lissajean7's review
5.0
I loved it. Donovan is a fantastic character. His relationships with his parents are fascinating. His path toward understanding--of both sides--is just beautiful. But I think I loved the questions most of all. This story doesn't have a correct side, neither is 100% right nor 100% wrong, and we see the great and the terrible of each. However, there are no answers given either, and I really love that. We're left to see the whole of both and try to understand, just as Donovan does. I'm really looking forward to the next one.
_rhea's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
christines's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I came to this series having read Fonda Lee’s other series The Green Bone Saga (which I highly recommend!!!).
I tell myself I’m not a big sci-fi person, but I also haven’t read a ton of it, and what I have read I haven’t loved (with a couple exceptions). This falls into that category. Fonda is really good at world building, but if I didn’t know it was written by the same author as GBS I never would’ve guessed. GBS is on a whole other LEVEL!!! I wasn’t blown away by this and it didn’t capture my full attention really. Idk if I would read the sequel, I’m like mildly curious what happens but I also feel like I could *probably* guess how it ends. There’s a bit of a romance subplot but it felt very YA insta-love-y.
There’s little details that don’t make sense for such a futuristic sci-fi novel - like idk if they said exactly what year it would be hypothetically, but this was published in 2017 and I think they said there had been 100 years of peace with the aliens so like….. why do they have plastic bottles and garbage bags? In all that time with advanced alien technology things like that haven’t changed? This was surprising to me because Lee’s other series the attention to these minor details is superbly done. It’s surprising that she wrote this series in tandem almost with GBS.
I tell myself I’m not a big sci-fi person, but I also haven’t read a ton of it, and what I have read I haven’t loved (with a couple exceptions). This falls into that category. Fonda is really good at world building, but if I didn’t know it was written by the same author as GBS I never would’ve guessed. GBS is on a whole other LEVEL!!! I wasn’t blown away by this and it didn’t capture my full attention really. Idk if I would read the sequel, I’m like mildly curious what happens but I also feel like I could *probably* guess how it ends. There’s a bit of a romance subplot but it felt very YA insta-love-y.
There’s little details that don’t make sense for such a futuristic sci-fi novel - like idk if they said exactly what year it would be hypothetically, but this was published in 2017 and I think they said there had been 100 years of peace with the aliens so like….. why do they have plastic bottles and garbage bags? In all that time with advanced alien technology things like that haven’t changed? This was surprising to me because Lee’s other series the attention to these minor details is superbly done. It’s surprising that she wrote this series in tandem almost with GBS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Grief, Body shaming, Medical trauma, War, and Colonisation
Minor: Drug use, Body horror, and Child death
Animal cruelty/testing is referenced without graphic detail butSpoiler
with somewhat gruesome resultslucerez's review against another edition
2.0
Not sure what to think of this one. Aliens rule the Earth and humans are subjects in their colony, viewed as a second tier of intelligent life. The alien rulers are extremely condescending and patronizing, treating humans like misbehaving children. Humans are not quite slaves, but are forced into a degrading and subservient role. The pacing was good and the premise was interesting, and being made uncomfortable as a reader is not a bad thing, especially when the author is making intentional choices.
There was a pretty cliched and predictable choice made about an absent parent; I think I've encountered that trope in every book where a parent is mysteriously absent. The insta-love was not convincing as a plotline. Also, I was frustrated by the main character at times, especially because
This is a pretty dark read and much is left unresolved.
There was a pretty cliched and predictable choice made about an absent parent; I think I've encountered that trope in every book where a parent is mysteriously absent. The insta-love was not convincing as a plotline. Also, I was frustrated by the main character at times, especially because
Spoiler
after being captured and not giving in to torture, he starts immediately giving away information like it was no big deal after they start treating him better. However, later in the book it is revealed that the original loyalty the character displayed may have been artificially generated. It's clear that the aliens have some sort of "medical treatment" that manipulates their human allies to be loyal to them, but the implications of this is not fully explored. So, it's possible that his neurologically manipulated loyalty might have started wearing off in captivity, but because the narration is unreliable, this is not made explicit.This is a pretty dark read and much is left unresolved.
dlberglund's review
4.0
The world building was really thorough in this book. It took a little effort to feel comfortable in that world, but once I did, I was glad to hear the author is working on a sequel to keep us in the world longer! This is a great, classic alien sci-fi story, but in this case, our sympathetic main character is a collaborator. Nothing is simple, though, and characters begin to see nuance as well.
ashleyprice_2000's review
3.0
This one definitely had its moments, but most of it felt pretty slow. I was also annoyed by a lot of the main characters’ decisions.
anaiira's review
4.0
Fonda Lee is really just such a world class author. My criticisms about how unrealistic these particular situations involving a teenage boy aside, this book was gripping and interesting and the world building is, as always, top notch.
I thought this way of portraying a very thinly veiled allegory for the difficulties of being someone caught in the trap of post-colonialism. I thought the Rii threat to be not particularly necessary to explore this facet of needing to engage with the fact that colonial oppression is real and happening, that siding with colonialists can be a rationalizable act and that each person in a colonized society must choose the extent to which they resist, accept or otherwise respond to being subjugated. It's a complex exploration of trying to figure out whether accepting aid and technological advancement is worth being treated as a second class citizen.
I think these themes are complex and engaging enough, and are more interesting than the real plot to the story, which is kind of generic coming of age story of rebellion and choices and tepid romance.
I thought this way of portraying a very thinly veiled allegory for the difficulties of being someone caught in the trap of post-colonialism. I thought the Rii threat to be not particularly necessary to explore this facet of needing to engage with the fact that colonial oppression is real and happening, that siding with colonialists can be a rationalizable act and that each person in a colonized society must choose the extent to which they resist, accept or otherwise respond to being subjugated. It's a complex exploration of trying to figure out whether accepting aid and technological advancement is worth being treated as a second class citizen.
I think these themes are complex and engaging enough, and are more interesting than the real plot to the story, which is kind of generic coming of age story of rebellion and choices and tepid romance.