evelynyle_88's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Genocide
Moderate: Transphobia, Bullying, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
tigger89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book has a lot of aliens in it. Something I would've liked to see more of(hopefully we will, in future books) is a deeper dive into their cultures, not just a quirky rundown of how they are but why they're that way. I wish I'd known when I picked the book up that there was a glossary in the back, because it would have saved me a fair bit of confusion and flipping back and forth. More authors should put the glossary in the front, so we have it when we need it instead of being surprised by it at the end!
The one thing that I didn't like about the book was how the story jumped from scene to scene, suddenly being jerked along to the next thing(in media res, even) as soon as the prior thing resolved, and often with retroactive narration to fill the gap. This can be an excellent technique to use once or twice, but it felt overused here. The book wasn't very long, so I feel like we could have afforded a few more lengthy transitions.
What I feel like the story did very well was the cast of characters, specifically the recruits from Earth. There's four of them for a total of five Earthlings, plus Tina. They're all of varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds, bringing different strengths to the team. It's a strong cast to carry the plot through the rest of the trilogy, and I look forward to seeing what the other parts have in store.
Moderate: Violence, Genocide, Gun violence, and War
maryellen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
indeedithappens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Torture, Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Gaslighting, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Police brutality, Sexism, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Death of parent
nisaak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Violence and Gun violence
Minor: Transphobia
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Transphobia, Bullying, and Child abuse
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia
twistykris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, and Genocide
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Physical abuse
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Torture, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Confinement, Genocide, Child abuse, and Bullying
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Genocide, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Xenophobia, Gore, War, and Mental illness
Minor: Bullying, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
librarianlayla's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Jam packed with action, wit and positive representation.
The World building is immense, so much thought has been put into the history and the plethora of cultures. Such a fully fleshed out galaxy really pulls the reader in.
The only reason this story doesn't get the full 5 stars from me is that I felt there was so much information loaded in straight from the go, that some of the connections between characters seemed rushed. I felt some characters didn't get their chance to shine and some relationships were fast tracked so quickly that it didn't feel as genuine as it should have.
But I did really enjoy the book and look forward to the sequel.
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Violence, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Abandonment