kimily's review against another edition
3.0
Nem's curiosity and tendency toward exploration is disappointing to his father, who values strength, and dangerous in his village, which has outlawed the written word. The story and characters are well-written, exciting, and interesting, but the ending was far too neat for my taste. In real life, endings are rarely, if ever, wrapped securely with no loose edges or unanswered questions, but that seems to be what Samuel Sattin aimed for here. The result is unsatisfying to me.
christajls's review against another edition
2.0
Jen Hickman's art was beautiful and I loved the colours but I found the story a bit confusing and hard to follow.
maiakobabe's review against another edition
5.0
Nem was raised to believe that everything outside the walls of Bezkamp was poison, that writing and reading were blasphemous and illegal, that humans predated the creatures of the wildlands, that his mother was a traitor, that asking questions was wrong, and that he was too weak to be valued. It is only when Nem gets lost in the wildlands outside Bezkamp's walls does he discover that nearly everything he was taught is wrong. Sam Sattin has skillfully crafted an inventive, action-filled sci-fi adventure that simultaneously wrestles with family trauma, environmental destruction and the danger of destroying history. Nem's ancestors fled Earth as refugees but when they found a new habitable plant they arrived as invading colonizers. Jen Hickman's gorgeous art illuminates a hopeful future in which humans are willing to learn from their mistakes, change their ways, work in partnership with the native beings and save their mutual home. Humorous and deeply moving by turns, I highly recommend it! I was delighted to receive an advanced reader copy of this book, which is one of the best perks of having author friends :)
jupiter2ff65's review
3.0
3.5 stars. I found the story interesting and I liked the art, not it kind of ends suddenly after s big reveal. I would have liked more chapters with the adults coming to terms with the revelation and an explanation on how the humans would continue to live off the land. I see a lot of complaints about the language. I can understand why many people were confused by it, but when spoken aloud sounded like existing English accents I've heard so once I caught the rhythm in my head, I was able to speed along.
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