change, as he grows further apart from the father who struggles to show his love, also living with depression on a daily basis.

“Suicide isn’t the only way you can lose someone to depression.”

This novel is a heartrenching tale of family and friendship and the difficulty of life. Darius is just such a beautiful character. The book is written from Darius’ POV and we see him struggling with his depression, struggling to fit it, struggling to love his father, struggling to find anything good about himself at all, and into this struggle comes Sohrab, a boy who lives near his grandparents in Iran. Sohrab is different from anyone Darius has met before, because Sohrab seems to understand. Sohrab doesn’t ask him to be someone he’s not, and doesn’t ask him to change or hide his illness. Instead, he is there, and he is the best friend Darius has ever had. Sohrab too is struggling, with an absent father, and we see Darius so unsure, wanting to help and support his friend like Sohrab supports him, but just not knowing what to do.

This book is just so clear and strong in the portray of depression. We need books like this. We need to see how depressions affects those around us, how we can help. To read a book like this, one that feels so familiar that it physically hurts, one you can see how much of yourself in, it’s just incredible and I don’t think I can ever thank Adib enough for writing a book so genuine and honest. Was it difficult to read? Yes. It was confronting to see so much of myself in this book. But it was worth it.

Also, as you may have read in a previous review of mine, I love every book which can make me cry on public transport. So hell yeah to this book – it’s an essential book to read for anyone who wants to know more about depression or how to support those who live with depression.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment

Title: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Publisher:  Hodder & Stoughton

Publication date: 13 August 2015

Genre: Science fiction | Adult

Page count: 404 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

Oh my gosh I cannot even begin to put into words how much I adored this book and every single character in it. I didn’t think I could ever read another sci-fi book I loved as much as Do You Dream of Terra-Two, let alone read one just a few weeks later which is just as good, if not better.

I’m sure most of you reading this are probably already aware of Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series. Becky first self-published and was then picked up by a traditional publisher, with A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet being republished in 2015. This was another book I picked up during my time in the UK and since I’ve really been enjoying sci-fi recently, I definitely wanted something like this to pick me back up after finishing the not-so-lighthearted Rosewater.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet follows the spaceship Wayfarer, a tunnelling ship which travels space and ‘punches’ holes to create tunnels for other ships to travel along. ALWTOSAP is set in the future, after humans have had to leave Earth and take to the skies. As they travelled across the universe to find a place to live, they met other species living in the universe, joining the Galactic Commons.

The crew of the Wayfarer are a mixed-species group of indviduals who create ‘tunnels’ between one point in space and another, allowing for quick travel between two locations. The ship has been hired to go into a warzone to create a tunnel near a planet belonging to the newly-allied species, the Toremi. And so begins the journey.

Whilst there is action and twists and unbearbly heartbreaking scenes, what really shines in this book are the characters. I love each and every one of them, from Ashby, the human captain, to Rosemary, the young, inexperienced clerk escaping from her past on Mars, to Corbin, the grumpy and kind-of-a-jerk human who ended up being one of my favourites as you see him change and grow across the series. This crew is a family, and there is so much love for each other, and it is at no point clearer than when we see Corbin’s actions at the end of the novel. I did of course have my favourites – SISSIX. Oh I could talk about her for hours. She was such a beautifully written character, and as an Aandrisk, a reptilian-like species, it was so interesting to read about the different social interactions she had compared to the humans. It really broke my heart when it was revealed how much she hurt when she held herself back from interacting with the crew as she wanted to, for fear of alienating them with her different social behaviours. She was such a loving and caring character and she was my favourite from the very first time she’s introduced.

I was also a huge fan of Lovey, the ship’s AI, and their relationship with Jenks, one of the ships techs. Without giving too much away, it was very clear how much they meant to each other and it was so realistic to me, as I can really see this happening in the future once our current AI technology develops.

Seeing all the different species described was definitely a highlight for me, I loved hearing about Dr Chef and his homeworld, as well as seeing the Sianat Pairs. This book was just a brilliant mesh of characters and species and was such a heartwarming tale about how a group of hugely different individuals become a family. It was so much fun to read and I cannot wait to continue the series!

Paws out,

Rach + Draco

Book review: Do You Dream of Terra-Two?

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment

Title: Do You Dream of Terra-Two? By Temi Oh

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster

Publication date: 7 March 2019

Genre: Science fiction | Adult

Page count: 520 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet meets The 100 in this unforgettable debut by a brilliant new voice.

A century ago, scientists theorised that a habitable planet existed in a nearby solar system. Today, ten astronauts will leave a dying Earth to find it. Four are decorated veterans of the 20th century’s space-race. And six are teenagers, graduates of the exclusive Dalton Academy, who’ve been in training for this mission for most of their lives.

It will take the team 23 years to reach Terra-Two. Twenty-three years spent in close quarters. Twenty-three years with no one to rely on but each other. Twenty-three years with no rescue possible, should something go wrong. And something always goes wrong. 

Wow – what a read. Do You Dream of Terra-Two? has SHOT to the top of my all-time favourite science fiction. This descriptive and moving debut novel takes a very different style to any other science fiction I’ve read, with a much bigger focus on the characters and a much smaller focus on the technology and science-aspect.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two follows 6 young adults as they prepare for a space mission to the long dreamed of, Terra-Two. Terra-Two is a potentially habitable planet found in another solar system, and humanity has dreamed of reaching it since it’s discovery. The book begins at the prestigious Dalton Academy, a school where teens compete to be chosen for the Terra-Two mission. Six are chosen, and it is these six that we follow in the book. The book flits between the point of view of these characters, though we hear more from three of them.

Each of these teens has a very distinct voice and I enjoyed reading all of them. Definitely don’t expect any unrealistic, completely perfect characters – all of the people in this book are so real and so human. The teens have so many problems (as you could expect after being trained and brainwashed about Terra-Two for years) and I could see myself and everyone I know in every single one of these teens. Temi Oh really managed to write such a realistic portrayal of all her characters. Whilst Eliot was my favoruite character, thanks to Temi Oh’s brutally realistic depiction of his pain, I think my favourite to read from was probably Jesse. In saying that, this was one of the only multiple perspectives books I’ve ever read where I wasn’t bored with one or more of the perspectives. Everyone is just so different and had so many different reasons for why they want to go to space that each of their POV’s made for a really great read.

This book is both filled with wonder and drama, with a little bit of edge-of-your-seat action thrown in. There are lots of twists and turns and everything always goes wrong, and I really wasn’t ever sure what would happen next or how the story would end. I wished I could’ve stayed with this crew so much longer, I enjoyed it so much. There is such a humanity to the book, from the sense of wonder and excitement about finding a new livable planet, to the very human interactions and relationships which form between the crewmates. This book had me gripped from start to finish, and I really could not recommend it more!

Let me know your thoughts on this book!

Paws out!