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rorikae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The story weaves between different characters who live on or are visiting Earth. Those with money have left earth for the Colony, leaving behind a world that is plagued by poor air quality, housing inequality, and police violence. Through snippets of these characters' lives paired with occasional articles and recordings, Oneyebuchi demonstrates how venturing into the stars is for those who are wealthy and white while those who have historically been abused by systems continue to be hurt on what remains of Earth.
Oneybuchi paints a future that is keenly connected to our present and feels that way. By focusing on the characters and their lived experiences, he distills systemic horrors down to the people that it directly affects, making those horrors even more apparent. Despite this story being informed by space travel, we very rarely see any of the characters in the colonies. This story is about those that the world has left behind and failed to care for. The characters and their lives are painted in stark but human strokes using Onyebuchi's evocative prose. It feels as if one has been plopped down in this world and is walking around in it, especially as he showcases the small human moments that make up lived experiences.
I believe this is a book that should be read by a book club that can reflect on and dissect all that Onyebuchi is doing. This should definitely be taught in schools as it discusses a lot about our current lives while exploring how these problems could only grow worse in this possible future.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
jo_lzr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Rape